Happy Sunday bakers!

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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT—With the beginning of Fall approaching, we have some fun new events to add to the calendar! After a few months off, I am going to resume my Zoom classes again! These classes are small, we BAKE live together, and it allows me to actually see your baking process which helps immensely when trying to troubleshoot problems—especially for macarons. The tentative timing for the classes are as follows:

Macarons (October)

Croissants (November)

I may add a Fall Tart or Pate a Choux class too depending on timing and interest, this would be in October as well.

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More specific dates will be available in next Sunday’s Newsletter. If you have instagram, go head over to my stories (@baketoujours) and weigh in on which days you’d prefer to take a baking class—weekdays or weekends. These classes are SO much fun and great for all skill levels. I can’t wait to get started again!

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What’s New at Bake Toujours:

• Highlight on Keto Macarons— we did our YouTube Live last week on Keto Macarons. Things looked promising at first, and then as I macaronaged, the batter never loosed up, the baking experience was WEIRD, and the final product was just so different from a traditional macaron shell that I don’t think they can be called “macarons.” Let’s get into the details:
  • I used substitute sugars — King Arthur has a substitute granulated sugar that you sub out 1:1 and I used Swerve Confectioners for the powdered sugar substitute
  • The meringue worked! Many people in the live chat said they do successfully make Keto friendly meringues. This is a great option for a treat for those who can’t have as much sugar in their diet.
  • The problem was when we started macaronaging. JC Gregg, a seasoned experimenter with sugar substitutes, said the erythritol (the main ingredient in these sugar replacements) doesn’t bind to the proteins when mixing causing the final batter to not come together as it does when using regular sugars. There was no “flowing” consistency. It was just a thick lumpy batter after mixing for a long time.
  • Piping went fine. The batter didn’t smooth out as regular batter, but once in the oven, it did.
  • Baking was WEIRD! The product was just so different from macaron shells. It was cakey and spongey with no delicate shell-like exterior and soft, airy center.
  • The final product tasted like a vanilla wafer. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a macaron. The aftertaste was a bit off putting to me, but not too bad.
  • Once I filled these shells with a keto friendly filling, that’s when the aftertaste became too much for me. The “cooling” effect of the substitute sugars (I explained it as a burning in the live, but cooling is a way better description) is just too much for me personally. I get a headache from these sugars.
  • I wanted to like these so badly. I wanted to say you couldn’t even tell they were substitute sugars, but I could tell and I didn’t like them when sandwiched with a filling. I’d rather eat them plain or with a non-Keto friendly filling —which, I know, defeats the purpose.
  • The shells didn’t seem to mature much. The final product wasn’t crunchy enough to need maturation anyway.
  • I have had multiple keto bakers say they just do reduced regular sugar macarons instead of messing with substitute sugars in the shells. Then they make their filling with Swerve or monk fruit.
  • If you end up selling a version of these, make sure to charge appropriately, these ingredients aren’t cheap.

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• Teyanna and I have a class this Tuesday! If you’re signed up, expect an email tonight with the Zoom info and PDF!
  • There are two spots left if you’re interested. It is recorded if you can’t make it live.

• My eBooks are on sale ALL month! Click below for last week’s newsletter with all the links and info! Thank you to those who have bought them already! Please feel free to email me as you make your way through them with your questions/comments.

• I included two Fall templates two weeks ago. Click button below and scroll to the bottom of the newsletter if you missed the apple and pumpkin templates.

I hope you all are having a safe and wonderful weekend (some of us 3 day weekends). Thank you so much for being here! I know I say it a lot, but this community is the BEST! I love putting out baking content and hearing it has helped many bakers, it’s incredibly fulfilling. I also LOVE learning from all of you. I am constantly learning in this industry and its because of your support, your thoughtful questions, your emails with more information on a topic I’d tried out on a previous live, and through your beautiful work you choose to share on social media! We’ve built an inspiring community for sure! Have a great week.

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Happy baking everyone!

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Nicole

Bake Toujours

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