[MacTweets/ma7] Rum & Raisin, Pina Colada & Earl Grey Tea Macarons

I made these macarons 2 days before Jamie & Deeba posted Mac Attack 7. I got the dates all mixed up..i thought i was making for Mac Attack 6 but in fact i missed the deadline! :p Since i have yet to blog about them, i figured i might as well incorporate them into this month's MacTell Me-A-Story.  My favorite story book while growing up was Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Mad Hatter's tea party scene comes right to my mind...and those little cakes that shout "Eat Me"....even more so after I recently watched Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland. I had a couple of ideas for my macarons but couldn't decide which would taste better so ended making all the 3 flavors. I did this after work and it was not a good idea because i baked till after midnight and almost 2-am before i could go to bed. I'm as crazy as the Mad Hatter i think, at times that is..;p... and i had to remind myself AGAIN never to bake all 3 flavors at one go esp. after work!  

Rum & Raisin Macarons

Vanilla Macaron Shells, White Chocolate Rum Buttercream with Rum Raisin Jam centre

Pina Colada Macarons

Coconut Macaron Shells, White Chocolate Rum Buttercream with Pineapple Jam centre

Earl Grey Tea Macarons

Earl Grey Macaron Shells with Honey Buttercream

Rum & Raisin Macarons, Pina Colada Macarons & Earl Grey Tea Macarons

Rum & Raisin Macarons, Pina Colada Macarons & Earl Grey Tea Macarons

Macarons shells all matched up..i still suck at piping even size macarons..

so have take time to match them in their respective sizes..lol!

This time, basic macaron recipe (italian method) is taken from David Lebovitz post on Pierre Herme's Ketchup Macarons.  After doing 3 batches of macarons in italian meringue..i find that the folding of meringue is extremely tough compared to the french way...towards the 3rd batch, my arm and wrist felt like it was going to fall off my shoulder..but then does make chewier macaron shells though.. Also italian way is more forgiving too imo....my 1st batch of Vanilla shells, the sugar didn't really dissolve and had lots of sugar crystals stuck on the pan but my shells turned out ok. The 2nd batch, the Earl Grey Tea shells, the sugar syrup was a bit caramelized..but my shells were still ok. The 3rd batch, the sugar syrup was finally correct and of course the shells turned out great. :)  My conclusion: Pierre Herme's recipe is definitely a keeper! :D

Among the 3 flavors, thumbs-up to my Rum & Raisin flavor!! :D Everyone loved it (me included!..i like the rum in it..lol!).  Pina Colada voted as 2nd favorite. :D  Earl Grey was ok but i guess i didn't add enough of the earl grey tea powder so the flavor wasn't as distinct as i had wanted.

Please do check out other bloggers' macarons & flavors listed on http://mactweets.blogspot.com!