International Patisserie, Cake Formula & Assembly--Week 1

Last week I began my third class which according to the syllabus, we

"will focus on the fundamental production of classical European desserts such as crepes, souffles, sabayon, & frozen desserts...Bavarian creams, variety of mousses, stirred & baked custards...develop skills for the creamed, two-stage, & foam cake mixing methods."

I was elated to finally graduate from the cramped  kitchen located in the center of the school building and move into the more spacious corner kitchen that contained separate work stations, gas stoves & our very own convection oven.  The best part of this kitchen is that we finally have large windows!   I was in heaven!

As with every new class, we were introduced to a new Chef.  I was a little apprehensive about this instructor, but all those fears were washed away on the first day.  Not only is she extremely methodical, a little OCD (like me), but she's funny and undeniably passionate about her job.  

In the first week, I prepared & brought home....

Crepes Suzette:  Known as  a classical French dessert.  The sauce is comprised of orange & lemon juice, liqueur, sugar & butter.  This dish is typically served table side and the waiter flambes (i.e. ignites the liqueur) the crepes.  I learned I'm petrified of lighting things on fire.  It might have something to do with me almost burning down the house during my first year of marriage...which is why I HIGHLY recommend having a fire extinguisher readily available in the kitchen.

Souffles:  Simply divine...and fairly easy to make, but because they are leavened with egg whites they are not stable after they are removed from the oven.  They are the kind of dessert that must be enjoyed immediately (which I don't see being a problem!). 

Gateau St. Honore:  This dessert is made up of 4 elements:  The base is made of pate brisee base (short dough similiar to a pie dough), 12-14 pate a choux  lined along the rim of the pate brisee base, vanilla & chocolate diplomat creme, and caramel.  It took me nearly 3 class periods to put this dish together and in the end, I hated it.  I know it's probably a mortal sin in the world of pastry to hate the one dessert that is in honor of the French's patron saint, but here's my reasons why:

1.  The chef made us create our whipped cream by hand.  Yes, this included my scrawny arm, a whisk and 16 ounces of heavy whipping cream.  Ouch...  

  

2.  I thought making the caramel into decorative sugar work was interesting, but it was not easy to handle.  It can burn easily, scald you, or just seize up and become one literal hot mess.  Which is what I ended up with on day 2 causing me to redo the caramel the next day.  

3.  Assembly...first three letters of this word should have been a clue.  What a pain in the .... each pate a choux must be filled with chocolate diplomat creme, then the tops dipped in the caramel, allowed to sit & cool....and {deep breath} the pate a choux bottoms must be dipped in caramel so that it will stick to the pate brisee base.  

4.  Taste...after waiting 3 days to eat it, I was just heartbroken and underwhelmed.  The cream puffs were bland and the crunchy caramel just didn't seem like it fit in.  Maybe if I would have made it in one day and ate it immediately it would have been great.  However, this was one of those desserts that was more visually appealing.  

Bread Pudding with a Rum Creme Anglaise sauce:  This dish was definitely the epitome of comfort food.  I realized that on any given day you probably have all the ingredients in the kitchen to make it.  

I learned that when making this recipe I hate the feeling of soggy bread on my fingers.  Which I know that many people correlate  this with bread pudding.   However because this dish is considered a baked custard, the texture actually become like a really soft and moist sweet bread.  The best part of this dish is the creme anglaise sauce that was drizzled on top.   I liked this recipe  so much I have to share it...see below for the recipe.   

Making all of these desserts definitely forced me to work on my patience, time management, and organization skills.  I know that the next 5 weeks are going to be filled with even more amazing desserts!  I can't wait to share.  Until next week, I hope you find time to make some bread pudding!  If you do make the recipe, let me know how it turned out.  I'd love to hear from you.  

Bread Pudding 

adapted from LCBK 120

4 slices Texas Toast (or 6 slices of white bread)

3 Eggs

4 oz Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 oz Vanilla extract

8 oz Milk

4 oz Cream

2 oz Raisins

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1.  Cut bread into cubes

2.  Combine salt, cinnamon, sugar, milk, and cream into a medium saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil.

3.  Whisk eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.

4. Once the milk reaches a boil, slowly whisk half of the milk into the egg mixture.  Once milk and eggs are combined add the remaining milk.  

5.  Add the raisins and set aside.

6.  Place cubed bread into a greased pie pan.  Drizzle milk mixture over bread.  Using your hands, ensure that the each piece is coated. 

7.  Bread pudding must be baked using a water bath (click link for instructions).  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes.  Dish is done when the custard springs back and is golden color.  

Creme Anglaise

4 oz Heavy Cream

1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Egg yolks

.5 oz Rum (or other flavoring Extract)

1.  Whisk together sugar and yolks until smooth

2.  Heat cream to a boil

3.  Temper cream into egg mixture while whisking

4.  Return mixture to the pot and cook on low heat until thick

5.  Add extract and mix to incorporate

6.  Drizzle over bread pudding...and then "genieten" which is the Dutch word for "Enjoy!"