Macarons

The last few weeks haven't been that great. We've had a lot of sad news, some from Tony's family, some from my family and a few other things haven't turned out the way we've hoped they would. All in all it's been pretty rough.

I was moping and had just popped in to our local Woolies supermarket to pick up the necessities after a bad week (chocolate, chips, popcorn and diet coke) when I wandered down the baking aisle and saw this.

Passionfruit macarons in a box mix? I very rarely buy box mixes, I can't even remember the last time I bought one. I don't even know why I was looking in the packet mix section! Baking is a sure way to cheer myself up. I love baking, it's relaxing and then at the end of it there's a yummy treat to eat.

But here's where I fail at a foodie, I have to admit I've never even tried a macaron before. I'm more of a cupcake girl. I love cake in all it's forms (except trifle, to do that to cake is a disgrace) and truth be told, I really prefer home made cake to other sweets or cakes you can buy at a bakery or cafe.

I also live on the Gold Coast and in my suburb bakeries and cake shops are disappointing so I avoid them at all costs. I have seen macarons for sale in the cold case section at Woolworths, but just couldn't bring myself to buy them. 

So when I saw the box mix I just snapped it up. My husband was a bit shocked that I bought a box mix, he was even sceptical about them. Adriano Zumbo is famous for macarons and complicated desserts, so I wasn't sure I could even get them to turn out and look anything like a macaron. I have spent many hours watching cooking videos on youtube so had picked up a few tips and pointers. I'd also seen a quite a few disasters.

But one Wednesday night after even more sad news I cracked open the box and gave them a try. I'd read that the mix doesn't whip up too well in stand mixers as it's only a small amount, but I had no issues using my kitchen aid. I did a few steps that aren't mentioned on the box. I left them sit on the bench for about 30mins before baking (I got distracted and forgot about them after I'd finished piping, whoops!) and then let them cool completely before trying to take them off the baking paper.

They turned out pretty well and were absolutely delicious! So much so that this week I bought the salted caramel flavour to try! Yum!

Four years ago...

Four years ago I married my wonderful husband. We had a small wedding, just 40 guests, made up of our families and close friends. Our ceremony lasted only 20 mins, just perfect for two people like us who are quite shy and don't like a lot of attention. Our wedding wasn't a flashy, fancy affair. It was pretty casual and laid back, just like us. It was exactly how we'd planned it and how I'd imagined it would be.

While the wedding day itself went smoothly, our first 18 months of married life were a bit more stressful, but they do say that the first year is the hardest! Thankfully that's all behind us and I'm happy to say that life is pretty damn awesome right now. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

And now some pics! These were taken by our wonderful photographer Toni Snell!