Class 5- Plated Desserts

As my final lab at JWU, this was a strong one to end with. I felt like I finally had the hang of production in this class. Certain days were a struggle, but I pulled through! I loved this class, the assignments, my chef... everything! And there are 8 different plates for me to show you! Here they are! 

1. Molten Chocolate Cake-with raspberry sauce, anglaise, chocolate piping, and tuile garnish

2. Red wine poached pears, roasted pineapple, and white wine poached apples with a wine reduction, cranberry-apricot compote, and lace cookie.

3. Creme Brulee with fruit-in-glass sugar art

4.Vanilla Latte Heart-Shaped Cheesecake with Chocolate piping, raspberry sauce, raspberry caviar, and glazed blackberries. 

5.Raspberry Bavarian and white chocolate mousse petit gateaux with chocolate garnishes, a chantilly quenelle and raspberry and orange sauce.

6. I missed this day of class to do the S&D Coffee Competiton! I was so happy to be in finals! Visit www.facebook.com/sndcoffee to see more pictures and videos of me competing! 

7.Today we had a chopped challenge in class and this was my group's plate! THIS IS NOT SUSHI! It's dessert disguised as sushi! :) Our mystery basket contained canned peaches, frangelico, ginger snaps, rice, and rosemary with the guidelines being that it had to be a plated dessert that contained a foam. What you are looking at is: "sushi" made with coconut cream sticky rice, peach "fish" and peach rosemary "seaweed" garnished with gingersnap frangelico reduction "soy sauce," puréed pistachio rosemary butter "wasabi," peach foam "spicy mayo," peach "caviar," and a final touch of chocolate "chopsticks!" This was sooo fun to come up with and prepare! We were afraid it wouldn't work, but it definitely did!

8.Finished my LAST baking and pastry practical with a 19.5/20! It's a half strawberry half white chocolate petite gateaux with short dough cookie layers wrapped in a chocolate ribbon, topped with champagne glaze and a strawberry in glass sugar. Garnished with a pecan lace cup, an ice cream quenelle, sugar flare, and a fanned strawberry! A strawberries and champagne dessert to celebrate the completion of my associate degree classes and the two week countdown to France!

Class 4- Artisan Breads

Funny enough, I was dreading breads class... but it ended up being extremely enjoyable! For this post I will spare the details of each item, and instead show a variety of pictures. Bread has the potential to be so beautiful!!

I'll start with my "The Giving Tree" Bread Sculpture- It's a sculpture made from 100% bread!

Other skills I learned were: How to make a baguette- Followed by how to make Epi:

Here's a loaf of Sourdough that I made:

From that loaf, I made Prosciutto, goat cheese, fig, and caramelized onion sandwiches:

From whole-grain bread I made tea-sandwiches with lavender cream cheese and honey-lemon pickled cucumbers:

Class 3- Entremets

After my initial fear of cakes wore off in the cakes class... moving over to entremets was exciting. It was also slightly terrifying. But, after the first shaky day which you will see below... I actually got the hang of things! This was probably the first class that I felt truly talented in. 

Entremets 1- Chocolate Mousse Entremets-Flavored it "Chunky Monkey". The bottom layer is a short dough crust with banana jam, followed by rum soaked chocolate sponge cake, whipped peanut butter, another layer of rum soaked chocolate sponge cake, and chocolate mousse. Glazed with chocolate glaze and topped with modeling chocolate roses and chocolate piping.

Entremets 2-I flavored mine pistachio raspberry with a hint of orange-pekoe tea. The layers are: a shortbread crust spread with pistachio jam, followed by a checkerboard of chocolate and vanilla rum-soaked sponge cake spread with pistachio jam, raspberry Bavarian cream, and orange-pekoe tea glaze. The entremets is wrapped in a pistachio-raspberry jocande and garnished with a tuille cookie, chocolate piping, crushed pistachio, and glazed fruit.

Entremets 3- Baumkuchen entremets. The outer layer is baumkuchen cake filled with a Greek yogurt filling, raspberry mousse, chocolate ganache, and strawberries. Garnished with fresh fruit, chocolate twists, and shortbread cookies.

Entremets 4- Petit Gateaux-Japonaise disks layered with chocolate mousse disks, rum-soaked chocolate sponge cake, and raspberry. Filled with a white chocolate mousse and cocoa-sprayed. Topped with chocolate and Japonaise garnish.

Entremets 5- Chocolate Mudlside entremets with white chocolate mousse, fuillatine crunch layers, & Bailey's infused ganache with cocoa spray and sugar decor

Entremets 6- Vanilla Latte entremets- Practical Exam Grade

Entremets 7- Petit Gateaux- Chocolate-Orange-Almond- Practical Exam Grade

Class 2- Sugar Artistry

Sugar Artistry was a class that I was more than pumped for. I considered myself sort-of experienced with sugar because I had made a few sugar candies and such before class... which looking back at is quite hilarious.

 Things I learned...

 1. Sugar Crystallization is real and it sucks.

 2. Sugar art is HOT. 

 3. Sugar breaks very easily and very similar to glass and it can cut you. 

Despite all these silly lessons, I had a BLAST in this class, and actually made some pretty fancy things! Hooray! Here they are:

First Sculpture EVER: Straw Sugar Bonzai on a poured sugar base with pulled sugar roses.

Second Sculpture- Pastillage swan on a poured sugar base with roses, ribbons, and flare.

Final Sculpture- Fish Sculpture!!

Class 1- Cakes Class

I started off my Sophomore Year with the dreaded Cakes class! Many Baking & Pastry Majors look forward to Cakes class because for some ungodly reason, they have an aspiration to become the next "Cake Boss" and open a fancy cake shop. That's awesome for you "cake" people (yes, for you non-bakers a "cake person" is a category of baker) however, I at the start of this class... trembled in fear at the sight of icing spatulas and butter-cream. I will note that following this class, I felt much stronger in my cake-skills... but I also think that is apparent if you look at my progress from the first to last day. So... without further adieu... let me take you on a cake walk! (Wow...that was cheesy.)

First Cake of Class- Hazelnut Torte- Gluten Free

Second Cake of Class- Animal Cake Day- Chocolate Genoise with Rasp. Filling and Italian Buttercream

Third Cake of Class- Present-Box Cake- Vanilla Cake with Rasp. Jam, Italian Buttercream, & Fondant

Fourth Cake of Class- Wedding Cake- Vanilla cake, filled with French buttercream and raspberry jam, topped with Italian buttercream and Marzipan Roses.

Fifth Cake of Class- Winter Wonderland Competiton- Vanilla Poundcake with rum simple syrup, and Italian buttercream. Covered in fondant and topped with marzipan creatures aka "Marzipanimals."