Well, sadly, this was my last class of the Viennoiserie unit, definitely my favorite so far. Our next class begins our first unit on cakes, though.which I'm super excited about. Ok, on with the show.
Speaking of cakes, tonight we got our first taste at cake decorating, with our ruches, or beehives. I had never seen this dessert before, which is suprising because I feel like they'd be very popular. They're really cute and super sweet. It's a brioche that has been slice into three layers, soaked with a honey lavender syrup, filled with pastry cream, and covered in an Italian meringue. And to top it off, a decorative marzipan bee or two! It's pretty good, if a bit too sweet for my tastes.
Ok, so mine isn't the prettiest. Stop judging!
Next up, we have one of my all-time favorites: the pannetone. What can I say about this one, except that I hope mine tastes better than the ones you get in the grocery store around Christmas?
Also tonight, we made a pain de mie, or pullman loaf. I can't wait to try this one with some jam tomorrow with breakfast. What I never realized about this bread is that it's baked in a loaf pan with a cover (hence the pullman reference, I guess) which forces the bread to bake in a perfect square, perfect for sandwiches. I thought it was interesting, anyway.
What else, what else...OH! We made yet another fruit tart. This time we used brioche dough, which was baked with pastry cream and apricots. I actually ended up giving this one to a woman on the train going home from school. She had jokingly asked me for it (something that happens quite a bit...you can't believe the looks and stares you can get walking around with tons of pastry) and it was one less thing to carry home tonight in the snow and ice. Anyway, she was really appreciative.
The last item we made tonight were the croissants aux amandes, almond croissants. We had saved some croissants from last class, and we brushed them with a grand marnier syrup, piped some almond cream on them and sliced almonds, and re-baked them for a little bit. Not bad, eh?
Well that's it! Wish me luck as I begin the cake unit...I'm gonna need it!
Awww....so nice of you! :)
ReplyDeleteAlmond croissants? Brett, you're killing me. You know how much I love them. Remember Paris? Keep practicing so you can perfect them. As for the woman on the subway, I believe you were brought up well. I'm proud of you. Love, Mom
ReplyDeleteyour such a sweetheart ,0)
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