Hello everyone =). Due to the fact I'm tooooooooooo far behind on my blogging, I've decided to post something more recent to keep me and everyone else more up to date =). Yes recently I've learn more about plated dessert from my dear Chef Frederic. It's his favourite topic! He patiently explains the true meaning of a plated dessert from his perspective, from the visual, the composition, texture and of course FLAVOUR which is all so important! "emphasize by him" With his guidance, my classmates and I were able to produce all these beautiful plates like what you see in regular fine dining experiences =)
Some of you might have seen this before and might be wondering where...hrmmm? It's one of our production for a chinese newspaper article. But here are more detailed pictures compared to the ones in the newspaper I think =). Above is a apricot mint couli with creme brule and topped with tuile and lime sorbet. And for deco it's edible flowers and caramel almonds..Sounds yum no?
This one required more work. It has five components, chocolate mille feulle, pear tartin, chill chocolate fondant,saffron chocolate raviolli and chocolate macaroon with creme fraiche sorbet =). Just saying it it's a mouthful. The preparation work was quite a bit but the outcome was WOW!
On to the next plate it's a mini fruit basket with vanilla bavarois 'I forgot the term called in french lol'. Paired with raspberry couli , fresh raspberry and apple crumble sponge. This is one of my favourite plate too =). Big berry fan!!!!
This one is a cherry rose bavarois together with a lime chiboust mille feulle and white chocolate mousse hat =)
Well I'm just gonna show u most of our work during that week for your visual enjoyment =). "virtual waves" bye! =)
Yes I am back with more cake for everyone's indulgence =). Here I explored more varieties of cakes, which we call modern cakes. What's makes a cake modern I once asked my chef..It's very subjective I think..But I think I got the idea clearer now I hope ^^. Well a modern cake is some what more 'clean' than the classic ones..with simple and few decorative items that's already sufficient to make the cake look nice. More 'zen' I say..Less is more =) clean cuts. But I always believe the eating part may not be as 'clean' as it should be...hehehe!
Haha as you can see what happens after to the cake above =)..my classmates and I had special coloured tongue after that too..such a magical cake lol..no Alice in Wonderland thing happened don't worry..
Oh yes it's very nice when you get a smooth and clean cake when you un-mold a cake. Not to mention no air bubbles in between and NOT MELTING in your hands. The only trouble I seem to have is glazing the cake and placing them perfectly onto a cake board =(. Unfortunately I haven't perfected that skill yet and sometimes my cakes may have some 'accidents' hehe. Well more practice needed I guess!
When you slice the cake and see those beautiful layering in the cake does make you think..wah so nice! haha. clear layering =).
And one of our beloved classmates making his move. Making sure getting a straight clean cut of the cake =). A torch on his side and spatula. And now for some examples of our 'minimal decoration'. Yes we tried our best but I'm sure you can tell which is done by me and which is by chef =). haha
Yes my life now revolves a lot around these things...sweets, chocolate, cakes, cookies and all sorts..I do admit sometimes I do get bored eating them..but there's this usual force that says eat me! eat me! when I'm craving for something to eat..Of course I do have to refrain myself for gobbling up the whole thing..now,small bites are satisfying enough =) If not I'll a balloon by the time I finish school!haha Well in today's post it's all about the classic french cakes we can find in most cake shops..
First up we have the classic opera cake, I bet everyone knows this one, coffee ganache cake..it's everywhere! =) It was my first attempt so as you can see it's a little messy and the layers aren't that clean but practice makes perfect yeah? =) but I do love cakes with dark chocolate glaze on the top..makes the cake looks all so clean with beautiful layers on the edges..clean finishing..with a little deco and it's ready to go =)
And how can we forget the swiss roll..or rolling sponge as some call it..Don't this just bring back childhood memories..well in the Malaysian society this is a super classic cake..you can literally find it everywhere..thick sponge rolled in cream oh and sometimes in kaya..000ooo0o0oo0o0 =) It's what every mommy will feed their child when they were young..comfort food for little children I guess..But I realised it's not that easy making these babies perfectly round when you roll them up..still we did manage to make them and upgraded them a little =)..
Tadaa! An upgraded chocolate swiss roll =) with yummy caramelised hazelnut inside with chocolate chantily and chocolate ganache as glaze..It so screams CHOCOLATE in your face =) Definitely for chocolate lovers...
OH oh! this is one of my favourite one, LeSucess! Not too complicated to make, especially when you need a last minute cake =)hehe...It's a hazelnut jaconde layered with honey chocolate ganache..It's not amazing in the 'I want to impress someone' cake department but still after all a cake which still taste good =)
Last but not least, Apricot Sacher..I must say the taste isn't that great for me..still need some twinks here and there..Looks nice though..you will like it if you were a major fan of apricots =) Well more to come with part 2 and post about ASSESMENT! lol visit soon! =)
OMG it's been sooooooooooo long..My apologies =) alot has happen the past month plus...with me having a short break after graduating my first 3 months at the academy (even though I went back a lot 'winks')...and little surprises during the holidays =)..to starting classes again with new chef..clap clap..to the Chinese New Year preparation..and then the passing of my dearest grandma =)..I shall make a post for her and the cakes she loves =)...to friends farewells and so on....finally having a little motivation to continue to blog again =)..
Yes yes I know I'm far behind in blogging, with mountains of materials but not posting fast enough..well less talking now and more about the tittle =) So! in school we made all kinda tarts..I always thought tarts were with furly sides like what I use to see in recipe books..I've seen more modern ones but I can never find those darn molds! Finally at school I have the chance !
Smooth clean sides, perfectly circular, it looks like a perfect tart!..learning how to line the tart properly, baking it at the right temperature, avoiding shrinking and puffing of the tart at the wrong places, helped create the perfect tart shell..But of course working with sweet dough in our humid and HOT HOT weather is a pain in the butt, with lotsa practice we managed to handle it fast enough before it melts in our hands..
And of course it would be any tart you want by just changing the filling but still using the same base..with some deco it could a special dessert all by itself =) and of course when you cut into the center of the tart it has all different layers and texture which you can see..make it all so interesting!
We also made pies and quiches (FINALLY something savory)..with a sweet and savory royale mix, that holds all the ingredients together..these two were different from tart dough because the texture is more flaky compared to the sweet dough which is more crumbly..you can choose to blind bake the dough first or just dump everything in together..it's entirely up to you depending what result you are going for =)
The one with the apple filling is obviously sweet,,the normade and the other is the quiche =)..all fillings are of your choice but due to the limited ingredients available at school we just used whatever savory item we can find! hahaha..
Lastly......I wanted to post this since the day I got these pictures =) CHEF showed us the FLAMBE! lol yes yes it's what you see on tv...the fella cooking in front of you..pouring some alcohol on top and lighting fire! hahaha and VUSH!!!!!!!!!! FIRE! FLAME! haha so we were all very excited to see chef do the demo and with cameras ready we took pictures as he was doing it =) I was standing right beside him..due to some TECHNICAL difficulties..the fan...lol the fire went a little out of hand and was right in front of my face..HHAHAHAHAHA everyone was stunted for a moment..but I was ALRIGHT don't worry..maybe lost some fine hair in the process lol! but at least I got a good picture =).
Hahaha it was an interesting experience...chef was explaining to us that this was one of the reasons he wanted to be bald..lol to avoid accidents lol!..well more fun stories about school soon! =) come back soon!
