Chef Cynthia Peithman

So, let me tell you about our wonderful Chef-Instructor: Chef Cynthia! I like her a lot. In addition to being incredibly talented, I think she is a great teacher too. I was trying to explain to my brother why I like her, saying that she is very nurturing but kind of strict at the same time, but in a good way. My brother's response to that was, "oh, sort of like you!" and I guess that's true! I suppose that's why I like her! =) Anyway, she is a wealth of knowledge and she makes some pretty awesome cakes too - here is her website - Cakeline. Oh, and did I mention how humble she is?! She has never once mentioned that some of her wedding cakes have been featured in magazines such as New York Weddings and Marth Stewart Weddings. Hopefully someday I can be even half as talented as her!

Day 42: Cakes 1 Test Day

So, today marked the end of our Cakes 1 unit. We had our written exam and our practical exam. It was back to the basics for our practical exam. Here is a list of all the elements we needed to include:

Basic Genoise
Butter Cream icing
Raspberry Jam filling
8 Rosettes piped on top
Bottom border of nuts
Plaque with "Happy Birthday" inscribed
2 Marzipan roses with leaves

I think my cake was nice to look at but unfortunately, I over heated my genoise so it was kind of crumbly inside, then I didn't cut my layers evenly, even though when I was scoring the cake it looked even to me! There was also the issue of too much icing on the top and not enough on the sides. Chef Peter could tell that I was fitzing with it... What else? Oh, and apparently I put too much filling. On the bright side, Chef Peter did say that I was very organized and very clean and it was evident in my work. He seemed pleased with the overall appearance of the cake.

Day 41: Fraisier and Lemon Chiffon Cake

Hurray, hurray for the Fraisier (pronounced fre-see-ay)! OMG! This one was REALLY REALLY good!!! I think it helped a lot that the Strawberries were perfectly ripe and just delectable! So, the cake we used on this was the American Milk Sponge and the butter cream was a Mousseline (also known as German Butter Cream). The green top was made of Marzipan and we practiced our piping with royal icing. I'm so happy about how mine came out! It's by no means perfect, but it came out a lot better than I imagined! And yes, I did pipe that all by myself (but thanks to Chef Peter for showing me a nice but simple border for this one)!!!
















The next cake was the Lemon Chiffon Cake with Lemon Curd filling. We really just used this cake to practice our decorating on, so here's a sample of what I did. I know this one is not so great, but hey, I'm learning!!! So we learned the basketweave, Swiss dots and swags (I think that's what they're called). Our teacher told us that the swags come out much better with Royal Icing compared to Butter Cream - thus all the lines that fell... =(

Well, regardless of how it looks on the outside, the cake on the inside is very tastey! And I'm so sad that I forgot my scraps in class! I was SO planning to snack on them on my way home *sigh*. Oh well... The class tomorrow is probably going to put it in the compost. *bigger sigh* Well, at least I've got the recipe and can make it again! =)

Thus ends the CAKES 1 unit! So day 42 = TEST! Wish me luck!!!

Day 40: Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake and Bouche Noel

The Nate Update!

So one of my cool classmates has volunteered to be a "reporter" of sorts for the Pastry Program at the French Culinary Institute. He is an extremely gifted writer, so I just wanted to share his blog with all of you!

Enjoy!

Day 39: Sachertorte & Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Meringue logs

So today we finished up our Sachertortes that we started last class. We didn't get to finish up the glaze because we were having issues with our Apricot Jam... Okay, so for those of you who don't know, this cake is basically a very rich cake - creamed butter chocolate cake with apricot jam spread as the filling and an outer seal and then finally the final chocolate glaze made with fondant (not the rolled version). The back story on this cake is something along the lines of the Austrian King looking to send a cake to his embassies during a war. He was looking for a cake that wouldn't spoil easily since it would have to travel far. And because this cake is so rich, it doesn't spoil right away!

Our second cake for this class was the Flourless Chocolate Cake! This one is yummy! We actually used Almond Meal or Almond Flour. Since this cake has no gluten (since there is no wheat), the middle kind of sagged down. You really don't notice it though because of all the chocolate meringue that we put all around it! I liked this one a lot. Our teacher told us that they sometimes use this cake for a lava cake and they just inject the middle with some ganache so that it is runny! Ah... another cake demystified! =) Anyway, feast your eyes on our creations:

Day 38: Dobos

This is pronounced Do-bosh! When I read it I almost want to say ADOBOS! =) Anyway, this is an Austrian Cake composed of 5 layers of Biscuit Dobos with a Chocolate Butter Cream. The top is another layer of cake with caramel on top. That's my favorite part!!!