Skip to main content

Recipe rant

This is not a macaron Donna

I did something yesterday that I'm not very proud of.

I ranted on Twitter and Facebook about a bad recipe experience and named and shamed the culprit.

This morning I felt a little ashamed for my lack of manners.  But then I got some feedback from friends and fans that they too had had a bad experience with the recipe and agreed it wasn't up to scratch.

If the situation were reversed, I'd be mortified.  But then again, I'm a little voice in the blogging net-osphere. The magazine/author I targeted is a household name with 10+ years standing.

I guess what really gets my goat is that the magazine blatantly promotes the fact that they test and retest the recipes to make sure that they're perfect.

I followed the recipe to the letter and even I could see that the wheels were coming off early in the piece.  But I was following their recipe and I persevered. In the end I ended up with flat, grainy meringues, not beautiful macarons.

I am a reasonably good baker and I can apply my understanding of baking principles to iron out obvious errors in a recipe.  But for most people picking up a magazine and being seduced by the beautiful photos, they follow the recipe verbatim - and on this basis, the recipe should deliver the promise of the photo.

I'm disappointed for me because I hate wasting ingredients on a bad recipe.

I'm disappointed for my girlfriends who will be eating grainy coffee meringues this afternoon instead of di-licious macarons.

And finally, I'm disappointed for everyone who tried the recipe and wondered what they did wrong.

It wasn't you.

Here end-iths the rant.


Comments

Domesblissity said…
Don't even get me started on that particular person Di. I think they are completely overrated as a cook/baker. Maybe ok on the styling front and yes, I've bought the occasional magazine but, like you, would know if the recipe wasn't going to work but would continue because you'd think they knew what they were doing. (Here's me talking! Remember the Choc Peppermint Slice and I left out the butter? OH NO!) I love the CWA recipe books where they list the ingredients, say 'combine ingredients', basically bung it in the oven and take it out. They expect that anyone with their cookbook would know what they were doing.

You were right in way you said on FB and Twitter.

Anne xx
Friday, 28 October, 2011
Unknown said…
Thanks Anne. Perhaps we could sum it up simply as Style over Substance?
Friday, 28 October, 2011
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said…
Oh what a shame! I experienced some issues with a Martha S recipe for macarons. It was so frustrating! :(
Saturday, 29 October, 2011
Domesblissity said…
Di, the chia didn't add any real taste to the muffins. If anything, added a slight nutty taste. The chia seeds form a gel when water is added. I thought it was great. Bit of healthy goodness added to a basic recipe. Everyone loved them. (By the way, I'd love for my daughter to have the table if and when she moves out, which could be sooner rather than later if she keeps up the moody behaviour! LOL)

Anne xx
Sunday, 30 October, 2011
Laura @ Twenty5seven said…
I've heard problem after problem with this persons recipes and packet mixes. So don't feel bad, you're just one tiny voice... it's the fact that it's echoed by hundreds of others that they should be worried about!
Tuesday, 08 November, 2011
Unknown said…
@Laura - Funny you should mention the packet mixes. My friend tried out the macaron mix and it was terrible. It really gets my goat!
Wednesday, 09 November, 2011
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My blog is making me fat

Temptation lurks everywhere. It’s official. My blog is making me fat. It’s also keeping my house messy since I started prioritising writing and baking over vacuuming and putting away laundry. In fact it’s happening right now – I’ve slept in because I stayed up to watch the new Kennedy’s drama on ABC and then wanted to ‘quickly’ check in to see if there were any new messages or comments. Before I know it its really late and that coffee I had after lunch has kicked in, giving me caffeine-induced heart palpitations, delaying sleep even further. Mr Di-licious (bless him) allowed me to sleep in and delivered a latte to my bedside. There’s a bowl of porridge waiting for me on the kitchen bench, ready to be reheated while I turn on my laptop and think about my next post. I used to get up early and go to the gym before breakfast but lately I’ve just been too tired. You know you’ve been MIA when you get notified about a trainer leaving and you’ve absolutely no idea who they’re talk
18 comments
Read more

Cute owl cupcake toppers

Hoot Hoot!! How cute are these adorable owl cupcake toppers? I whipped these up last week for a special surprise birthday delivery for my niece. I've been making cupcakes for Hannah's birthdays for the last three years.  Its always interesting to look back at photos of earlier decorating efforts - I've come a long way.  Last year was sort of the p ièce de résistance   - the famed Golden Snitch cupcakes for her Harry Potter themed party. This year we were getting ready for our epic drive to Byron Bay for my sister's wedding , so we didn't make it to Bendigo.  So no Di-licious cupcakes for Hannah.  At least, that's what she thought! Last week I arranged to come and stay the night with Olive and I brought along half a dozen cute owl cupcakes - SURPRISE! We both agree that the embossed ones make the greatest impact but the plain pink ones are cute too. I re-purposed a scrapbooking card embosser to create the embossing effect (cheaper than the cak
8 comments
Read more