Friday, February 26, 2010

imma be

currently addicted to: imma be - black eyed peas.

anywho. back to the pastry world:

Basilla

 three layers of sponge cake and caramel french buttercream 
topped with nougatine and white chocolate. 

basilla23

basilla21


Dobos Torte

12 alternating layers of almond sponge cake and 
chocolate french buttercream, frosted with caramel french buttercream, 
topped with chocolate rosettes, caramel disks and covered with toasted almonds. 

dobos torte

dobos torte almonds

(personally, I think this entrament is ugly...maybe just because of the caramel french buttercream.)


Red Velvet Cake

three layers of red velvet cake and three layers of buttercream 
topped with cocoa powder and white chocolate. 

redvelvetcakefrosting

redvelvetcake


I would post the other cakes that I made (Sacher Torte & Alhambra) but well...they just arent worth looking at.

In other news, it's soo cold here - really, where did the spring weather go? 

And! Ive been product/flavor testing various raw desserts.....results are good. 
:) 



Friday, February 19, 2010

happy birthday.

happy birthday to you.
happy birthday to you.
happy birthday dear....um....er...you.
happy birthday to you.
            :)

Birthday Cake

  made from hi-ratio yellow cake, italian buttercream, 
and decorated with buttercream roses and chocolate. 

birthday cake

birthday cake rose

birthday cake side angle

birthday cake chocolate letters


Black Forest Cake

 made from hi-ratio chocolate cake, filled with creme chantilly and cherries, 
coated with buttercream, ganache, and topped with toasted almonds and cherries. 

black forest cake

black forest cake almonds

black forest cake top

Angel Food Cake

 made from angel food cake, filled with passion fruit curd, 
strawberries, 

dusted with powered sugar and chocolate, and topped with creme chantilly.



angel food cake



angel food cake sliced



angel food cake close




cake cake cake. 
that is the theme of this class.


Monday, February 15, 2010

more snow.

this weekend it snowed:

while i was in class i grabbed my camera and ventured outside:

snow3

snow4

snow6

snow8

snow9

and then Saturday morning:

snow10

snow12

snow13

snow14

snow15

snow16


Friday, February 12, 2010

good things.

Lots of good things will come.

but first getting out from under this stress.

Triple Chocolate Bavarois

Three layers of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. 
Topped with a chocolate ganache glaze and a white chocolate decor.

Bavarois whole

Bavarois

Slice Bavarois 
(favorite)


Tiramisu

Tiramisu made with ladyfingers, coffee simple syrup, mascarpone cream, topped with cocoa powder.

I am not a huge tiramisu person, but this one...I ate an entire piece. 

Tiramisu above

Tiramisu

And then there was ice cream & sorbet day. wow! 
When you've had fresh churned ice cream and sorbet you will never eat that boxed stuff again. 

Ice cream is based on the amount of butterfat. 
Sorbet is based on the amount of sugar. 
Sherbet is in between ice cream & sorbet. 

I prefer sorbet. 

Sorbet Flavors:
.passion fruit (tangy, but fantastic flavor)
.mango (tastes like a cold mango...go figure)
.coconut (very nice)
.raspberry (too berry-ish)
.chocolate (no...this is a bad idea) 

and of course I made:

Raspberry Coconut Sorbet

raspberry coconut sorbet2

raspberry coconut sorbet


Ice Cream Flavors:
.chocolate fudge brownie (whooo...not for the weak) 
.chocolate chip cookie dough (standard)
.vanilla bean (great flavor)
.caramel (eh..tastes like cold caramel sauce)
.chocolate

and I made:

Raspberry Ice Cream w/ Chocolate & Walnuts

Ice cream

It was very rich and creamy (due to the raspberry jam). 
I like the combination though. 


I love it when we get to use a blow torch in class!

Baked Alaska

Ice cream topped with sponge cake and torched italian meringue.
(sweet action)

Baked Alaska

Baked Alaska half


we froze mousse! (no actual moose were hurt)

The possibilities were endless with flavors:
.chocolate cayenne (wow! cold and then pow! burn.)
.coconut (nice texture, easy taste)
.passion fruit (its passionate, but average)
.chocolate (i had a dream about its smooth texture)
.raspberry (eh, its like a raspberry milkshake)


Dark Chocolate Coconut Mousse

a frozen delight. 

dark chocolate coconut mousse

dark chocolate coconut mousse close


Then we made parfait. 
legit parfait, not like fruit, granola, and yogurt. 

Pistachio Rasin & White Chocolate Parfait

parfait

Flavor is tops, texture really was creamy and smooth, nicely chilled though. 



AND NOW! 

Remember the raw food project that I was working on? 

Its ready to be publicized.  


check it out - let me know what you think. 

peace out. 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

happiness.

ah.
i can breathe.
i am not sick anymore, thank the Lord! (i was down with a kidney infection)

Midweek a little beauty arrived at my house, a Canon EF 50mm lens 1.8 - :)

Today I went into school early and made up my practical from last week, St. Honore Cake.

          made with pate brisee, pate a choux, chiboust, whipped cream, and caramel.

st honore top

st honore

caramel cage: (....see? the 50 is magic) 

st honore caramel cage

since i am in a good mood (thank you Adele) i will share this: earlier today while making this cake, I was almost done...I mean in the home stretch, all I had left to do was make the caramel cage. So I put the sugar and water on the stove and preceded to wash dishes. I suppose I got so into the dishes that I looked up to see the pot of sugar water steaming something fierce. I raced over to the pot and when i got there the caramel was dark dark brown...and i was so careful not to burn it the first time. hehe, and then one of the chefs comes in and flips the switch for the fan because the entire room was smokey.....it happens.


and moving on.

Sabayon 

dessert sauce made with wine (white, marsala, etc.), eggs yolks, sugar & whipped cream. 

put it on some fruit and torch it:

sabayon and fruit


 Chocolate Raspberry Souffle

Time consuming and not very tasty, but nonetheless we must know how to make them. I opted out of the pain chocolate and added raspberry jam. This made the souffle collapse almost instantly because it was too heavy, but the flavor...oh! oh yes! 

chocolate raspberry souffle plain

chocolate raspberry souffle



Lava Cakes

Chocolate cakes that are made in such a way that when you cut them open "lava" comes out. 
oohh magic. 


lava cakes two

lava cakes


Charlotte Russe

possibly the best cake ever. 

made with ladyfingers, chocolate mousse, bavarian cream, and a chocolate ganache glaze.  


"This cake will make you want to slap someone." 

charlotte russe

charlotte russe two


Charlotte Royal

outside: a sponge roll with jelly
 inside: bavarian cream. 

"the brain"

charlotte royal


Stencil Cakes

made with stenciled sponge roll, blackberry mousse, apricot mousse, topped with an apricot glaze. 

note: not for the weak tongues (packs a lot of punch)

(disclaimer: these pictures were taken pre 50mm lens...sorry)

stencil cakes

plated stencil cake

stencil cake inside



i have a confession to make: i have been eating in class every day this week. 
i suppose mentally i am making up for last week, but still...


music is grand. 

goodnight.