Pâte à choux!..All so French ^^ wee chef?

 

Pâte à choux, choux pastry also known to many as cream puff..But actually cream puff is one of the many things that can be evolved from this pastry. Some of you who've read my blog from months before might have seen me made this before =) I was no stranger to this pastry..in fact I've made it many many time at home..but even though with much practice some how I haven't master it yet..there were still some flops from time to time =( Without know why, which is the worst part. After experiencing some of the same deja vu at school, I've finally realised my mistake..which I think many have had the same problem..which is the baking process..I find this pastry quite amazing..it's first pre-cooked before then you add more eggs into it and then this liquid-y batter suddenly poofs up in the up like spring daisy! it's quite an interesting sight in the oven..this gives it a light, and hollow pastry filled with aroma =)

The other best part of this pastry is that it's all so versatile! depending on the shape, size and pattern you piped, you can practically make at least 5 different types with the same batter =) It's one of the best representative of the french pastry..We know that the french love and are very proud of their pastries and who could blame them? they are just so GOOD at making them!

My first good looking eclair...after many trials of piping the right shape and dipping it with fondant and etc for deco, I've finally made one that I personally think looks quite attractive..not to toot my own horn..'beep beep'..but still chef said it was a tad small..oh well, try and try again =)..the other plus point is that you are able to fill you choux pastry with whatever you like..but of course something that matches..hehe not just anything..any cream in general =)

Religieuse

Choux Chantily 

Paris-brest

ST. Honour

Don't you feel it's like the transformer? hehe it's quite cool I think =) and the most challenging one out of all was...'drum rolls'

 

croquembouche!

See! even the spelling is hard..don't even talk about the assembling part! It's a traditional dessert and quite significant to the french culture..It's usually made for weddings..all filled and then drizzled with caramel to hold it all together =) You may search online to look for a more professionally made one..they are quite amazing, not just the deco but the sear size of the ones made in France 0.0 as tall as a person! chef made a mini one just to demo to us..and so did we! =)

Haha you can see chef secretly laughing at ours..LOL! and of course I made some cream puff too! filled with hazelnut pastry cream which I've never tried in the past and it was all GOOD! =)

before

after! =) yummy!

More delicious dessert to come!

First Chocolate Experience "jumps over joy!"

 YES! I'm back! After 2 months of computer and internet problems, I've finally got it all sorted out =). My apologies to my blog readers...if I have any =)..I recently got my new internet line and it's suppose to be a lot faster, which is enabling me to update more photos! Very happy to once again be reunited with the digital world!..Anyway back to more of my pastry adventures! SADLY my days in school will be ending soon for a short holiday and I have missed out all the chances to update what I've been doing on the daily basis on my blog..But luckily for technology, the digital camera has been my great companion on capturing all the great memories in school and all the delicious things we made =)

Long long ago.....I had my first experience on CHOCOLATE! Many didn't know..at least I think they didn't...that I am a big biG BIG fan of chocolate! So this was a very exciting experience for me..especially the tasting part..As you all might realise that chocolate is a uber big part of the pastry world..there are even competitions held just on chocolates can you imagine? It open a whole new chocolaty world that I never knew existed!

 

Before this all I knew was..this chocolate tasted nice and the other tasted yucky...but now...from what it's made of, to what temperature it's suppose to be, to the quality, various types and the list goes on and on..There is more to chocolate than just taste! To get a perfect chocolate the quality of chocolate you use and the temperature you temper it plays a very important role, to give you goooooooood chocolate that melts in your mouth and give the perfect shine "bling bling"

And of course the possibilities with chocolate are endless..from choco truffles we all love to the delicious centered-filled pralines..can you say CHOCOLATE PARADISE!? After a few practices and I grown to love chocolate making more...the only downside to it is the mess I create and have to clean up at the end..I'm getting better at the part..I hope..Let's just say that everyone knows that I'm playing with chocolate that day when they see my uniform..hehe! =)

Tempering chocolate wasn't as easy as I thought it would be in the beginning..but I'm getting the hang of it..unless I cheat and use compound chocolate instead of coverture..opps! hehe..but it does take a little more time and effort..the right room temperature, environment and tools does make the process a lot more easier..

Casting was one of the messier bit..but I've realised that there were many different ways to make chocolate with various methods depending what finally result you wish to have. And always try to KEEP CLEAN and the chocolate at the RIGHT temperature =)..that's what chef always says =)

I hope all chocolate lovers enjoyed my post! more to come soon! =) thanks for visiting..

First week! Bread madness =)

Oh so exciting first week at school was bakery class..Imagine the smell of fresh breads everyday..=)..It was an eye opener even though I've done some bread in the pass..I didn't know there were so many methods to making bread and how to readjust you're ingredients so that you produce you own style of bread..This gave me a chance to try out things that I always wanted to attempt at home but did not dare to or have badly failed at it..And yes with the guidance of chef we were able to make successful breads, even though there were some failures (hehe). It made me discover that there weren't only one way to make bread and different method different results.the varieties to bread are endless!.Of course all method works, just that what final produce is your preference.

Oh yes and one of the most anticipated one was croissant!! It was easy watching chef doing it but it took my classmates and I few times to get it right (and also due to some 'technical difficulties')..But we were still able to produce a decent one(without chefs help)..Still have much improvement can be done..On the way!!! haha..we are still perfecting it and practice makes perfect  =).Due to the fact that I only started shooting pictures after a week or two school started, I don't have as many pictures as the rest of what we are doing now..Believe me, we were able to open a mini bakery but the end of the day when we were done baking..So many varieties and the amount we had...But of course we all smelled 'nice' after the end of the day =). Our families and friends we very happy too! hehe

We learned a lot of new terms and skills in bakery,(checking gluten every few minutes haha..always thinking is it done? is it done yet?) and we did some kneading by hand too!!! OH it's so not for the weak, if you are doing a large amount..good arm exercise I guess? =)..Of course we had our helpful machine to help..Baking bread involves a long process sometimes..from preparing the dough, to shaping, to proofing and finally baking..takes a pretty long time..and it's a specialised work on it's own..not all pastry chefs are great baker and vice versa..

Even though bakery is not everyone's thing but it's a must basic things we must learn. And who knows, one of us might be a master baker one day,hehe! Anyway more deliciousness coming soon! thanks for visiting =)

I'm Back in School!!! (Academy of Pastry Arts) "jumps in excitement!"

Sorry for abandoning you(my blog) for almost a month but..... I'm back in school!!!!!!!!!! after almost a little over a year putting my education to a halt, I've finally decided to do pastry as a profession! The working experience helped me a lot to understand the industry more and ensured my choice =). As some of you might not know that I've done an A-Levels pre-university course before this and has chose to do pastry even though I had to give up entering university and doing a "real" degree! Even in those college days, as I was drowned in assignments, books, tutorials, I always find the time to run into the library and look at all the wonderful pastry books that I could get my hands on! I borrowed most of them even though I barely had the time to actually read any of them =(. And mind you, you might think that I must be a slacker, non-studious type, but nooooooooooooooooo I did 4 subjects, including further mathematics! HAHahaha! imagine that! I did pretty well in my examinations too and could have went to any course I wanted and at any where I wanted, (not to boast winks hehe) but some how I found my way back to those sweet desserts that secretly brings me joy and to those around me =). So there begins my journey, from working in a regular bakery (meeting great people there, one of those unforgettable memories, learnt a lot!!!!) and to working for the most wonderful cake shop around! Delectable by SU! Having a great boss and meeting more nice people..I have to say everyone were very supporting of my choice and have brought me many guidance! THANK YOU! especially my family, my white mice and friends! =)

Anyway back to my new school =) academy! After considering many many schools I've nearly given up on doing it in Malaysia until I found them! I was quite spectacle at first because it was soooooooooo new. But yeah being new has it's benefit "winks!" Ever since I started, I've never had a single boring day! (ever since my white my said 'bye-bye' TT  I have a lot of spare time). But anyway, I really enjoy my time there and I most of the time I look forward going to school =), I guess my classmates thinks so too! (I think haha).Even though, I quote "lifeless" after joining the academy because we spent all our spare time hang out there, my classmates and I really enjoy being there!Plus my chefs are reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nice, like super!, they really take time to explains things to us, which requires a lot of patience due to we were all 3 girls in the beginning and we tend to be more talkative. WE have MAJOR FUN together!  

Our first class picture! Batch 1/2010..I still remember when chef was asking us to write it on our files, we all had giggles! Well as time goes by more and more people are getting to know about the school, which is good =). But everyday going to the academy we learn more new things and discover new delicious sweets that we never knew existed. Of course our chefs wants us to have a good basic, so he makes us practice, practice and practice =)..right chefs? My two wonderful classmates also play very important role! we have become fast close friends and we do almost everything together =)..They bring me joy, smiles and of course 'entertainment'.Megan and Pei Minn! =)

I now have a few more classmates who are very fun people too! Shall introduce them in the next post =)..The pictures above are just a little preview of what we've actually made (out of the hundreds..a little exaggeration) hehe..more to come! so please do visit soon! I promise I will update more often since I have plenty of materials now...just need MORE time!!! 

Strawberry Madness!

Hi all!!!!!! I'm back with more deliciousness hehe =). This time it's all about strawberries! As you all know that this fruit is almost everyone's favorite for dessert..from strawberry cake, Pavlova, fruit tart, you'll never see miss it in a shelf of your favorite dessert sanctuary. It's definitely my all time favorite and also the white mice's too! Yes we all know they do cause a little hole in our pockets but they do look all so beautiful. Lucius red, juicy, plum and provides great contrast for photos! Soooooo eye catching..kinda of a seductive fruit I think LOL!

    

Anyway back to the dessert, doesn't it just SCREAMS EAT ME! Thanks to Kent for the providing his pro photography skill this time too! It has become a little joint venture between us for the last 2 projects =). You cannot imagine the lengths we took to take these pictures..Lets just say I've never done so much for picture of  a tart and a couple of cake haha! ...MANY many locations we had for this little photo shoot. But never the less the pictures were AMAZING! kudos to the photographer =).

So let me tell what these yummy looking things are! First off we have a Strawberry Milk Tart made from buttery but not soggy tart shell, filled with white chocolate cream and for garnish of course strawberries =) with a little sprinkle of crunchy streusel made of oats! I can hear stomach growling already hehe! And the other star of our photo shoot was a mini version of strawberry short cake. Strawberries sandwiched in between sweet vanilla cake with a hint of pastry cream in the center. I dusted it with some icing sugar to give it the snowy feel. So much joy just looking at it! White mice was in strawberry paradise too!hehe I'm just going to post more pictures to show you guys!

OoOOooOooo 0.0

wahhhhhhhhh! jealous anot? haha!

Come back soon! =)

Cheese Cake Anyone?

Major love for cheese cake this week =). Thanks to my good friend Kent who helped me out with the photography part, the pictures were AMAZING! You can see the major difference in the quality, angle LOL almost everything about the picture..Super happy! excitement much! =) It makes the dessert looks good 'winks' and taste good too I hope..haha! Joys!

I know! It feels like wah!!!!!!! LOL I feel it too when I saw it  =). It was really fun finally working together on our 'mini photoshoot'. Taught me many many new tricks with I never realised. Thanks Kent!!! More to come! Well back to the cheese cake yea? I made a lighter version of the regular cheese cake you can find outside. But it was a little too moist I think..I felt a bit mushy but still can be accepted ..The colour, taste and size was really good! One of my success for cheese cakes!

It kinda looked a little boring at first,,but as you can see I tried to make it look more interesting..Then I upgraded it using bananas and melted chocolate, I thought it would make a good combination =) and the outlook of it was great! Light creamy cheese cake in between sweet banana and smooth squeezed chocolate =)..Imagine that!  Anyway let me just show you more pictures if you can't haha..Come visit soon! =)

white mice must be wishing for some? =)