i say feel-oh, you say phi-lo....

Our assignment for today was to design and produce a dessert using phyllo leaves. Phyllo (feel-oh) leaves are extremely thin sheets of pastry dough. It is used for making the Greek dessert baklava, which we were not allowed to make.

What I came up with were "Spring Rolls" filled with mango, banana and almond cream. Before rolling up the roll, I laid down sheet after sheet of phyllo and dusted each one with powdered sugar, ground pistachios and graham cracker crumbs. I also made mango ice cream which was outrageous. The swish in front of the spring rolls is mascarpone cream with poppy seeds. There are also caramelized mango strips and candied pistachios on the plate. Busy day but very yummy.

black and tan....

Todays practical exam was on chocolate desserts. The theme for this block is that we are given a category, we come up with a star attraction and then we design a plate around it. I went for a chocolate and peanut butter combination. The main part of the dessert has a flourless chocolate cake on the bottom, a chocolate peanut butter ganache in the middle and a milk chocolate bavarian on top. If I was to do it again, I wouldn't make the ganache so thick. That swoosh in the middle of the plate is peanut butter flavored whipped cream. The black mound that is melting is a chocolate sorbet. It doesn't have any cream or eggs in the recipe. The only ingredients are water, sugar, cocoa powder and dark chocolate. It's made exactly like a sorbet so I'm calling it a sorbet.

The chocolate crescent was kind of fun. All you do is spread melted, tempered chocolate on transfer sheets. You cut patterns while the chocolate is still soft. When it sets, the pattern has been transferred to the chocolate surface.

wishy washy about cheesecake...

I'm kind of ambivalent about cheesecake. I don't scan the dessert menu in search of cheesecake. It seems a little too filling after a big dinner. On the other hand, if you wait a while after dinner, a good piece of cheesecake with a strong cup of coffee has always hit the spot for me. They are also tricky to make but I took the challenge this weekend. I scaled the recipe down and made a 6" New York style cheesecake with a layer of chocolate flavoring in the middle. The top didn't crack, the center didn't sink and I was able to get it out of my ring mold (I don't believe in those spring form pans). I'll make a point to swirl the middle layer of chocolate on my next one but I consider it a success. Excuse me while I go brew a fresh pot of coffee....

i want one; what is it?....

Have you ever seen a waiter carry a dessert to a table near you and you go "Wow - I want one of those".....

This is the start of a six week block of Advanced Patisserie methods. The focus is on sauces, flavors, candies, chocolates, garnishes and plating techniques. From a sensory standpoint, we look at textures, colors, shapes, appearance and complimenting tastes. My instructor calls it the quest for the $10 plate. I'm currently in the $5 range.

We had our first "plate up" today and the star of the plate was custard. We had total freedom to create a plate and here is a picture of mine.... I baked a 3" round serving of bread pudding infused with cinnamon and served it cold. I made up some mint ice cream (fresh mint from the school garden). I candied some pistachios and included some fresh fruit. For sauces, there is some creme anglaise and raspberry coulis. There is also a honey flavored tuile (cookie) on top.

It was a lot of work for a single dessert but it turned out well. I'm starting to like making ice cream. Even though my plate called for a tablespoon sized serving, I made sure to make a 2 quart batch of mint ice cream. If you can't find me, I'll be in the freezer....

weekend getaway....

Clea (my longtime running buddy) and her husband had a week planned in Seattle and Olympic Park. They asked if I'd like to join them. I had a free ticket on Southwest and the hotel was $74 so off I went for a weekend visit. I flew up early Saturday morning and got back to Austin really late Sunday night. It was good to escape the 100 degree days. While we were there, we saw the Mariners play the Yankees. The hotel was right next to Pike Place Market. The market is full of restaurants, produce stands, seafood stands and bakeries. It's also the site of the original Starbucks. Although my time in Seattle amounted to 26 hours, it was a fun trip.

2 of my favorite food groups....

....Chocolate and Coffee. mmmmm

This was my final project for the cake block. My Mocha Torte. It was a Sacher cake sliced into 3 layers. Each layer is brushed with espresso flavored syrup. The bottom two layers had a thin layer of raspberry jam spread on as well as a layer of espresso flavored pastry cream. The top and sides were covered (masked) with chocolate ganache and then topped off with a chocolate glaze. I topped it off with some garnish of raspberries, chocolate covered coffee beans and white chocolate cigarettes. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

every time a bell rings....

...Steve gets an Angel Food Cake. That would be a wonderful life. giggle

I realize I didn't go to pastry school to learn how to make an angel food cake from scratch but I've got to comment on it. This little 6" cake is nothing more than a meringue (8 egg whites - yikes) with some cake flour mixed in. Throw on some strawberries and whipped cream and I'm set. Simplicity has its virtues.

For our final this Friday, we have to design our own cake. Mine is going to be a Chocolate Mocha Torte. Details to follow - wish me luck.

home cooking....

The home project for this weekend was a 3 layer Bavarois (Bavarian). It's a 6 inch mold with a layer of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate mousse. The very top layer is a chocolate glaze with some tempered white chocolate piped on. I had made it at school before but this was the first attempt at home. It took the better part of the afternoon. Production is much easier with multiple mixers and an endless supply of bowls. There are a few things that I need to fix for the next one but it turned out fairly well.

let them eat cake....

Here are a couple of cakes that we made this week. The light colored cake is carrot cake (hopefully the marzipan carrots were a clue) and the darker one is banana cake. The banana cake is supposed to have marzipan bananas on each rosette but I ran out of time. The carrot cake has cream cheese frosting and the banana cake is done in chocolate sour cream ganache (melted dark chocolate and sour cream. Yikes)

Have you ever been in a group of four at a restaurant and ordered one piece of cake for everyone to share? These cakes would be used for such a situation. One person eating one piece of cake would go into a coma. Please eat responsibly.

lemon tree very pretty...

I had a request for a lemon meringue pie this weekend. I knew what the typical pie tasted like so I wanted to do a variation on it. The filling that I did is lemon chiffon which is lighter and not as tart. It is the standard filling but with whipped cream folded in. It sets up firm as it chills in the icebox.

I've never been a big fan of typical meringue on a lemon pie so I went with an Italian meringue. You melt the sugar to soft-ball stage before adding it to the egg whites. It will hold its density longer and it won't shrink over time like normal meringue does. I need to buy a torch so that I can brown the meringue peaks but for now, they're staying white.