Sunday, June 10, 2012

My birthday


Yes, yes, yes... It was my birthday - April 6th and I had meant to post what I did for it some months ago. Normally, I don't like celebrating my birthday but this year I wanted to blow my candles, all 35!
So I made a vanilla cake with chocolate filling and covered with lucious chantilly...
Did I tell you I love chantilly? :) it's not only covered but on top chantilly roses ...



I baked a vanilla cake and then sliced it in 4 layers. I brush a syrop ( made with 200 cl of water and 200 gr of sugar, brought to boil for about 3 minutes and let it cool down before brushing it on each layer).
Brushing a syrop gives lots of moisture to a simple cake. You can flavour your syrop with alcohol (run, whisky, orange liquor, etc)

Then I made the dark chocolate filling...

For the dark chocolate filling recipe from Baking (Dorie Greenspan)
2 cups of milk
4 large egg yolk
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp corsntarch, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 1/2 tbp unslated butter, cut into 5 pieces at room temperature

To make the dark chocolate cream
Bring the milk to a boil. Meanwhile in a large heavy-bottmed saucepan, whisk the egg yolkds with the sugar, cornstarch and salt until think and well blended. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won´t curdle- then, still whiskin, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and throroughly (make sure to get into the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes. remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the melted chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the pieces of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the chocolate cream is smooth and silky. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the cream until chilled, or for up to 3 days. Or if you want to cool the cream quickly, put the bowl with the cream into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir the cream occasionally until it's throroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

I filled around 3mm each layer with the chocolate cream and then coat the exterior of the cake with chantilly.

Chantilly
1 L of cream - 40 % fat
120 gr of sugar
Whisk it until you have the right consistency, can form peaks. Be carefull not to over beat or you will end up with butter! Very expensive butter :)





what was left
yummy!




Saturday, June 2, 2012

I am baaackkk

It's been certainly a while since I didn't post anything. I've been very busy, lot's of things happening, extremely tired but now I am back and also the sun.  It seems that finally Spring arrived bringing some much needed energy.

I am still going to my baking classes. I am in LOVE with them - once I managed to arrive and have my hands on the dough - but will spare you all the running around to get there which I don't necessarily love.

So what I have learned in class... many things... I'll post the pictures, sorry for the quality but they were taken with a mobile phone!


I made for my daughter's birthday. She turned 3!!!  I was told not to decorated with any cream.

I made this car cake for my colleague's son. He loved it!

Tartes meringue. Base of pate brise filled with pastry cream and cerises liés and cover with Italian Meringue !

St Honoré- Pate brise as base, with pastry cream, fruits, little choux filled with chantilly and covered in chocolate fondant

Saint Honore- and to cover it with Chantilly and fruit!

Carre a la Creme - 40X60 plaque of Pate brise as base, cut 10 cm width cut in long, cover with pastry cream

Last rectangle - brush a thin layer of abricotage (hot, hot)  and then brush the white fondant -fondant must be at the right temperature!!! and inmediately after do the lines with the chocolate and make with a knife the shapes
Finally, with a serrated knife cut in 3 cm width. Do NOT PRESS the dessert, very gently, no pressure SERRATE it



Huits à la creme- millefeuille with pastry cream

Belgian Waffles

Pain au chocolat (first attempt) this was my final exam of 2nd year!

Moka cake - this will be my final exam of Pastry!!!

Pain campagne

Croutes aux fraises- base pate sablé, filled with mix of pastry cream and chantilly, covered with fresh strawberries and finally brushed with abricotage and chopped pistaches