Because I just started this blog and have been in school for a month.
Because I’ve been baking up a storm.
Because I’ve been eating said storm of things I’ve baked, so they only exist now in picture form.
And because its my blog and sort of the point. Here’s what I’ve been up to in the kitchen, or “lab” as we refer to it (see dad, its sort of like being a scientist!).
First up, we made tarte aux pommes. Translation: Apple Tarts. I’m a genius with language, no?
We also made a mirabelle and apricot tart. I need to practice placing things in circles, but all in all, it tasted yummy.
My fancy fig tart, with a crown of raspberries and a sprinkling of pistachio dust on top of a bed of pastry cream (I know, I’m a poet with food).
A coffee tart, that I could not eat because of the gelatin in the whipped cream layers, but fun nonetheless to create.
Tarte Citron, without meringue.
Tarte citron, avec meringue. I had a “slight” issue with the crust. It was weak and I am big and klutzy. It’s a learning process, right?
Pear and almond tart. We were on a tart spree. Which made me make a large amount of rather bad tart jokes to my new pastry friends probably a bit early in our friendship. Best they know me quickly I guess. Those dirty tarts.
Enough about clean and dirty tarts (there were a few other fruit and nut tarts we made, but due to my lack of photography skills and flour in my camera, I won’t post). Moving on.
We worked with marzipan one day to create roses. I especially loved this day. Its surprisingly relaxing. One of the few quiet days in lab, where we all were just in our own bubbles, creating these little flowers.
We then started working with puff pastry. Wow, there is a lot of butter in puff pastry. And its ever so delicious.
From the dough, we made chausson italiens (Italian slippers), which have pastry cream and rum-drenched raisins in the centers, and conversation tea cakes which are filled with almond cream and topped with royal icing.
Apple Slippers, which are super yummy. So yummy that I actually made 5. There are only 4 in this picture. 3 guesses where the one went missing.
Matchboxes, which really is just a cover of royal icing on the puff pastry.
3 types of mille feuille – traditional, raspberry and a chocolate/orange.
A mixed fruit tart, with legionare cream. That cream is dangerously good.
A pithivier. There is a competition every year in France in the region where these originated on who can make the best pithivier. Outside of that region, few people seem to know what these are.
Our last grouping of dough, thus far, has been pate a choux. We started off with éclairs.
Religious – this is what it sounded like in French. How I spell this, I don’t know. But I can make it!
And last, but certainly not least, Paris Brest. This is truly a delicious, delectable treat. Pate a choux ring, filled with chocolate mousse, then a second ring filled with orange curd goes on the ring of mousse. Top with more mousse, add the top of the pate a choux first ring and, for good measure, pour some powdered sugar on. The little ones are in my freezer right now. There aren’t many left…
And that’s pretty much what I’ve made this past month in my pastry classes! Now that this blog-guy is all set up, I’ll be able to do more detail on what I make as I make it, but wanted to show what has been made as of today.
Minus what we’ve done in boulangerie class. That’ll be separate. Because.