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