Pastry School Nightmares

You know that dream, or rather nightmare, where you are going to the final exam for a class in college and you show up to take the test and can't find the room?  Well, let me tell you what a pastry school nightmare is like, as I've just woken up from one.  I was dreaming that I was running late for class and when I finally got into the kitchen our assignment was to bring a pot of water to a boil and then add sugar.  As everyone began moving around and filling their pots with water I realized I didn't have a pot!  I frantically opened every cabinet and drawer and could not find a pot anywhere.  Then I started going to other kitchens and finally got a pot, but when I was on my way back to my class I realized I didn't have my kitchen uniform on!  Disaster!

Anyway, I think this dream means I am in baking withdrawal.  I plan to begin the baking today and make at least one item today, tomorrow, and Friday.  I know I'll be making eclairs today and some form of puffed pastry tomorrow so anyone that wants to stop by for a visit or a sweet is welcome.  Call or email me for the appropriate time to visit and I'll look forward to seeing you then!  I'll also be posting pictures of my creations so we can compare the product from a home oven versus the product from an  industrial oven.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.  Merry Christmas!

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 26: Graduation Celebration!

I am officially a graduate of Basic Pastry!  Yea!  As some of you may know I was under the impression that the school recognizes the top three graduates in each program.  Since I was certain I was not going to finish as one of the top three students then my only goal was to pass the class so I could continue on with Intermediate Pastry in January.  However, it turns out I was wrong and that the school actually recognizes the top five graduates from each class.  My good friend Lydia was number 1 for all of Basic Pastry and my good friend Josephine was number 2.  Another girl from our group was number 3 and a girl from another group was number 4, but you'll never guess who number 5 was...Me!

So, to all of you who have been following my blog or encouraging me over these past five weeks or even encouraging me to pursue this passion for the last few years I need to say thank you.  I would not be in pastry school, I would not be in Paris, and I would not have been dedicated enough to show up at school every day rain, snow, or shine without your support.  

After the graduation ceremony we had a reception including champagne, small bites, and petit desserts prepared by our chefs.  We had a great time and took a lot of pictures.  Here are some of the pictures from our day.

Our Main Demonstration Room

Josephine, Naama, Lydia, Maggie, Me, and Esther

Group A Gals-Lydia, Maggie, Me, and Josephine

Josephine, Maggie, and the desserts as usual!

Until next time (which may be a few weeks) Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 25: The Exam

Rest assured all of my apple peeling was not in vain; my recipe for the practical exam was in deed Tarte Aux Pommes!  If only Chef Bernarde had been there to see my apple peeling and apple arranging skills in action I think he'd have been very impressed by my improvement.  I've come a long way from Day 4 and backwards apples.

I began my day at 6:10am when I woke from a restless sleep and decided not to wait for the alarm, but to get up and resume studying for my 8:30am practical exam.  I ironed my apron, took a shower, packed my bag, and went to the coffee shop next to school to keep reviewing the ten recipes that could potentially be my project for the practical exam.  When I arrived at school around 8:15am I was informed by my friends that the recipes we were going to be assigned included Tarte Aux Pommes, Pithiviers and Sacristains, or Apple Turnovers and Palmiers.  Puff Pastry, really?!  I was just as glum as everyone else.

When we got to our kitchen we were greeted by Chef Daniel Walter who would be presiding over our kitchen for the exam.  We really lucked out as he is everyone's favorite chef because of his positive attitude and his laid back manner.  This was definitely going to be a plus for our group.  He had each of us choose a plastic chip from a bowl and he assigned our recipes based on the color of our chips.  I chose a green chip along with my friend Maggie and three other girls in my class.  When he assigned us to our spots in the kitchen we saw the recipes for Pithiviers and Sacristains in front of us.  I looked at Maggie and I knew the overwhelmed look in her eye was probably reflected in mine as well, but just as we were trying to determine what to do first Chef Walter took our recipes away and told us he'd made a mistake.

He then shuffled a bunch of papers and gave us the recipe for Tarte Aux Pommes instead!  Relief swept over me in an instant.  While this was not going to be easy it was certainly going to be much easier than the other options because Tarte Aux Pommes means no puff pastry!  No rolling and rolling and rolling the dough and no folding and counting turns either.  I'd really dodged a bullet!

The second part of the exam was the same for everyone.  It was a straightforward skills test.  Each of us had to make one recipe of Sweet Short Pastry and line a tart pan.  This was even more of an advantage for me because since I had to make the dough and line the tart pan for my Tarte Aux Pommes anyway I could line both pans and then choose the best looking one for my tart.  The second pan I lined looked much better than the first one and I was very happy to use it for my main project.

My Tart from Day 4

My Tarte Aux Pommes and My Tart Shell

At the end of the exam we were each assigned a number and told to set our projects out with our number in front of them.  When everything was finally cleaned up I was happy with my results.  I thought my tart looked better this time than last time and certainly was not the worst one on the table.  I cannot believe Basic Pastry is over and I'm not sure what grade I'll end up with for the program, but one thing is for sure I did not fail.  At the end of the day all I really wanted was to graduate into the intermediate program in January and after this morning I am confident that this will be the case.

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 24: Celebration!

You know you're in France when, at the end of your final demonstration class, your chef tells you good luck on your final exam and then cracks open 6 bottles of champagne to celebrate the end of your program!

Today at 12:30pm we gathered to have our last demonstration class.  Chef Cotte had finally returned from his vacation and showed us a demonstration on how to make Chocolate-Bergamot Mousse Cake with Orange Crisp.  It was a really fun class and the cake looked like a double chocolate mousse cake from Filomena inside and was covered with a chocolate ganache glaze outside.

Chef Cotte's Chocolate Mousse Cake

After the demonstration our Chef cut up the cakes and we all enjoyed cake and champagne as an afternoon snack.  The cake was delicious and the champagne hit the spot too!

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 23: Finished!

Saturday was my last official practical class!  We had a demonstration at 8:30am for Alhambra, or chocolate cake, went out to breakfast, and then came back to make the cake in our practical class at 3:30pm.

The Alhambra was baked in a rectangular mold similar to one you might cook banana bread in but a little smaller.  The cake was taken out of the mold, cut, and put back together with thick layers of chocolate ganache in between.  The cake was then decorated with ganache piping, candied violets and flowers made from modeling chocolate.

My Alhambra

A close-up of my rose.

Our group breakfast was equally as exciting as making the cakes.  We went to a restaurant named, and I'm not making this up, Breakfast In America!  It is a diner that serves American specialties from cheeseburgers to eggs and bacon to thick milkshakes.  It is a great place.  We had some of everything on the menu, but my favorite item was the Obama Milkshake consisting of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and delicious peanut butter.  It all really hit the spot after all of the pastries and French food we've been eating in general.

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 22: Buche Pistache-Chocolat

Snow and Christmas lights means it is finally holiday time in Paris.  Today we made a Buche Pistache-Chocolat or a Chocolate-Pistachio Log Cake.  It was referred to as a Yule Log by a few Americans in our demonstration class, but this is not actually what it is.  While it was made in a log shaped pan it was not rolled up, it was baked, cut, and layered back together with chocolate ganache and simple syrup.  Here are a few photos:

My Buche Pistache-Chocolat

The green and brown layers inside my Buche.

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!

Day 21: Baking, Baking, Baking

Thursday was a busy day!  We made a cake called a Mogador at 8:30am, went to a demonstration on Puff Pastry, and made a Pithiviers in the afternoon.  The Mogador was my kind of cake.  It was a chocolate and raspberry mousse cake decorated with raspberries.  The base of the cake was a chocolate genoise sponge cake that was layered with a raspberry glaze and then covered with the chocolate mousse.  It looked very elegant, but was pretty easy to make.

My Mogador

In the afternoon we used puff pastry again to make another traditional dessert called Pithiviers.  The dough was rolled out and filled with an almond cream.  Then another layer of dough was put on top and the cream was sealed inside.  We cut a flower shape out of the dough and scored the top.  Using the excess dough we made twisty cinnamon sugar bread.  We all agreed that they would have been much better with parmesan and asiago cheese.  We are all pastried out!

My Sacristains

My Pithiviers

The layers of my puff pastry up close!

Until next time Au Revoir and Bon Appetit!