a month off cakes in June

I had a month off cake-ing in June. It was nice to have a break, so I took that chance to stay clear away from cakes/cupcakes and bake something different.

Being a perfectionist, the challenge of baking macaroons was too much to resist. So I googled around and found a fool proof recipe. Here it is at A la Cuisine!

Having just finished watching Masterchef Australia's macaroon challenge pressure test, I've noticed that the steps in Adriano Zumbo's recipe was a little different to what I've seen on the net... I guess that's what makes his macaroons so outstanding!!

It was rather addictive trying to get them just right, and in the end I was more or less happy with the results :o) Here are some photos:

So what else did I do in my month off besides my macaroon obsession? I enjoyed time with my kids, I went on a picnic with my family, and I sat on the couch and did nothing which is very rare these days.

In the midst of that break, I also had a brain wave (with a surge of confidence added!) so decided to take the plunge and run workshops!

We've just had our very first workshop and I had a blast!! I couldn't have asked for a better first class :o) Having been a teacher before I had kids, it was nice to be teaching again, even if the 'kids' were a little older than what I was used to (kindy!). My eight students did brilliantly and all walked away with some beautiful cupcakes. For more information on the Cupcake Gallery workshops, click here.

Here are some photos from the day:

Everyone working hard

Photos of some of the students' masterpieces:

Wendy's cupcakes

Keryn-Leigh's cupcakes