April 3, 2022 - National Find a Rainbow Day!
Who does't love the magic of a rainbow! And a double rainbow...don't even get me started! And an Alaskan rainbow, with our amazing scenery in the background...might leave you speechless.
It is said that a German Monk discovered the scientific reasons of why a rainbow forms as early at 1304. I don't know about you, but the science behind rainbows seems really complicated to me and I find it really amazing that as far back as the 1300's, some great mind figured out how it all worked.
World famous activist and designer, Gilbert Baker from San Francisco, created the first rainbow flag in 1978. His rainbow flag has been embraced across the world as the universal symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movement. The most common version of the pride flag has six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is usually flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, reflecting a natural rainbow.
On National Find a Rainbow Day, celebrate by trying to find a rainbow. This is best done on very humid days, standing with your back to the sun. What do you see?
I celebrate Find a Rainbow Day by making Rainbow Macarons!
Rainbow French Macaron Recipe
Ingredients
130g superfine almond flour
130g powdered sugar
90-100g egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar - optional
1/8 tsp salt
90g granulated sugar
gel food coloring (red, orange, yellow, blue, green and purple)
Instructions
Sift almond flour and powdered sugar onto parchment paper and set aside.
Pour room temperature egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a low/medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add cream of tartar and salt, continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage.
Slowly add granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in two additions using a circular motion. But, for multiple colors (rainbow), stop mixing once the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Divide your batter into separate bowls and add desired food coloring. Now, mix each batter until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. Be careful not to over-mix the batter! It will take time and experience to get this just right.
Once each separate color is done, pour the batter into a large piping bag fitted with 1/2 inch piping tip. Close piping bag, so it does not dry out while you mix your other colors.
When all colors are ready, pipe onto the prepared baking sheets. I use silicon mats, placed on upside down baking sheets. Space them about 1-inch apart.
Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. Pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
Let the macarons rest for 20-60 minutes to develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed.
As the macarons rest, preheat your oven to 300 F. Every oven is different, and you may need to set your temp higher or lower.
Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 16-18 minutes, until the macarons do not wiggle when you test them.
Remove from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan for about 15 minutes. Gently peel them off of the silicon mat and set aside.
Maple Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
1/2 stick butter, room temp
1-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract
food coloring, if desired
1 tbsp milk, if needed
Instructions
Cream butter for 2 minutes.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla and maple extract, combine completely.
Add milk if buttercream seems too thick.
Pipe onto macaron shells.
ENJOY!
For more info on National Find a Rainbow Day, visit: https://nationaltoday.com/national-find-a-rainbow-day/