CookieBoy

May i pitch in? Le Notre here uses the tiny stick pinned in the macaron and then onto the cone tower. The guest can then easily take it out. I do not knoe if cookie boy does the same. iii ← Sorry for the delay in replying... It's been a while since I've logged on. My croquembouche was just a display one so I glued the macaroons with white chocolate. I started out with a 'tower' looking matal frame that cost something like $8 from the cheap shop. Then I rolled plastic icing onto the frame. From there I smoothed over the plastic icing with some white chocolate. Then I used some more white chocolate to stick the macaroons to the structure. If you could get a polystirene (spell?) cone that would save a little mucking around, but I don't know where to get one and how much it would cost? Using sticks would be a great idea. The whole project was so time consuming that I don't know if I'd want to do it again. But the hardest thing is getting them all perfectly lined up. Even if you think that they are all evenly piped, it's always going to be a task to get everything perfectly lined up. If you end up doing it, let us know how it all works!

I've asked a few other chefs and they seem to think that the confectionary glaze could be an american term for something similar to what we would call 'flan gel' for topping tarts etc (which is pectin based).

It doesn't really matter if you can't get any fresh yeast. Just use 40% dried yeast and increase the water a touch to compensate. Happy baking

From what I understand they are pretty much the same product. Edible lacquer usually comes in a spray form, where as confectionery glaze is in a bottled form (possibly for brushing as opposed to spraying on). It would obviously depend on the application as to which one you would require. They basically create a protective barrier for humid conditions, preventing things like toffee or sugar show pieces from sweating. Hope I helped a little?

I prefer the Italian meringue version: it's less prone for breakages (well in my experience anyway). I only colour my macaroons and leave the flavour for the buttercream inside. Just a touch of powdered colours does the trick. You've just got to be really careful, because a little powder can go a long way.... not many people can stomach fluro macaroons. I see some of you wait a few minutes for the mix to dry a little before baking. I've never done that, but I'm curious to see the difference between baking them direct. I bake at 100 celcius (which is 212 fahrenheit for the rest of you), when it's able to lift off the tray you're done. After that I sandwich them together with flavoured buttercream, then pop them in the coolroom for 2-3 days before I sell them.

Hi guys, here's a couple of pics of macaroon croquembouches that I did at work. Enjoy