This week, despite the number of recipes we made, this was a lighter week. We made a Mango Trifle, Chevre Panna Cotta and a Orange Chocolate Souffle. As usual each dessert was made of several components. The trifle was comprised of a reduced fat fig and orange pound cake, dried strawberries, chocolate rings and isomalt lace decoration. The panna cotta featured a thyme gelee, nutmeg tuile nests, vanilla apples and a tawny port sauce. Finally, the orange chocolate soufflé was served with, casis sorbet and feuilletine. The trifle was the most beautiful. The isomalt lace was very easy and would male any dessert look glamorous. I really thought the fig would dominate the taste of the cake. Figs are one of my favorites but I would never think of putting them in a pound cake. They gave the cake a lovely texture and added a subtle flavor. I will definitely make this cake again! I loved the taste of the panna cotta. The texture was a little grainy despite the fact that the goat cheese was melted before it was incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. The soufflé was great. The texture was very creamy, although I did not get quite the lift I was hoping for. The fueilletine tasted like a homemade kit kat, yum!! We also switched up the groups this week. I am thankful that my new group works well together.
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This class is proving to be the class where time management is paramount. On the surface, we made three plated desserts. In reality we made Seventeen separate elements. For the Baba au Rum we made the Baba Savarin, Baba Syrup, Tuile Cookies and Vanilla Ice Cream. Our second dessert was comprised of: Orange Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Tart Dough, Nougatine Curls, Kumquat Sauce, Chocolate Caramel Sauce, Baked Streusel, Orange Sorbet and Dried Orange Slices. Finally we made Profiteroles with Shortbread Tart Dough, Pistachio Ice Cream, Chocolate Rings and Mango Coulis. Despite all of the work, everything was straight forward and not to complicated. The Baba au Rum was my favorite. I have seen it made on the PBS series "Baking with Julia" and I always wanted to try it. I thought perhaps it would be a sweet soggy mess. Instead it was not to sweet and was moist but still had structure. Our sorbet was a little to icy to scoop but had a great sharp flavor. I could have rolled the nougatine a bit thinner, but the taste was pure butter and nuts, totally addictive!!. This is a class of rich flavor, moderation will be needed.
Since coming to school I have discovered a real love for food photography. Over the break Chef Rick held a photography/portfolio clinic. It was short but I learned a lot. Chef Rick gave me great feedback on my pictures and great advice on how to have my work viewed.
This is a very involved class. The first half involves making plated desserts. All of these desserts have several components. The three finished plates had a total of thirteen recipes. The first was a Chocolate Grapefruit Tart. The components are: grapefruit-infused ganache, cocoa nib sable breton, grapefruit curd, Campari caramel and grapefruit tuiles. The Donut components are: spicy raised donut, chocolate donut, spiced sugar, layered hot chocolate, vanilla bean parfait and dark chocolate plaques. The final plate was a Special Raspberry Crème Brulee Macaron . In theory the macaron was the easiest to assemble, but it gave me the most trouble. I made it four times. The first time would have worked for the final presentation, but the color was far to light. On day two, I used previously frozen egg whites. BIG MISTAKE! But the fourth time was a charm. This class will be a challenge, but a lot of fun.
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AuthorKimberly-baker and food history enthusiast! Archives
March 2015
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