Chef Treand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yes a majorly famous chef in the pastry world..a MOF..one of the highest honors in the industry..He's such an amazing chef and a very fun person too!!! He came to the academy months ago for a special class on sugar and he showed us his amazing skill, especially his all so famous air-brushing! I was very excited to meet him after reading all about him on the internet =)..lol the power of the internet..but at the same time too nervous..because he was our actual first visiting chef and we weren't very familiar with him..would he be the usual chefs we see on tv? hrmmmmm..haha well believe me he was a very nice chef and was very generous sharing his techniques and experience he had overseas, competitions and of course his funny jokes =) I really enjoyed his 4 days class..it opened up a whole new genre in the pastry world for me and I can't wait for his next visit next year!!!COME BACK SOON CHEF! =)
I took hundreds of photo! literally! lol I had to charge my camera everyday after school too! Well for this post let the pictures do the talking eh =)
Chef's 'practice trial' OMG its already good enough for me!! =)
Cool no!?
And also tiger art =) Awesome!
Different pouring techniques ^^ this was the coolest Sphere! look like crystal no?
We told chef if he quit pastry he could do make-up for women! hehe..any girl would look pretty after he's done..LOL
One of my highlights of the class =) Chef's first cartoon! on our request lol JACK JACK!
I was helping him out with the cutting lol..need good eye eh?
Showing us the shading ..jack jack coming alive..
Chef did some pulling sugar too! it was HOT HOT HOT!
The LONG anticipated AVATAR =)
Jack Jack was done! I helped with the pajamas =)
haha he's like the avatar too! =)
Building up a showpiece..also jack jack's house =)
It's everyone's favourite snack when you are craving something sweet and simple..Easy to get your hands on with zero effort..and of course less guilt when you are having just one piece of cookie =) right? Personally I don't see much of cookies around unless it's during the all so festive Chinese New Year!!!Sometimes I wonder where do they hide all year long? Lol in hibernation? Probably my mom keeps it away from us, cause it's 'bad for health' but never the less it does gives us the heads up that the new year is here!! For me, all things sweet are a daily routine now, never can escape it =) We had a whole week of these yummies..everyone kept snacking on them in between recipes it's ridiculous! Yes, we are never hungry at the academy..hehe!
Florentine one of my favourites..it's similar to what we usually see during the Chinese New Year season..the crispy sweet almond flake cookie..which I have no idea what is it called but we only see it during this festive season..think of this as the western version..a layer of sweet pastry on the bottom to whole it together then caramel almond flakes..crispy and yet a little chewy at the same time..yums!
Oh Oh! this is my other 'favourite' cookie..the shortbread..my classmates would know why..I have such a hard time piping them and getting them the right shape!!!it's crazy..everyone was done before I could even get one right..But after many frustrating tries and practices again I finally got it..Of course with support from my team mate and chef who were great helps! =) YES I CAN MAKE THEM NOW! WITHOUT FEAR!
This is the linzer =)..kinda like a tart/pie? it has raspberry filling in it..and would make good friends with raspberry lovers..haha..before this, all the cookies I knew were the ones you see during the celebrations or more commercial ones..but of course this has open a new perspective to cookies for me =)
Ice-cream scoop and cookie batter! You thinking what I'm thinking? The all so classic Chocolate Chip Cookie =) How can we miss the one out..no matter old or young, girl or boy everyone loves these babies..especially if you can smell them fresh from the oven! oh the sweet aroma of chocolate cookies just bring you joy! To some they are like a 'drug' ubber addictive..once you start you might be able to stop! which is scary sometime..hehe
But at these sizes? one is more than enough sometimes yeah? but some people are a little greedy yeah? brings out the little cookie monster in them..haha!
Back to something more french..this cute little thing is call..Rochers COCO chef? or something like that..More for the coconut fanatic..blek not me =) but it taste good still..and looks really nice..kinda like white penguins no? love the shape..
Amarettis! Grandfather of all modern macaroons..can you believe this is what they use to look like before turning into colourful, smooth and not forget pretty macaroons that is taking the whole by storm now..apparently, according to chef, this is made with the same ingredients but the result is so different..and VERY STRONG in almond flavour..more for the coffee people..
love =)
And there is also tuilles which is usually made for dessert plating and decoration purposes..it's not too bad on the taste department too..kinda like wafers..but it's cool when you can get it paper thin..hehe!
Of course how can we miss out biscottis..an italian favourite..and now mine too! really crispy and flavourful..best served with a drink..dipped into coffee!!but it requires a little more time to make them but it's really easy..bake, slice and dry..viola!but cutting then paper thin requires some skill and a really good knife !
Last but not least is the Chocolate Toffee Bar..more the american style now..kinda like the cousin of the florentine from the top..chocolate coated and sprinkle with toasted nut! big hit with the children..and great for snack or teatime..yes this ends the cookie special post..there are millions of cookies out there waiting to be discovered and this is just like a sneak peak..more yummy-ness to come!
Croissants! One of my favourite breakfast food =)..minus the amount of butter used to make it...the wonderful smell of fresh baked croissants fresh out of the oven fills the whole kitchen can make your mouth water..slurps..most of us couldn't even wait till it's a little cooled down before popped them into our mouth..with caution of course..we won't want burn tongues now don't we =) but they are all so delicious both savory and sweet..you can either eat it with any jam filling,with toasted almond flakes on the top and icing sugar or make them into sandwiches!! My all time favourite..slice them, place some vegetables,tomato slices,tuna or egg salad..oh yums! It does brighten up your morning =)
But of course, making these babies are not as easy smeasy lemon squeezy as I thought it would be =(..it takes quite some effort..from making the yeast-ed dough to the laminating and of course the FOLDING!! OH and BELIEVE me that my classmates and I have encountered countless failures before to be able to produce a croissant that pass the test...especially during the assessment we had..major stress when they were on the menu..they had to be the same size,weight and of course visible layers!!!
The laminating and folding part was pretty difficult..both the dough and butter has to be cold and but still flexible enough to be stretched out to get the butter evenly inside the dough..Next would be the folding..3 times each fold and after each fold it has to be rested for at least 20 minutes in the chiller..OMG it was time consuming and hard! Oh oh if your butter starts to crack..you can say goodbye to those layers =( Initially I had no idea why my croissant kept dying, but after many practices I've realised there were many details to pay attention to during the process..Next would be getting all of them the same size..In the beginning we didn't take account that part because we were all quite frustrated with the layers already..but in actually fact when we got used to it, we took out the ruler or the weighing scale and measured them accurately..this provides us some consistency =)
As you can see there is a major difference from ones made here in this picture from the ones from the top..haha these were our initial ones but we were getting there =)..let's just say I've hidden some of the major failed ones somewhere deep within my album..hehe..understanding the method of baking played a big part into the end product too..so every step counts!
But the annoying part is when you realised that you've done something wrong during the folding process, there's no turning back! cries..you can't unfold and fold again!!how I wish it was like origami..folded wrong and unfold and fold again..sadly you have to see your mistake and move on..but once you get it right it does bring you this feeling of victorious! YES I DID IT! IN YOUR FACE CROISSANT! hehe..'jumps and shouts in happiness =) and when you cut out the cross-section and see those beautiful layers..just makes you wanna pop them right in your mouth..yum all so buttery =)
=) and with the help of the dough sheet-er we were able to get very even layers and same use major rolling effort and time..Oh how I miss that machine when I'm rolling something by hand..I want one too!! It's only bad when something gets stuck and we have to clean the WHOLE machine..well more pastries to come! =) stay tune!
