This three week class is called Basic and Classical Cakes. You guessed it... I made cake every day. I really enjoyed this class as a whole. I finally mastered the art of removing a cake from a cake pan without destroying the sides.
The first portion of the class focused on tarts. Filling tart shells is quite frustrating. The bake shop has been very hot and the tart dough must be cold at all times to remain workable. Otherwise, the dough just sticks to everything. I eventually became comfortable with filling the tarts.
We blind baked them, which means to bake the shells before filling them with deliciousness. The tarts are docked (poke holes in the dough to prevent the dough from rising), covered in parchment or plastic and filled with beans. While baking, the beans keep the dough from rising.
After baking, we filled our tarts with hazelnut filling and chocolate custard. I decorated the Swedish Hazelnut Tart with powdered sugar, chocolate ganache and oranges.
This is the first class I have piping homework every night. The first part of the class focused on . I made a lot of marzipan roses. We also piped with gel on round boards that simulated a round cake.
After a few days, we began piping on our large
board with rows. We generally practice Happy Birthday, Congratulations and Happy Anniversary.
Piping with gel is so much easier than piping with chocolate... Gel can't seize in the bag
Piped chocolate looks beautiful, but piping takes me awhile. If the chocolate is overheated, small chunks form. The pieces get stuck in the bag, clogging the bag and leaving me frustrated.
After making quite a few marzipan roses, rose buds and some carrots, we moved on to adding color tips to the rose petals.
To make rose petals, a small ball of marzipan is pushed out in an oval shape with a spoon. When adding color, a small strip of colored marzipan is placed over the ball, and then spread out.
We worked on chocolate for a day after tarts. The only great thing about chocolate was working in the nice 68 degree chocolate lab. The goal of the day was to temper chocolate, make chocolate coins and chocolate cigarettes.
I had a horrible time tabling chocolate. Chocolate is great to eat, but laborious and finicky. Chocolate contains various fat crystals, only the crystals that form between 86-93 degrees are desirable for dark chocolate. Chocolate comes in temper from the store, but when we melt chocolate to alter its shape, we take it out of temper. Chocolate must be melted to 120 to melt all fat crystals. Tempered chocolate is added to the melted chocolate. This chocolate melts and disperses the desirable fat crystals. To check if the chocolate is in temper, we dip a piece of parchment in an hope it sets up. If the chocolate looks streaky or stays liquid, the process must be done all over again.
Complicated!
I generally do not have a hard time tempering chocolate, but today was like none other. I retempered chocolate four times. I left covered in chocolate and never wanting to eat chocolate again.
Tempering chocolate is definitely a process, but the end result is fantastic. Tempered chocolate has a wonderful texture, sets up and snaps when you eat it and shines beautifully. Chocolate not in temper tastes grainy, looks chalky and has an unpleasant mouthfeel.
We moved on to making cakes!
This is a hazelnut cream cake with chocolate whipped cream piped in a lattice. I liked this cake, but trying to keep whip cream workable in a 90 degree kitchen is rough.
I also made a chocolate flourless soufflé cake. This cake is awesome! There is only chocolate, egg whites, and sugar. This cake puffs up when baking, but deflates when removed from the oven. The cake is super moist and dense. I would love a slice with some ice cream.
Cheesecake day was a blast! I made an apple cheesecake with a sour cream topping. It was a cake with quite a few components and my partner was absent, so Chef Difilippo helped me make the sautéed apples. He had me flambé the apples: He cooked them down, poured alcohol in and I lite them on fire. AWESOME.
I filled a paper cone with the left over juice from the sautéed apples and piped it in a spiral around the cake. Then, I pulled a skewer through the piping to create the design.
Part of the class curriculum is to prepare for the second term practical, which we have to pass in order to continue in the program. We produced the buttercream cream cake with chocolate décor and the apple strip tart. Both of these products must be recreated during my baking practical.
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