Tuesday, July 19, 2011

rhubarb hello kitty macarons


I haven't been able to find rhubarb at my local grocery store lately, until one day it just showed up again!  I almost did a jump for joy right there at the store!


I decided to buy extra this time because, a) we had plans to have lunch with some friends over the weekend and I wanted to make rhubarb macarons for them, and b) my cousin Angie was coming to visit again (yippee!!!) and I wanted to make her another rhubarb tart.


For the macaron shells, I added a bit of bright pink coloring to match the rhubarb, and piped them out as usual onto my silpat-lined baking sheets.  Since my Hello Kitty macarons were such a big hit last time, I decided to turn a few of these into Hello Kitty once more!


For the filling, I whipped up cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Then I took one stalk of rhubarb and diced it up, and then cooked it on the stove with a bit of wine and olive oil.  Once that cooked down into a soft, pulpy mixture, I let it cool before mixing it with my cream cheese mixture.


Despite the slight bumpyness of the ears (from dragging a toothpick through the wet macaron batter to create the pointy ears), the Hello Kitty macarons still looked cute.  Then again, how can anything Hello Kitty not look cute?!


*** Update:
You can now find my recipe for Hello Kitty Macarons in my new book, "The Hello Kitty Baking Book"! Enjoy!

41 comments:

  1. I absolutely adore them! I was going to make some since I saw your last hello kitty macaron post. But I didn't see the heart shape confetti from the store so I'll have to wait. My baby girl loves Macarons and Hello kitty. :)

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  2. A combination of three of our favorite elements -- rhubarb, macarons, AND Hello Kitty!!! You are brilliant. Thank you for your gorgeous post.

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  3. These are fantastic! Great idea, decorating macarons like this. Nice attention to detail and worth every minite of effort. Well done.

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  4. These are just too precious!! My daughter would love these!

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  5. Oh my gosh these are the cutest macarons ever!!

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  6. Your macarons are just too cute :D!! I really love your Hello Kitty cupcakes and cakes, too!

    Btw, I have awarded you the "Adorable Blog Award" :):
    http://cakeinvasion.thedoctors.de/?p=1914

    My blog post is in German, though.. Sorry for that. It says about your Blog:

    "I give the award to... Michele from i ♥ baking (English). She has great ideas (e.g. her Hello Kitty Macarons) that make my mouth water, and her pastries are always decorated so prettily without being overloaded."

    I hope my translation isn't too bad >.<..

    Have a great day :)!
    shia

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  7. Thesse are wso incredible adorable! Well done!

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  8. awesome! it's so lovely! i just wanna try to do it! Congratulations! =D

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  9. @Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets - thank you!!!

    @Amy - you can find the heart-shaped sprinkles at michael's, or any craft store that sells wilton products!

    @Lisa @ Tarte du Jour - thanks!!! love all your tarts by the way!

    @shia - omg thank you!!! i'm heading over to your site now! maybe i can use google translator to translate to english :)

    Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments!!!

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  10. Wow, these are really amazing! :D

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  11. these are SO perfect and adorable it's outrageous!!

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  12. adorable and clever!

    I like how you used heart shaped sprinkles for the bow, but how did you draw on the black eyes and whiskers?

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    Replies
    1. @Diane Tran - i used foodwriter pens to draw on the eyes and the whiskers!

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  13. Super cute! Love the rhubarb idea!

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  14. cute!!! and love the idea of natural colouring with rhubarb!

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  15. Ooh ! It's cuute ! :) Great idea, great idea ! :D

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  16. Love, love, love these! Will try to make hem.

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  17. hi michele!
    your macarons come out so perfectly! I've only tried making them once, but they came out little flat.. is there any particular recipe/tutorial that you follow?

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  18. I love them
    I love them
    I love them!!
    OMG better than Laduree!

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  19. @kotomi - i use a recipe from pierre herme's "macaron" book. the book is in french, but i attempted to translate it (loosely). i'll email you the recipe tomorrow! :)

    @parisbreakfast - haha, i love your comment! :) and i love your watercolors, beautiful!

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  20. so sweet! do you have a recipe to share??? LOVE IT!

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  21. @Anonymous - i used pierre herme's recipe from him "macaron" book. i can send it to you via email if you'd like, just send me your email address!

    as for the filling, i didn't use an exact recipe, but it's something like this: dice 1-2 stalks of rhubarb and cook on the stove with a bit of butter. once soft and cooked down to a pulp, puree the rhubarb with an immersion blender. let cool. in the meantime, whip 1 stick cream cheese (8 oz) with 1/2 stick unsalted butter until creamy. add a pinch of salt, a few teaspoons of vanilla, and 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, whip until smooth and fluffy. once the rhubarb puree is cool, add it to the cream cheese mixture and whip until combined.

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  22. god! i love your blog!! you present your pleasure in baking here, yet so creative to make your cakes look fun and pretty. i gotta bookmark your blog :D
    love from Indonesia

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    Replies
    1. @Anonymous - wow, all the way from indonesia! i'm so glad you found my blog! :)

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  23. WAIT. no. i must make these. IM OBSESSED

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    Replies
    1. @Kendall Marie - haha, too funny :) yes you must make them, they are super fun to make! and eat! :)

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  24. These are adorable as are the white ones. I just wonder how you did the ears? Did you pull them?With a tooth pick right after piping?
    You might be interested at looking at a book,published here in Japan, called
    kawaiimacaron:by motohashi
    isbn 978-4-528-01502-9 C2077
    url publ:hhtp:www.TG-NET.co.jp

    He is rather clever with doing characters. the title of his book is Cute Macarons
    heide
    heidet@yahoo.com

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    1. @Wildflour and Thyme - thanks! yes i used a toothpick to pull out the ears, right after piping. i've also tried piping the ears with a leaf tip, but it doesn't look as good. thanks for sharing the info on the macaron book, sounds adorable!

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  25. Nice macaron. I struggle to get a nice pink colour. Tried powder, natural, liquid colorant, they always fade! Really frustrating. Any tip?

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    Replies
    1. @Herve - thank you! i use americolor gel food coloring:
      http://amzn.to/1aKeZVF

      hope that helps! :)

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  26. Brilliant! I've seen pictures of these all over the internet but didn't know who the clever baker was. :)

    How did you make the little bow? And what did you use to draw the face on?

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    1. @Christopher W. - oh yay, i'm glad you finally found my site! :) for the little bow i used these heart shaped sprinkles:
      http://amzn.to/17SqV4d

      and to draw the face on i use these edible food markers:
      http://amzn.to/18qK0LJ
      http://amzn.to/1aKeIlM

      good luck! :)

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  27. Hello there. It's my first time visiting your blog.

    Your Hello Kitty macarons looked brilliant! Hope you don't mind that I'm going to "take away" your idea -- try to make the same for my girl's coming Hello-Kitty birthday party... Thanks a million!

    Vivien

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    1. @Vivien - no problem! can't wait to see how yours turn out! :)

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  28. Hi,

    I came across your blog, and saw these lovely macarons and cakes :D
    Was wondering are you based in Singapore, and are these for sales?

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    Replies
    1. @Angela snowy - i am actually in california. sorry!

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  29. Soooo cute. I will be making these for my little girl's hello kitty themed birthday party.

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