Back to the beginning...

Guilty as charged.

 Well there's no denying I've been gone for a while, I guess I fell into the bloggers curse and for one reason or another I got a bit of writers block. My original plan was to document my ups and downs of learning to make macarons and encourage a few more people to get their hands sticky and have a go themselves but somewhere along the way I lost my macaron mojo. The big thing was really that my oven started playing up, and a temperamental oven might be still useable for cooking your dinner or even a nice fruit cake but for macarons its downright bloomin' irritating! Cracked or hollow macarons, undercooked on one half of the tray burned on the other...frustrating isn't the word. I was half way through writing my macaron basics tutorial and half way to giving up. I had lost all motivation to keep writing but I didn't give up baking!

The latest batch
...baked in my lovely new oven.

 I haven't given up on macarons but I have been up to all sorts of other adventures which you'll hear more about in time. In an attempt to get my mojo flowing again I actually took a class on macarons and I surprised myself how well I did and I learned a few things that set me off experimenting again, I even managed one half decent batch in my old oven. I've got a shiny new oven now so the tutorial is back on the shortlist of projects, I've had one successful batch of macarons from the new oven but I've got a few other things I want to try out before the tutorial is ready to be set free.

So what else have I been up to?

 A bit of everything really. I've been learning how to make bread, after watching far too many episodes of Great British Bake Off I finally ended up jumping in at the deep end and my first attempt at bread was the 8-stranded plait. 'Insanity' I hear you cry, and well it wasn't exactly what I would call a success but it was definitely a starting point and since then I've been learning a lot about Sourdough and I'm learning more and getting better all the time. I've been making and decorating fruit cakes for xmas and family birthdays and I've been getting more interested in cake decorating but that is something I've yet to properly dive into. I'm always on the look out for interesting recipes for tasty bakes and treats, I'll be sharing lots of these in my posts.

 I confess I've spend probably far more time than is good for me on Pinterest and stalking cake pages on Facebook. There are some fantastic cakes out there, from hobby bakers to professional cake designers, there is a world of amazing talent out there in the cake world. I've even met some amazing cakey friends on my travels around the internet, and it's because of their encouragement that I'm back here and after a bit of nagging (...you know who you are, lol) I've even set up a facebook page so hopefully you won't have to wait another two years to find out what I'm up to.

 Oh, and yes, I finally made it to Paris last year!
Patisserie on every corner? Pretty much yes! It was all I could do not to try something from every one I encountered, but I was on a special patisserie based hunt, and strangely enough not for macarons, so I was saving myself for that. I'll be posting more about this soon.

 I did sample one or two macarons while I was in Paris, it would be a crime not to. I even got to try some from Pierre Hermé...so many macarons to choose from it was difficult to decide what to get. Thankfully the lovely people serving me were very patient and all spoke excellent English which was awesome as the only French I knew I had learned in school 30-something years ago. I did learn a little more during my few days and by the end of the week I was buying bread like a local...at least that's how I'm choosing to remember it.

 Possibly my favourite sweet treat of the whole trip was discovered completely by accident. We were strolling along rue Mouffetard, it was our second visit after going there for the markets a day or so earlier. As we passed one of the many patisseries I looked in and my eye was drawn to a simple looking chocolate chip cake with a chocolate ganache top, then I saw they were called 'les Tigrés', well I just had to buy one. Back at home my little Bengal kitty Tigger, who we often call El Tigre, must have pricked up his ears thinking we were talking about him. So, yes, I bought one...actually we bought three...the first one was so delicious it stopped us in our tracks and I just had to go back and buy the two we had left behind!

Ladies and Gentlemen...may I introduce you to...les Tigrés

tiger in the wild...
as captured in Paris

 Well Paris is supposed to be the city of love but is it possible to fall in love with a cake? It must be because J'adore les Tigrés!

 When I got home I was like a woman possessed, searching online for more information about these lovely little cakes but it seemed that no one had heard of them. Almost defeated I started searching through all my recipe books trying to pinpoint what type of cake it might be. I had almost narrowed it down when Dear Hubby found this post by the fantastic Cowgirl Chef and that got me started making my own little tiger cakes. I've taken a few liberties and tinkered with the recipe since then and I even managed to find some cake pans that let me make cakes with the recess needed to hold the ganache. Since then I've made quite a few batches of tiger cakes, they are a favourite of Dear Hubby so he is always hanging around the kitchen when I'm baking them!

A sample of my homemade Tiger cakes

I am still surprised that les Tigrés are so unheard of, I've found a couple of other mentions of them around the web, mostly other people much like me who have accidentally found them in Paris and were also determined to make them when they got home but I have no idea where they originate from. Are they peculiar to a handful of patisseries in Paris? Why is there so little information out there? It's intriguing that such a delightful little cake has seemingly slipped under the radar so I decided that should change. I'm posting my recipe, which I think gets pretty close to the one we had in Paris, so that you can try them for yourself. I'd love it if you would take photos of your tiger cakes and share them on my facebook page, lets see les Tigrés get the admiration they deserve!

Tiger Cakes

Makes 24

Ideally you need to use a dimple cake pan so when your cakes are turned out (upside down) there is a recess to pour the ganache into. I use this one from Lakeland but you could also use a savarin mould or a plain silicone muffin tray and drizzle the ganache over the turned out cakes. These cakes taste great whatever shape they are. 

This recipe is written for using silicone cake pans/moulds. If you are using a metal cake pan rather than silicone you will need to line the recesses with paper cases or grease and flour your cake pan and you may need to adjust your baking times.

160g plain flour

1.5 teaspoon of baking powder

0.75 teaspoon of fine ground sea salt

75g ground almonds

80g chocolate splitters

240g butter, softened

240g caster sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

For the ganache

40g 70% dark chocolate 

40g milk chocolate

120 ml of cream

If you are using a lower % dark chocolate you may wish to adjust the ratio of dark to milk chocolate to suit your taste. 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F 

2. Put the all dry ingredients (flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt and chocolate splitters) into a bowl and stir with a balloon whisk until well combined and chocolate is fairly evenly distributed, this will help prevent the splitters clumping together in the final mix. Put this to one side.

3. In a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each one for about a minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on a slow speed until just until combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl and the mixer paddle and mix for a few seconds more, take care not to over mix, you just need to ensure all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the chocolate splitters are evenly distributed. 

6. Spoon the batter into the cake moulds. If you are using a scoop to measure then a 3tbsp scoop not quite filled to level should give you 24 even portions. The batter should approximately half fill your moulds/cake cases. 

If you are using a dimple cake pan and your cakes will be turned out upside down make sure you leave a dip in the batter to ensure your cakes bake as level as possible, if your cakes rise too much and are wobbly when turned out then the ganache will pour over the edges of your cakes. Also take care to make sure you get cake batter right into the base of the cake moulds, if you miss a bit there could be gaps in the top of the turned out cake and ganache will escape. 

7. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the cakes are slightly brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the cake pan for a few minutes until the cakes start to pull away from the edges of the cake pan. Run a cocktail stick around edge of each cake to release any bits that might still be sticking and turn out onto a on a cooling rack to finish cooling. If using a dimple cake pan take care when turning out the cakes not to damage the delicate ridge around the cake, any breaks will be somewhere ganache can escape.

8. When the cakes are cool, make your ganache: 

Chop your chocolate into small-ish pieces and put it into a small, preferably glass, mixing bowl and put to one side. Warm the cream over medium-low heat, and when it is gently bubbling, pour it over the chocolate. Let the warm cream melt the chocolate, and mix well ensuring all the chocolate melts. Let your ganache mixture cool slightly and start to thicken a little before spooning onto your cooled cakes. If your ganache doesn't thicken you can add more chocolate, place your glass bowl containing the ganache over a pan of gently simmering water, just enough for the bowl to heat gently, add a little more chocolate (you may need 30-40g depending on the chocolate you used) and stir until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken before spooning over your cakes. Leave the cakes a few minutes to allow the ganache to set and then enjoy. 

You can eat your tiger cakes pretty much straight away, and who wouldn't they're delicious, but if you can manage to wait they are absolutely wonderful the next day!