Pirate Ship Birthday Cake

Wow I don't know where the time went in this class. I had intended to post at least once a week. When I have the time I will go back and post the things we have made. Most of the things have been really good and I have learned a lot in this class.

For now though I will post the birthday cake I made for Nate Dawg's birthday! He specifically requested a pirate ship cake with the Scooby Doo Gang looking scared and ghost pirates. I haven't taken the cake making class in school so this is all on my own and I did my best. It was a lot of fun to do.

Sorry these pictures are not the best quality.

Garde Manger Class

I think it's pretty obvious that baking class is much more interesting to me and more fun to post about. This last semester I learned fruit, crudite and cheese platters; how to plate sandwiches to make them look appealing; made many types of salads including potato, pasta, bean, and all other kinds; did an ice sculpture; made appetizers and a "show platter" which is all real food, but coated with aspic so many times that they are no longer edible.

Last Friday was the Presidential Scholarship Ball and was also the practical final. The practical final was a show platter along with 300 appetizers. It only took all week while putting in lots of extra hours! =)

Here's the show platter. The galantine on the right is a whole duck that I cut the back open and took the bones out, stuffed it with forcemeat and salami and tied it back up. Yum!

Toast point or cracker with orange rosemary butter, roasted duck salad with oranges and pistachios

Wild rice pancake with lingonberry cream cheese and garam masala seared duck breast

Duck breast mousse profiterole topped with bacon

Here I am with a week's worth of work that went like hot cakes. ;)

Thanks to the husband who surprised me with flowers for no reason and became my table decoration!

Easter brownies

I did make these brownies once in school but the ones pictured I made at home for Easter dessert. These are rich and fudgy just the way we like them. In fact, if you undercook them they taste just like fudge. The topping is a dark ganache and the lighter chocolate is nutella I just melted in a ziploc and piped on.

My camera is really not working great for some reason. I think one of my boys messed with the settings and it hasn't been the same since..... so sorry for the really terrible pictures.

Before cutting

With a few pieces snitched by the hubby (and maybe a little by me)

A nice big piece for serving.

The First of Cooking Skills Development Class

Well I obviously have not been as excited about this class as baking seeing as how I haven't posted in a really long time.

This class is all about the basics. Dicing, cutting, basic mother sauces, cutting up chickens, filleting fish, making a roux, etc.

Most who read this blog know a lot of the basics so my goal is to try and post something interesting and new to all of you for the days I have left.

Today my team made cream of asparagus soup. The cool part about this soup to me was that it's made from the end of the asparagus that we typically just throw away. First saute some onions and celery and then add the asparagus pieces (and we also used some broccoli scraps). We cooked all of this until tender and then added chicken stock and simmered for about an hour. Next we pureed the soup and then strained it to get all the asparagus strings out. To finish it up we added some cream, cheese and a little salt and pepper. Simple and yet delicious.

I also filleted a halibut and my friend took a picture of it but then it didn't turn out so, a post with no picture. =(

The last few goodies from the bake shop

This dessert we didn't actually make. Another girl and I just plated it and served it for a small event that took place at the school. They have events held there quite often. The cake thing has ladyfingers on the bottom and I'm not sure what the white part is exactly. The red is piped raspberry sauce and then the chocolate in the back is ganache dolloped on and then a spoon swiped through the middle.

My cherry danish. These were shown on the Fox news video if you saw that.

This I made and plated. It's a Vanilla Bavarian Cream with chocolate cake on the bottom. The sauce is raspberry and the yellow alien egg stuff is passion fruit. My chef told me to add that for color even though there is no passion fruit anywhere in the dessert. A little of that has A LOT of flavor. Mmmmmm

This I also made and plated. It's a raspberry mousse cake which actually has strawberries in it instead of raspberries. The top is a layer of raspberry gelee. The colors in real life are much more vibrant and beautiful than in the picture.

FOX News

Aaron made me post this.

The news came and did several segments about the culinary program and most included our class since we were the only ones from 6-8 am

Aaron also did a little editing so it may seem like the transitions are a little strange... =)

Also, I really don't like watching myself so these are really a little embarrassing so be kind, and know that I am not allowed to wear makeup to class. =)

All the food from my practical exam

Here is my tray of goodies. Missing from this pic is my pumpkin pie and creme Anglaise. This is what I presented to the Chef and he graded me on taste and appearance.

I scored 99/100 and my missing point was for my pie crust. It was a little big on the sides and sagged down below the lip. Oh well. I'm happy with my 99! =)

A few closeups of each one

Blueberry Muffins

Cream Puff Swans

Cream Puffs

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft Rolls (Round)

Soft Rolls (Twist)

Pumpkin Pie

And let me just tell you, I did the impossible. Aaron ate a piece of my pie. He tasted a bite of mine, and went back and got a slice. I have never witnessed him eating pumpkin pie before. Woohoo!

Correction about Quiche

Apparently sometimes the textbook is not correct according to my chef. The book says to bake a quiche in a water bath. My chef says to only bake in a water bath if the crust is already cooked, which why would you do that. So Ashley I hope you haven't made a quiche in a water bath yet and if you haven't, don't.

I will now check facts with my chef before posting them for the world to see. =)

MMMM Croissants

Homemade croissants taste so much better than store bought. But they also take a lot of time and skill. A skill that pays at least $25 an hour for any of you that are interested. =)

Croissants are a type of laminated dough, as is puff pastry and danish dough. I have now learned that laminated doughs are my nemesis and I will need to practice this a lot to get the skill down. They still tasted awesome though!

I didn't want all the scraps to go to waste so I rolled them into a rectangle, brushed with butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar then rolled it up like a cinnamon roll. I put it in a loaf pan to proof and once it was ready, I sliced it in half lengthwise, pinched the top ends together and twisted the slices cut side up, pinching the ends together. I did not get a great picture of it but it was a cool way to do the bread.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

This was my favorite of the baked custards we did. And yes cheesecake is technically a baked custard.

I didn't get a picture of it whole and then we did a terrible job cutting it so it's not the most beautiful but it sure tasted fantastic.

The crust is crushed Oreo and it was decided last minute to do the filling orange flavor. To make the basic cheesecake batter orange we added: zest of about half an orange, about a tsp of orange oil, and Grand Marnier. I'm not sure how much Grand Marnier because the Chef just poured some in. He doesn't typically let us do the liqueur ourselves. =) But I think it was about a Tbsp, maybe a little less.

We were going to candy some very thin orange slices and arrange on top but ran out of time but that sure would have looked cool.

I'm posting just the plain cheesecake recipe and then you can be creative. One team tinted 1/3 of their batter with raspberry puree, put it in a pastry bag and with a very small tip piped it all through the batter. It looked really neat.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients	%	Test in oz	Test in grams
graham cracker crumbs	100	6	170.10
Granulated sugar	33	2	56.70
Butter	48.4	3	85.05
Total	181.4	12	340.19

Process:

1. Mix the cracker crumbs and sugar together
2. Stir in the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are well coated
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake pans

Cheesecake Batter

Ingredients	%	Test in oz	Test in grams
Cream cheese	100	18.25	517.38
Sugar	30	5.5	155.92
Butter, softened	4.8	0.875	24.81
Lemon juice	1.9	0.375	10.63
Vanilla Extract	0.90	0.125	3.54
Eggs	26.2	1.75	49.61
Heavy cream	8.7	1.625	46.07
Sour cream	8.7	1.625	46.07
Total	181.2	33	935.53

Process:

1. Prepare an 8 inch pans with pan spray and the graham cracker crust and reserve. The crust should be 1/4 inch thick on bottom of pan
2. Using the paddle, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the butter and sugar on medium speed, and mix until smooth. Scrape down the bowl
3. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix on low speed until smooth
4. Add the eggs in three stages, scraping the bowl between each addition
5. When the batter is smooth, blend in the heavy cream and sour cream
6. Place the batter in the pans
7. Place the pan on a sheet pan filled with water
8. Bake at 325 F in a deck oven for 1 hour 15 min or until just barely set in the middle. Or, bake at 285 F in a convec oven for about 50 minutes
9. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing from the pan

Finishing:

1. To remove the cake from the pan, place in a bain-marie or warm with a torch
2. Place the cake on a 9 inch gold board
3. Apply a thin layer of sour cream to the top (optional) and decorate with fresh fruit

Chocolate Pots de Crème

This is very rich. It almost tastes like a dark, bittersweet brownie batter.

Here's a tip when making baked custards (this includes bread pudding and quiche). They should be baked in a water bath with water up to the middle of the container, and then covered with foil.

The exception to the rule would be creme brulee; which instead of covering, the temperature is lowered and then is cooked longer.

This picture didn't turn out so great but all I did was place 3 raspberries on top. I could have sprinkled them with powdered sugar, or piped a rosette of creme Chantilly with chocolate shavings.

Ingredients	%	Test in oz	Test in grams
Heavy cream	100	9.375	265.78
Eggs	20	1.875	53.16
Granulated sugar	20	1.875	53.16
Cocoa liquor	6	0.625	17.72
60% chocolate	24	2.25	63.79
Total	170	16	453.59

Process:

1. Bring the heavy cream to a boil
2. Whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar
3. Temper the egg mixture with the warm cream
4. Add the hot mixture to the cocoa liquor and chocolate and emulsify with an immersion blender
5. Pour into molds
6. Bake at 300 F in a bain-marie for about 30 minutes
7. Cool at room temperature, and refrigerate until needed
8. Serve with creme Chantilly and fresh fruit or a crisp cookie

Creme Brulee

Ok. This was delicious! So smooth and creamy with the perfect crunchy crust on top.

Ingredients	%	1/2 Test in oz	1/2 Test in grams
Heavy Cream	100	11	311.84
Vanilla Bean	Each	1/4 each	1/4 each
Egg yolks	16.53	1.75	49.61
Eggs	3.85	0.5	14.17
Sugar	25.77	2.75	77.96
Salt	0.20	1/2 pinch	1/2 pinch
Total	146.35	16	453.59

Process:

1. Scald the cream and scraped vanilla bean
2. Combine and gently whisk the egg yolks, eggs, sugar, and salt
3. Temper the cream into the egg-sugar mixture
4. Next, strain it through a fine chinois
5. Portion into creme brulee dishes and then bake in a water bath at 300 F in a convec oven
6. Bake until just barely set in the middle
7. Remove from the oven and transfer to the refrigerator, uncovered

Finishing:

To serve, apply a thin layer of sugar over the custard and brulee with a torch or under a broiler

What's with UVU?

I'm not sure how UVU seems to end up with some really amazing instructors sometimes but here's an article about my current chef instructor. There are only two Certified Pastry Chefs in Utah and both teach at UVU. The other one teaches my advanced Baking and Pastry class.

My chef instructor next block is a Certified Master Chef, which is an extremely difficult accomplishment and there are only about 52 in the world.

I guess it's just nice to know I'm learning from some really talented people.

This is a really long article so I don't expect anyone would read it, but I am in a couple of the pictures.

http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/article_53a9538c-dc0d-5bbe-a51f-44a4a53b219d.html?mode=story

I love Tarts

Pear Almond Tart

This was fairly easy and was pretty good. It's a traditional French flavor. The crust is Pate Sucree, then Frangipane filling which is a mixture of pastry cream and almond cream, poached pears on top (6 halves per 9 inch tart), then brushed with an apricot glaze.

Small Fruit Tart

This is also Pate Sucree crust then filled with pastry cream, topped with fresh fruit, and the same apricot glaze.

The glaze looks a little thick but the chef actually did the glaze on this one as an example and then I did the others. I like it a little less thick.

Since there are so many different components to these, email me if you want the recipes. If several people want them I'll post them.

My Pie Invention- Rocky Road

Thanks everyone for the ideas and help in coming up with what pie to do for today. No one actually suggested this one but it did come about because of all the suggestions that were made.

It's just a regular pie crust, chocolate cream filling with candied almonds and marshmallows stirred in and then an Italian meringue (tastes like marshmallow) on top. It got a little smashed from the saran wrap it traveled home in so it doesn't look quite as beautiful in this picture as it did before.

Now here's the best part. The chef didn't tell us this but it was a contest to see who could make the best all around pie. The one that all the flavors blended well together, textures complimented each other, held together when it was served, etc. The entire class voted and guess who won.

I did! I won a $25 gift certificate to Brick Oven for this little creation here.

Thanks also to Matthew, Edwina, Jacob and Aaron for tasting my test recipes over the weekend and giving useful feedback!

Here's the chocolate cream filling

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients	%	Test (oz)	Test in grams
Whole Milk	60	5.375	152.38
Heavy Cream	40	3.625	102.77
Sugar #1	10	0.875	24.81
Cornstarch	5	0.5	14.17
Sugar #2	20	1.75	49.61
Egg Yolks	15	1.375	38.98
Butter	13	1.125	31.89
72% chocolate	25	2.25	63.79
Total	188	1 lb 0.75 oz	474.85

Process, Chocolate Custard

1. In a stainless steel pot, boil the milk, cream, and first sugar
2. Combine the second sugar with the cornstarch
3. Combine the egg yolks and sugar-cornstarch mixture
4. Once the milk mixture boils, temper 1/3 of it into the egg mixture
5. Return the tempered sugar-yolk mixture to the milk and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly
6. Once cooked, transfer the custard to a bowl fitted with the whip attachment
7. Add the chocolate and mix on low speed. Add the butter and mix until smooth
8. Once just warm to the touch, fill the blind-baked pie shells 3/4 of the way up the side of the pie shell and cool to set the filling

I stirred marshmallows and almonds into this but just until it had the amount I wanted. I didn't actually measure.

Italian Meringue

Ingredients	%	Test	Test in grams
Sugar	200	17.75 oz	503.20
Water	60	5.375 oz	152.38
Egg whites	100	8.875 oz	251.60
Total	360	32 oz	907.18

Process

1. Heat the sugar and water on the stove until it reaches the boiling point
2. Wash down the sides of the pan with plain water
3. When the sugar reaches 240 F whip the egg whites on second speed
4. When the sugar reaches 246 F to 250 F, slowly pour it down the side of the mixing bowl, into the whipping egg whites
5. Whip until room temperature, or desired temperature (bowl is cool to touch)
6. To reserve a meringue that is not being actively used, hold by continuously whipping on low speed