I'm not sure that "exoticism" is a word, but I shall use it anyway. The confection you see above is a pistachio, rose and strawberry macaron. A French classic imbued with flavours reminiscent of the middle east, or the mediterranean (depending on who you're talking to).
I may come off a little bit macaron obsessed given that most of my posts have been on the subject, but to be perfectly honest the true reason for this is that macarons are so photogenic that I'm instantly reminded to get my camera. This is not the case with all the food I make. Bread pudding and mousse may be sexier desserts, but they don't scream "shoot me!" (in a purely photographical sense).
The pistachios for this beauty were purchased in Oman on my brief visit there at the beginning of this year. Together with rose-perfumed ermine frosting, the flavour of the desert just sings through it. Rose and pistachio is such a classic middle eastern combination; a no-brainer really. I prefer my macarons to be offset with a tart fruit. It's unbearable sweet for me otherwise. Strawberry has such a strong fragrance by itself, but I feel that it complements the rose beautifully.
I used my normal recipe for macarons which you'll find here, but I swop half of the ground almonds with ground pistachios and I add a touch of green food colouring. The recipe for the rose-scented ermine frosting you'll find below.
Rose-scented Ermine Frosting
125ml milk
4tsp cake flour
110g butter, softened
125ml caster sugar
1tsp rose water
Mix the flour with a few spoonfuls of the milk until completely dissolved. Add this mixture to the rest of the milk in a saucepan. Cook the mixture on a medium heat until the milk thickens. Transfer to a different container and seal the mixture with cling film. Full on surface contact. We don't want a skin to form.
When the "roux" has cooled down, beat the butter and the sugar in a separate bowl until pale and fluffy. Pour in the rose water. Start adding the roux a tablespoonful at a time while continuing to beat the mixture. Continue this process until the mixture is silky with a texture lighter than butter icing, but denser than cream.
