Petit Four Final

This was a very intense week.  Monday was thankfully a holiday.  FancyPantsPet was very busy at the Houston Pet Expo on Saturday, so having an additional 2 days totally saved me!

Petit Four Poster

On Tuesday we turned in a full scale poster representation of what we wanted our Petit Four final tray to look like.  It was actually a fun project to complete and made plating the actual products much easier because I already had a plan.  We also made large macaroons for the Cafe.  As usual, there was a bit of an altercation with the crazy lady in my class.  There are just no words to describe what we deal with in regard to her.  I didn't realize that people actually behaved the way that she does.  It really is as though she is the only person in the class.  Anyway, that is enough about that.

We also created a plan of action and went over what items could be made on what days.  Obviously, you can't make Italian Meringue on Wednesday morning and hope to use pipe it onto tartlets on Friday.  Everyone made their own version of a production list.  I typed out all my recipes in the order I needed to make them with notes and tips.  Being organized certainly made all the difference.  We had 3 days (a total of 11 hours) to make 6 different Petit Fours, 10 of each.  The 10 of each had to be identical in every way.  For these 6 items, we made about 15 separate components.  The true purpose of this exercise was time management and making a plan.  I completed my tasks for each day with no problem and was able to finish on Friday with time to spare, so it really ended up not being too stressful for me.  I really enjoyed the fast pace of having so many tasks to do.  Deadlines always work for me anyway.  I like all the intricate detail that goes into making the Petit Fours as well.

Here is the finished product:

Chef was impressed overall and said that I should be very proud of my work.  She was especially impressed with my Lemon Tartlets, which seems appropriate.  I am the Queen of Tarts, after all.
The few points that were taken off were from small mistakes like shaky hands or inexperience.  While a number of my classmates did not enjoy the experience at all, I really had fun working on this project.  I received a high A on the final as well as for the class.  So, my 4.0 is intact and I am glad for that.

Next week we start Viennoserie and Laminated doughs - puff pastry, danish, croissant, etc...  We even get to work on some savory applications for puff pastry, which is exciting.  We are all looking forward to having food to eat at the end of class again.  All these little desserts didn't do much for us when we are starving at 10:30 am!

I wish everyone a happy Easter and hope that I survive and live to bake another day.
Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-

Petit Fours Week 2

On Monday we made brownies, blondies, magic bars and trail mix for the cafe.  We also tempered some chocolate to practice piping Happy Birthday and to make chocolate filigrees.

Tuesday was sponge cake day.  We made 3 different types of sponges for 3 different petit fours.  The Petit Four sponge is for the Petit Fours Glaces, the Battenburg sponges for Battenburg Petit Fours and the Jaconde Biscuit is to make up the cake layers of the Opera cake.

On Wednesday, we made Almond Macaroons and French buttercream for the filling.  I'm not talking about coconut macaroons with the bottoms dipped in chocolate.  I'm talking about true french macaroons - crispy, chewy little circles of tasty deliciousness held together with decadent french buttercream.  I have always wanted to make them, but there is this air of mystery and difficulty surrounding most recipes.  They are a little tricky and the method is macaroner (French) - to slightly overmix in order to melt the sugar and avoid peaks.  This is done by spreading the batter (sugar, powdered sugar and egg whites - meringue with almond meal and powdered sugar folded in) around a bowl with a spatula, gathering it all back in the middle and repeating the process until it is just right.  I chose to make pistachio macaroons because I love how the green pops and pistachio buttercream is tasty and nutty.  French buttercream is whipped egg yolks whipped some more with cooked sugar until cool.  Then you whip in about a pound of butter.  That is why it is so tasty.  We also made ganache and were supposed to build our Opera cakes, but one of our classmates had a seizure during the demo, so we had a bit of delay with helping her and EMS arriving.  She is ok.

Thursday was crazy busy.  We were one cake behind and had to completely build the Opera cake and make a glaze for the top.  The Opera is the most delicious little morsel ever.  The base is a thin layer of melted chocolate topped with a layer of thin Jaconde Biscuit, soaked in coffee rum syrup, topped with coffee flavored French buttercream, topped with another layer of caked soaked in syrup, topped with ganache, topped with another layer of soaked caked, topped with coffee buttercream with a dark chocolate glaze poured over the top.  It is cut into little squares and finished with a coffee buttercream rosette and a chocolate filigree.  This is why Petit Fours are so pricey - they are tedious and take forever to make!  We also assembled the Battenburg, which is pink and yellow sponge put together in a checkerboard pattern, layered with apricot jam and covered in marzipan.  We got to use the torch again to bring out the crosshatch design on top.  We also assembled the Petit Four sponge by spreading a thin layer of jam between two layers of petit four sponge cake.  The cake is then cut into little squares and covered with poured fondant.  The idea is to match the color of the fondant to the flavor of the jam.  We chose apricot for ours. Normally, delicate little designs would be piped in chocolate to finish the squares, but we had about 1 minute to finish, so the piping didn't turn out so great.  Whew.  I'm tired just thinking about that day!

The test on Friday was pretty straightforward and I didn't miss any questions on the written exam.  We made macaroons with french buttercream, tempered chocolate and piped 3 different filigree designs  and piped "Happy Birthday".  Everything came out perfect!  I can hardly believe we survived the week - it was pretty crazy!  Luckily, we have Monday off because next week is going to be even crazier.  Hopefully I will survive and live to bake another day.  Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-

Busy Little Bees

Last week, Tuesday through Friday, was pretty busy.  They weren't kidding when they warned us that Petit Fours would be non-stop.  The thing about Petit Fours is that, for the most part, each tiny little dessert has about a million components.  It is part of why they taste so good, and can be so pricey at times.

Tuesday we rolled out Pate Sucree and shaped mini-tartlet shells.  They were baked, filled with yesterday's pastry cream and topped with artfully (if I do say so myself) arranged fruit.  The hardest part of this process is the glazing at the end.  In order to make the fruit shiny and to preserve it just a bit, the top of each tartlet has to be glazed with just the right amount of watered-down-heated-up apricot jelly.  This small task is harder and more frustrating than it sounds.  Note to self:  when making fruit tarts, skimp on the blueberries.  Those little suckers roll all over the place while being glazed.  KG and I decided we are going to invent a spray of some kind.  Stay tuned for our invention!

We made Cherry Almond Diamonds (some people made Pecan) which is a sheet of Pate Sucree rolled out on a half-sheet pan, par-baked and filled with a butter, sugar, honey, cream, almonds and dried cherry filling (the pecan is similar to pecan pie).  We baked those off and saved them until Thursday when we cut and striped them with tempered chocolate.  They are a little sweet for my taste.

We also made Spritz cookie dough and piped rosettes that were dotted with a bit of raspberry jam.  And cut and baked the linzer cookie dough.  Those were sandwiched with a bit of raspberry     jam as well.  The linzer dough had cinnamon and nutmeg in it and was not my favorite.  I prefer plain sugar cookie dough sandwiched with lemon curd or Nutella.

Wednesday was full of tarts and meringue.  We made more Pate Sucree to be used for our practical on Friday and then rolled out more of the old dough for Whiskey Pecan Tartlets and Lemon Tartlets.  The whiskey pecan tartlets were pretty tasty and may be a nice alternative to regular pecan pie this Thanksgiving.  I, of course, LOVE the lemon tartlets as the filling we made is quite

lemon-y.  Delicious.  I learned how to make a meringue that I have never made before:  Italian Meringue.  You basically whip your egg whites to soft peaks while boiling sugar.  When the sugar reaches 240 (softball stage) you slowly pour it into the whites while whipping.  Once all the sugar is in, you whip on high until the bowl is cool and you have glossy, thick meringue.  It is very stable and pipes beautifully.  We used it to top the lemon tartlets and make Vacherines, which are little piped meringue cups that are dried out in the oven then dipped in a bit of tempered chocolate.

Thursday we learned about chocolate and that it has a temper, I mean how to temper it.  First we made Madeleines (one of my favorites to make).  If you have never tried a Madeleine, do so immediately.  If you bake at all, buy a Madeleine pan and wow your friends with this elegant little cake.  It's easy!  We dipped those in the tempered chocolate as well - at an angle with a clean line that seems impossible to get.  Maybe one day...

Chocolate takes forever.  Seriously.  You melt it and heat it up, then add fresh chocolate and cool it down, just to heat it up again.  And all the temperatures have to be exact or you have to start all over again.  It's interesting and fun but very time consuming and takes a bit of patience.  We also learned some fun facts about it like what is made of and all that jazz.  I'm looking forward to the chocolate block, though that is months away.

Friday, as always, was test day.  And what a day it was.  I didn't sleep too well the night before and was on text patrol (texting chronic over sleepers so they wouldn't miss the test), so I was at school by 5:45.  We took our written exam and I didn't think I did so well.  Then we were busy, busy, busy.  Our practical test items were lemon tartlets topped with piped meringue and Madeleines dipped in tempered chocolate.  So, we had to roll out dough and shape and par-bake the shells, make and bake the Madeleines, make the lemon filling, fill the shells, bake them off, temper the chocolate, dip the Madeleine, make the Italian meringue and pipe it on the tartlets - each one had to be identical.  Oh, and I can't believe I forgot the best part!  We go to use the torch this week.  Yes, they gave me fire in the kitchen.  We have a butane torch, which how we brown the top of the meringue.  It's really fun.

Chef Courtney is a tough grader with good critiques and tips, which is exactly what I need.  I think she was a little hard perhaps, but it will only make me a better chef.  I turned everything in on time and did well on the practical.  It also turns out, though I didn't find out until today, that I did really, really well on the written test, so my grades remain intact.  Whew.

Since today was Monday, we really only did production work for the cafe again.  Brownies, Blondies, Magic Bars and Trail Mix.  We also started piping practice with this nasty gel but then tempered some more chocolate and piped filigrees with that.  It's fun, but is going to take a lot of practice.  So, if you call and I don't answer - I'm probably piping!

Here's to hoping we all survive and live to bake another day.  Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-

Petit Fours

Today we started a new 3 week block with a new Chef Instructor, Chef Courtney.  We will have her for 2 different blocks for a total of 6 weeks.  I think everyone was a little nervous coming in this morning.  New production items, new methods, some new ingredients, new instructor.  At least we are in our same lab for now, so we know where things are.

This is technically the Petit Fours block, but today we just prepped our Pate Sucree, pastry cream and some Linzer cookie dough to use this week.  We also make the cookies for the Technique Cafe which is the cafe in the school that is open to the public.  Every Monday part of class will be like working in the bakery of a cafe (sort of).  We got to mix dough on the big Hobart mixer, which was awesome.  I totally want one of those.  It was really fun and we accomplished all of our tasks as a class.

Speaking of the class, 12 people passed breads and another one of my friends (other than KG and AT) got an A as well.  So, as a class we fared better than I thought we would in the end.  2 of the 12 didn't show up for school today, so I'm not sure what that means and if we will really be down to 10.

I like Chef Courtney.  She is really laid back and has a good, dry sense of humor.  We are going to need that because this block is going to be pretty intense.  Our final is designing and presenting a Petit Fours platter with 60 Petit Fours - 6 varieties, 10 each.  Yes, I said 60.  So, if I am totally MIA in 2 weeks, you will know why.  I'll be here in Austin, pulling my hair out.

I am still adjusting to my new schedule.  Waking up at 5:30 every morning isn't really that hard anymore, but figuring out how to be on my feet until about noon every day, then run my business and live life is challenging some days.  I am fortunate that I LOVE what I am doing and know the path ahead.  I can't imaging signing up for this and being unsure, even in the slightest.  I look forward to school every day.  I know that all the other parts will fall into place, I'm just ready for them to do so.

Thanks for reading.  Leave a comment every now and then so I know you are out there!  Also, if something looks interesting, let me know.  I am happy to post recipes and techniques.  Hopefully I will survive today and live to bake another day.  Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-

Artisan Breads

This week we used Yeast Ledger, the starter for all of our breads.  So, technically these are sourdough breads, the starter just isn't quite old enough for a strong sour taste yet.  Using starter in the breads requires overnight fermentation in the cooler, so on Monday we didn't actually bake anything.  We were all hungry.

Country White and Rosemary Olive Oil

With starter, we use something called the autolyse method.  We mix all the ingredients except the salt and anything chunky, like dried fruit or chocolate chips, for about 5 minutes, then let it sit for about 20 minutes (up to an hour).  Then add the salt and chunky ingredients, mix for another 5 minutes.  The dough ferments overnight and the next day we shape, proof and bake.   Or, for the loaves, we ferment in a bowl, then shape and proof them overnight in the proofing baskets.  That's how we get those nice grooves on the tops of the bread.  Those just have to proof to get the chill out the next day, they we bake them off in the deck oven.  It was an interesting and tasty week.  I seriously want some proofing baskets.  I really like the look of the round loaves when they come out of the basket.  I also found a scoring design that I really like.  It turned out really well on the walnut bread.

Walnut Bread

Chocolate Cherry

The country loaf is a basic sourdough bread.  The round loaves we made could be used for bread bowls.  I can't wait to make this again when Yeast Ledger is more sour.  The rosemary olive oil bread is basically the same, with the addition of rosemary and olive oil.  Pretty good.  The walnut bread took 3 days to make.  Day one was the sponge, day two was the dough, and day three we baked it.  It is pretty dense and would taste great on a cheese plate with some blue cheese.  The chocolate cherry rolls were awesome.  It is really a strange bread with cocoa powder, dried cherries and chocolate chips.  We ate it with mascarpone cheese.  YUM.  We also made fig anise bread, but I somehow didn't take a picture.  I didn't like it very much anyway.  The figs were a bit sweet for my taste and the anise was too strong.  Everyone else seemed to like it though.

After drying

Plaque before drying

On Wednesday we baked off two of the breads and then made dead dough that we used for dead dough plaques.  Dead dough has no yeast and is used like clay to create bread plaques and sculptures.  It is also used to create display breads in artisan bread shops.  We had to design a small plaque with Easter or Spring as the theme.  Spring in Texas really make me think of two things:  wildflowers (bluebonnets) and baseball.  My original design incorporated both, plus a river.  However, the day we made it, time, materials and size kept me from including everything.  I was pleased with the finished product and was pretty impressed with my bluebonnets.  It's hard to see in the picture, but they are 2-D and everything was made free hand.  I used sesame seeds on the top but they are also hard to see and some of them fell off in the drying process.  Oh well.

English Muffins

Bread Sticks

Small Bagels

Thursday was pretty relaxing.  We had to prep the dough for a country loaf and a bread of our own to bake off for Friday's test.  Then we made bagels, english muffins and black pepper asiago bread sticks as a class.  That was kind of fun.  The bagels were boiled in a malt syrup and water mixture after proofing, then baked.  We made the english muffins in dry saute pans and the bread sticks were rolled in asiago cheese, twisted and baked.  We ate a lot that day.

Cornbread Rolls

Pulled Pork and Roll

The test on Friday was our final for the bread class and was pretty easy paced and relaxing.  Last week we turned in bread reports on a yeast bread of our choice, so that was the bread we made for our final, along with a country white loaf.  I chose cornbread for my report and concocted what I think is a pretty tasty cornbread roll.  I brushed them all with egg wash and topped them with salt, pepper, polenta or nothing.  I also made a batch of yummy pulled pork for the class, because cornbread just calls for meat and sauce of some kind.  It was a hit!  That was one of my favorite days because I was doing the things I love to do.  Baking and cooking and FEEDING people.  Everyone in the class made some pretty interesting breads and we go to taste all of them.  We ate a lot that day too.

I really enjoyed the bread block but am happy to be moving on to something new.  We start Petit Fours on Monday and we are all a little nervous.  It is known as the weed out block.  The syllabus for the class makes it seem like the next three weeks are going to be pretty tough.  I am going in with my 4.0 gpa maintained and I hope to keep it that way.  I just hope I survive and live to bake another day.  Until then, ciao!

-The Queen of Tarts-