cold day comforts

Welcome to winter. I'm writing this post while cuddled under a blanket with the dog trying to keep warm. Our heat is temporarily out of service so it's only 59 degrees in our house. Also, it's snowing outside. Sigh. I guess I wasn't kidding when I said I'd be turning on the oven to keep us warm... Speaking of baking (and warm delightful things), I recently made a batch of my infamous banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I used mostly silicone bake ware this time and was very happy with the results.

So was my BFF Kristy, who received a tin of cupcakes as a belated housewarming gift. Along with some wine to wash them down with of course.

Here she is ready to devour the first one. It's heart-shaped. Xoxo.

I made a cake with the leftover batter that wouldn't fit in my muffin tins. To be truthful, I had plenty of muffin tins, but not enough oven room. Happiness note to self: my dream kitchen has a minimum of three ovens. Anyways, according to all of my taste tester co-workers, a few days in the fridge makes this baked treat even better. Duly noted.

Two weekends ago I made pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. I used a recipe from one of my school pastry books and ended up with quite a large bowl of batter. This is how it all started.

The recipe called for honey and molasses, along with a large amount of sugar and butter. But remember, there was a vegetable involved, so let's just call things even on the health chart.

Next time I would use more chocolate chips, but it was a successful first try for this recipe. And second try actually. I saved some of the batter to bake off more muffins later in the week. The second round of muffins tasted even better than the first batch. Below is an example of how to make these muffins (or anything really) even more delicious.

Add a side of ice cream and chocolate sauce. Preferably homemade ice cream, but I am not the proud owner of an ice cream maker just yet, so this vanilla bean ice cream is store bought. Perhaps I can add home made ice cream to my plates in 2012? Only Santa Claus knows the answer to that question. And I plan on leaving him a plate of cookies next month to make his belly even jollier. Just in case he doesn't read my blog. 

tricky treats

The belated birthday cupcakes I made for Greg last week turned out to be somewhat of a tricky treat. These Hot Chocolate Mexican cupcakes have a lot going on, and the recipe is not kidding when it says to fill the cupcakes only 2/3 full before baking. My “bake them big” instinct kicked in and the results were interesting…

Hello cupcake overflow. Luckily, I was able to cut off the excess filling and frost around the imperfections. 

And we ate the scraps, so nothing went to waste. 

Even though the preparation was a bit tricky, four different kinds of chocolate in one dessert is definitely a treat. Especially when there are Reese’s peanut butter cups involved. These cupcakes get their name from the combination of chocolate, cinnamon and chili powder in the frosting. Don’t worry – I used low fat cream cheese in there as well. And while there were no candles in the cupcakes, a round of happy birthday serenading did occur. Emma howled along.

The other treat over the weekend was the carving of our first pumpkins. Here they are coming home from the farm.

 And sitting happily on our porch after a good de-gunking and carving session.

 And lit up to scare the neighborhood children. Any guesses on which pumpkin belongs to whom?

We toasted the pumpkin seeds to crispy perfection and they made the perfect salty snack. This weekend I will be making chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, but not with our purchased farm pumpkins. They’re busy on the porch scaring children, remember? Also, local squirrels appear to enjoy snacking on them since a few teeth and eyeballs are now missing in action...

who's counting?

One year of pastry classes. Hundreds of pastries. Fifty blog posts. Another term is over.

I have successfully completed my term on specialty cakes and frozen desserts and I have several images to share with you, but first I want to say that I can't believe how far I've come in a year. Do I still have a lot to learn and experience to gain? Yes. But I am amazed at and proud of all of the time and hard work I've put in over the last year that have gotten me to this point. Our final practical last Saturday was two plated frozen desserts and while I was a bit nervous during the process, I also really felt like I nailed it. It's a great feeling to do something you love, actually know what you're doing (and why) and then receive praise for the end product. And a few critiques to work on for the future.

The final two weeks of the term involved more fancy cakes, including the Julianna which I don't have a picture of, all of which have many components and details that go way beyond the simple birthday cake that you're used to. The alternating layers of sponge cake, syrup flavoring, ganache, Italian butter cream and a variety of other filling/topping options, made me long for a simple white cake with white butter cream frosting. Hmmm...perhaps our one year wedding anniversary cake could be eaten nine months early? Doubtful, but I am already excited about it.

My group assisted Chef by making a tiramisu and opera cake for an event at the school this Monday. I was also able to practice my cutting skills to get the fifty pieces we needed out of each cake. Cutting skills practice included cleaning and then heating the knife with a blowtorch after each cut to ensure a clean cut was made every time. Happiness = using a blowtorch confidently without worrying about burning your fingers off. After a few tries, I became a pro. Here are the mini-cakes.

 

Two weeks ago, we made a deliciously tart passion fruit sorbet. Sorbet has way less fat than ice cream, but a heck of a lot of sugar. Mary Poppins would sing gleefully about this spoonful.

Our frozen mousse for our practical was whipped up as well. We chose a raspberry brandy flavor since we also had to pair it with our mango icecream for our bombe plating. The flavor was subtle, but the mousse turned out smooth and creamy after sitting in these molds in the freezer for a week.

And that brings us to the final practical. The plating presentation for desserts can have as much variety, color and tastes as an individual wants, however, I am one to keep things clean and simple. I like a splash or two of color, but nothing crazy or overpowering. I think the food should speak for itself. With that said, here is my frozen bombe dessert presentation.

What you see here is a mango ice cream bombe with a raspberry brandy mousse inside and candied lemons on top. The dessert is sitting in crème anglaise with raspberry and mango sauce accents and shells of whipped cream around the bottom (a requirement). The sidekick is a curled piece of tuile cookie holding a piece of chocolate. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the bombe after it was cut open, but unfortunately I did not. To make up for that, here is my frozen mousse dessert presentation.

My last (and favorite) dessert of the term is a raspberry brandy flavored frozen mousse topped with a curled tuile cookie and a spring of mint (fresh raspberries would have been included if we had them). There is also a side of crème anglaise with mango and raspberry sauce accents and three absolutely scrumptious almond macaroons. These cookies were so good that I was worried Chef was going to eat all of our nice looking ones before plating time! He did not; however, he did eat two of these while grading my desserts (which I took as an extreme compliment). Next time I would go a little less heavy on the crème anglaise, but overall, I was proud of my desserts and so were the chefs. A fabulous way to end the term!

I will not be in the school kitchen for the remainder of the year, but I will be keeping our home kitchen quite busy. Bonus: the oven will help us heat up our drafty old house. It's a win-win situation. First on my list are Greg's slightly belated birthday cupcakes this weekend. Stay tuned for pictures of the birthday boy blowing out a cupcake candle...or 27.

do you scream for ice cream?

We now return to your regularly scheduled blog programming. And it’s two for one time. I promise that the photos alone will more than make up for last week’s MIA blog. Let’s rewind shall we?

Ice cream was the new kid on the menu two weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make. This may be because I am now familiar with how to make a good crème anglaise or because the majority of the ice cream making procedure is letting your mixture sit in a bowl in the refrigerator, churning it in an ice cream maker, or hardening it up in the freezer. The actual preparation time is fairly quick and the choices of flavors are endless. We’ve come a long way from my childhood memories of turning a crank on a wooden pail-like contraption. Which we did once or twice before putting it in a box for years. The new and improved model is very impressive.

Our first churn around we made cinnamon ice cream.

Last week we made mango ice cream using pureed mangos. The taste was not quite as good as I had hoped, but it definitely tasted  like mango. A basic chocolate is still on my ice cream dream list.

Two Saturdays ago, we also had another chance to perfect the Black Forest Torte that we tried our hand at last term. This time around I learned even more tips and the end product was quite delicious. We didn’t have the chocolate shavings for the outside of the cake; however, we did have the all-important cherries for the inside layer. 

 And don’t forget the cinnamon ice cream.

A twist on the swiss cake roll was next. Move over Little Debbie, we’re bringing the traditional European cake rolls back. Fun and fairly simple to make, we panned up a thin sponge cake, smeared chocolate pastry cream on top and rolled it up for freezing. This could be covered with chocolate ganache and eaten as is, but we went one step further and made a Charlotte Royale. The roll was sliced up to make what would eventually be the top layer (see below) of a white chocolate Bavarian cream filled cake with another flat sponge layer on the bottom. After it’s frozen, the whole sheet cake gets flipped over and cut into individual pieces.

 It was pretty good, but I must admit that I sort of missed peeling off the outside chocolate layer of the roll to eat first like I used to do with my Little Debbie rolls. What can I say; it was a great treat of my childhood. Perhaps someday I will make a giant version of the American-style Swiss Cake Roll and call it a Big Debbie.

Next up is a specialty cake to die for. The Alhambra is full of detailed steps and various flavors with plenty of room for complicated mishaps. Nonetheless, it’s all worth the effort after one bite. Well, actually several bites because one is not enough. You’ll see why.

This cake starts out with a hazelnut sponge cake that is split in two after it’s cooled (or you can use two full cakes that are trimmed nicely for a larger cake – obviously my choice). A coffee flavored simple syrup is dabbed on the top of the bottom layer and then a hard chocolate ganache is poured on top. The second cake layer is then placed on top and the whole thing goes in the refrigerator to set. Meanwhile, we made a batch of Italian butter cream and I managed to shove aside a bit of my dislike for this icing after we added coffee flavoring to it. Smooth, soft coffee icing? Yes please. More coffee syrup is dabbed on the very top of the cake, a light coat of the butter cream icing goes on the whole thing and then it’s back in the refrigerator to chill. This chill is important because of our next step: pouring warm chocolate ganache over the entire cake. (Happiness? Check.) If the butter cream is not cold when we pour on the warm ganache, the butter cream will melt and run down the sides. Not pretty. Once the ganache is set up a bit (and you’ve poured the excess in your mouth), chopped pistachios are added to the bottom edge of the cake. I saved you an web-sized slice.

A marzipan rose is usually placed on top as well, but I chose to keep it smooth like silk. Here’s my wannabe rose that was quite fun to make.

As if all of that wasn’t enough for the last two weeks, I also made some chocolate chip banana bread that was almost too delicious to be healthy. There was a lot of sugar involved…

But it’s still bread and I did share a loaf with my family.

I also whipped up a very citrusy batch of the citrus shortbread cookies we made earlier this term. When taken out of the oven just before they turn brown, these puppies will melt in your mouth. Speaking of puppies, Greg made a cookie with the leftover dough. Does this remind you of anyone?

whirlwind en francais

It's been a whirlwind week. Here's the photo play-by-play...

Orange chocolate chip cookies made last week to make myself feel better about slightly under-achieved practical. Just in case you wanted to see these.
 

Class last Saturday consisted of several specialty cakes, gateaux and pastries. First, the Dobos Torte (which we made last term with a more traditional feel), topped with caramel covered cake slices.
 

Next, the Gateau St-Honore. A French pastry made with short dough, pate choux and puff pastry. The pate choux bulbs are stuck on with sugar and the top should be dipped with sugar as well. Vanilla and chocolate crème is normally piped in the middle with a special piping tip, but we only had vanilla crème. Still, you get the picture.

Flashback to the Napoleon. Also made last term, but no one was upset to make this delicious flaky pastry again. Or devour it in large slices long after the puff pastry has turned soggy...I don't want to name any names of who did this. Starts with Gr and ends with eg.

Plus Francais? Oui! The last item of the day was a Mirabelle Pithivier. This beauty starts out with a bottom circle of puff pastry topped with a good amount of sweet almond cream filling. It's all covered up with another layer of puff pastry. Then the top is egg-washed and a design is drawn on for kicks. Also, fall foliage adds a nice touch.

Lesson of the day: whatever you do, don't say it looks like ravioli. Chef P is offended by pastry being compared to culinary items. This is just a beautiful dough ready to rise and brown to perfection.

And was it ever tasty. Perfect for every meal. We also prepped a few cakes for baking this weekend, including a Swiss roll. But the week ended with a Sunday breakfast of French toast, sausage and fruit. What better way to begin the whirlwind all over again?

who needs icing?

I practiced. I read. I prayed. And perfecting the petit four glace practical was not my destiny. What can I say? I'm better without icing. I prefer to keep things simple. Who needs all of that extra sugar anyways? Okay, you're right - it does make pretty much anything more delicious. But my clumsy, messy hands need even more practice than this.

These bites (without fondant icing) are the result of a practice round at home last Thursday. I was left with several ounces of chocolate decorations on a piece of parchment paper and even more chocolate running all over my hand from the top of the paper piping cone that I hadn't managed to fold up quite right. Greg was unprepared for operation chocolate rescue, but immediately insisted on licking both items thoroughly so none would go to waste. Good man.

My Saturday practical didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but I gave it my best effort and now know what needs to be done for better success in the future. For example, the top layer of almond cake for the petit fours should be placed close to the bottom layer before flipping it on top to avoid the cake breaking in the middle and falling on top in pieces mid-flip. My personal flip out moment number one. Luckily I had some assistance saving that one. Also, when egg washing the tops of eclairs you should not use a fork to indent them with small lines or they will puff up and crack a bit, eventually looking like mini hot dog buns. Sigh. Here are my chocolate covered hot dog buns...with a mighty delicious pastry cream hiding inside.

And the final lesson: yes, chocolate makes anything taste better and can sometimes cover flaws, but the designs drawn on petit four glaces should be very thin and delicate. And the fondant should be thin enough to easily glide over the whole bite and cover every centimeter. Much unlike this.

The saving grace is that everything tasted delicious. And I made orange chocolate chip cookies yesterday to make myself feel better. No icing necessary.
 

bite-sized happiness

I know what you're asking yourself...Was Jaime able to bake successful petit four (aka bite-sized) cookies for her exam last weekend? And could she really keep her cookies under 6 inches?

The answer:

Yes! And I am damn proud of these cookies. I was focused and precise, and sometimes not breathing regularly, but I managed to produce some of the best cookies in class. I know, they look tiny and you're not sure they're real. Here's a closer view:

Convinced? I am convinced that I still love baking cookies. I'm not sure about the petit four glace section of the exam - coming to a kitchen near me this weekend - but I'll do my best. For this practical, we have to produce a dozen of the éclairs we made last weekend AND a dozen iced petit four cakes. We are making bite-sized almond cakes with jam in the middle and fondant icing on top. And a lovely design of chocolate. Practice results from last weekend:

One of these babies can cure your sweet tooth for the whole day. Unless you're my mother and then you need to eat three of them for breakfast...sigh. I should know better by now. Do not leave any sweets out on the kitchen table that you don't want promptly devoured. Greg wasn't too upset though because his favorite item of the weekend was the chocolate pistachio biscotti. Delicious dipped in coffee, but quite crunchy by itself.

I'm off to practice drawing with chocolate. Time to channel Picasso!