Day 28

The last day of Intro to Baking and Patisserie was a long relief. We had one hour to fill and assemble fruit tarts, fill and dip the eclairs, and finish chocolate work on the Straussburger Cookies. There was plenty of time. But having a hard deadline creates a certain intensity.

I still have this lingering romantic nature of baking. But making production pieces that all look the same has a certain zen quality too. I thought my tarts were the best. I will have to practice my piping. I really want to bake an apple pie again. Or maybe mini apple pies. I have learned so much in the last six weeks. I have a totally new outlook. It's a really good place to be.

On Monday, we start Bread Making. I think that will be really fascinating. I will have to get my head around gluten and how it forms. It really is science. I will be a Baking Alchemist!

Day 27

On Wednesday I made Pastry Cream, baked my Pate Sucree for the Fruit Tartlets and made and baked Straussburger Cookies. Busy day, but it was all done in a timely manner.

In Sanitation, we surprisingly took our ServSafe Test and I passed!

Day 26

The Lemon Chiffon Pies from Monday were refrigerated and ready to take home on Tuesday. We had some demos, but then got on to our final projects. There are only two days left of classes. We made the tart dough and Eclair Paste on Tuesday. Wednesday is a working day and Thursday is a finishing up day.

Day 25

On Monday we had a written exam. We made Lemon Chiffon Pie. I always feel very behind in class. I feel like I am the last to finish things. But, my Lemon Chiffon was higher than some. (That's a good thing!) I just hope it tastes good too!

Day 24

On Thursday we made Marzipan and on Friday we made Pourable Fondant to pour all over our Petit Fours with raspberry jelly. Piping chocolate decorations was a little challenging for me. But at least they all look the same.

Homework

I made the Sable Cookies in the first week of school, but they have been sitting in my freezer. I finally baked them and they are quite delicious! The Biscotti have also been in my freezer. But I think I over baked them. Darn.

Day 23

Genoise Mousseline Practical. Battenburg Cake. Mine came out lovely!

Day 22

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. We started Battenburg Cake in teams of two. I picked pink, my teammate got the yellow. We also started Petit Four Sponge. Both were baked and saved. Tomorrow we decorate!

Day 21

Devils Food Cake. I work rather by the seat of my pants and sometimes it works out. It tastes as good as it looks!

Day 20

On Monday we finished up our Genoise. I frosted mine on the weekend totally wrong. It's not a normal cake. It is a gritty sponge cake than requires simple syrup all over it cut into layers with jelly in between. Who would have thought that! It's pretty to look at. But not my favorite.

We also made Devil's Food Cake which smelled so good while in the mixer. We will probably slice that into layers and do something special to it too.

We have lost one member of our class. Scott says our classes are trials by fire. And I have to agree. We are learning at such an incredible pace and have to be efficient and good on top of all that. I try not to take anything too seriously. I just do the best I can. My mantra is "Everyday things are getting better and better."

Homework

On Saturday, I remade the Genoise I made in class. I wanted to make sure I could repeat it. It had a nice rise and I found a simple butter cream recipe to finish it with. But the taste of the cake was gritty. What a disappointment. On Sunday, I made the Genoise, since we will be tested on Thursday. I used the left over frosting for the Genoise and it was pretty good. And even better with some Earl Grey Tea.

Day 19

On Friday I made just Genoise Mousseline. Making Genoise was for extra credit. But I decided to pass and just have an easier day. And for the really ambitious we could make Lemon Madeleines. The demo was confusing, and my notes made no sense. On Monday we will make icing for the Genoise and Genoise Mousseline. At least my Genoise Mousseline did not collapse.

Day 18

On Thursday we had a practical test on Buttermilk Biscuits and then made Cheese Strudel with Phyllo Dough. Oh my!

Day 17

We are being tempered into the HOT WATER! Another crazy-not-enough-time-to-finish-everything day. And these crazy days create the most product. We did 6 tarts total. 2 Lemon Tarts, 4 Chocolate Ganache Tarts and presented our cheesecake from last week. But all Chef commented on was on my overly doubled up rosettes. Yeah, the meringue kinda got away from me. Actually I enjoyed their voluminousness. And I even got to torch them with the flame thrower, er, the torch. And they tasted great! But next time I will be more modest with the rosettes.

Day 16

Tuesday we made Fruit Tarts and Lemon Curd.

Day 15

On Monday we had a written exam and two practical exams. One on Creaming Method, Chocolate Chip Muffins and the second, Pate Sucree (Pastry Cream). And then when we presented we had to include 8 paper cornets. They are easy to make and kinda cute. They are for squirting out tiny amounts of jelly or pastry cream. I failed to look inside to look for a hole. So I had a couple. I had to laugh at myself, I was looking from the outside, so I saw no hole at all. Sigh, next time I will remember.

I am learning some things other than baking. Being organized is very important as a student. Don't be afraid to work hard. And most important is having the right attitude. Or rather a good attitude that you are doing your best and that's all you can do and be content with that.

Day 14

On Friday we made Cheesecake. A very tedious process. I made Pate Sucree and then presented my Creme Caramel. As my mom would say, "Lotta work!" I think I like pies better...

Day 13

I finished up my Eclairs, and Creme Brulee. I made Creme Caramel and did some mise en place for Pate Sucree.

Day 12

We made Creme Brulee (I don't know the keystrokes for accent marks) and Creme Patissiere aka Pastry Cream. Unfortunately, I forgot my second two ounces of sugar for my Pastry Cream. Fortunately, there was time to remake it. And I think I did it even better the second time with a friend's close observations. Tomorrow I can fill my Eclairs and dip the tops in chocolate.

Day 11

Tuesday wasn't nearly as hectic as Monday. But I also learned about half the class did not finish their blueberry pies. So I was sorta ahead, but that's always in flux. We put our Blueberry pies into the ovens right away. The Demo today was Pate a Choux/Eclair Paste, Peach Cobbler and Apple Crisp. Luckily, the Peach Cobbler and the Apple Crisp were shared with a partner, so we only made two new things and finished up our Blueberry Pies. Chef always says "Love your dough and it will love you back." And yesterday being such a trying day and all, that Blueberry Pie and I had issues.

I made the Apple Crisp and it was so simple, but I ran out of baking time. The Blueberry Pie came out well. Not as pretty as I had hoped but pretty enough. And on the way to the car I somehow loosened the bottom of my cake carrier and suddenly the pie was on the cement floor in front of the parking garage. My pie had shattered. The top picture is what's left. All my pretty crust fell off. And what did I really expect after such a day. The aluminum foil clung to the bottom, saving it from the actual ground. I ate it anyways.