trois œufs = crème brûlée + macarons

what to do with three eggs and heavy cream...
baked eggs? nah. ice cream? too cold. lemon bars? eh, maybe later. something french? oo, oui! and to keep things interesting, let's separate the eggs.

jaunes d'œufs

feeling french-inspired and fancy, i thought i'd make crème brûlée. i had my ramekins all set to go but no torch for the final brûlée. no problem though because i was using a recipe from thekitchn that does it without a torch, using the broiler instead. i never realized how simple crème brûlée was--well, seemingly simple: it's just cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla whisked together, baked, refrigerated, and brûléed. i gathered up the ingredients, combined them together as instructed, and set the ramekins in a water bath to bake. everything was going smoothly, but being overly cautious i took the custards out a little too early--still too wobbly in the center--so even after they cooled in the fridge they weren't totally set. (of course i didn't know this until i served them.) then came the sprinkle of sugar and broiler-brûlée. again, i took the custards out too early, worried that the sugar was going to burn TOO much. -sigh- apparently i failed to remember that that's the "brûlée" part of things :P so, in the end i made soft vanilla bean-speckled custard with a semi-burnt sugar topping. but that's not to say they weren't still delicious and definitely worth making again (next time i'll actually let things stay in the oven~).

blancs d'œufs
now that the crème brûlée was done, i was left with three egg whites, so obviously that meant MACARONS! i used the recipe from notsohumblepie to make basic almond macaron shells and filled them with a chocolate passion fruit ganache. kavin felt the macarons were a little too sweet, but jade thought they were just right--i'm gonna have to side with jade on this one :D i thought the tartness of the passion fruit and the bitterness of the dark chocolate worked really nicely together, giving the macarons a little tropical note. and since i was using different recipes for the macaron shells and the filling, i ended up with quite a bit of ganache left over. i guess that means i need to make more macarons...or perhaps truffles?? ::eyebrow wiggle::
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:: chocolate passion fruit ganache ::

140g dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
4 tbsp passion fruit pulp

heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. pour the cream over the chocolate. let sit for 2-3 minutes and stir. cool slightly and add the passion fruit pulp. cover and refrigerate until thick.