Red, White, and Cordon Bleu: Pastry Update #6

The end of Intermediate Pastry:

Leçon 17

In Lesson 17, Chef Arnaud taught us a mousse cake with a twist: the Bavarois aux Trois Chocolats (Triple Chocolate Bavarian cake). It is composed of a disc of chocolate cake topped with three layers of chocolate mousses, ranging from dark to white, and is topped with a dark chocolate glaze. The difference between this cake and the myriad of mousse cakes we had done previously: the Triple Chocolate Bavarian isn’t surrounded by a band of cake on the outside to give it structural integrity. Because of this, we have to serve it wrapped in a strip of acetate. It was Chef Arnaud’s first demo teaching solo, and he did a fabulous job (even with Chef Hervé staring over his shoulder the entire time).

Chef Arnaud's plated and big Chocolate Bavarians

The portioning on the side is what defines this cake -- see why
we have to leave the acetate on? There isn't a strip of sponge
cake around the outside.

The practical went well for me until the end. My mousses were beautifully portioned and the cake was going well until I unmolded it. In the practical, the Chef said not to torch the ring, so I didn’t, but evidently my cocoa jelly was stickier than his. It stuck and ripped off of the edges, resulting in a pretty ugly glaze. On top of that, the cake started to push against the acetate and started to lose its round shape. What a disaster! My Bavarois was a great example of the fact that, no matter how well-executed the body of a cake is, if it is unattractive, no one will care what the inside looks like.

My (embarrassing) Chocolate Bavarian. It was
done well, but didn't have enough time in the freezer...
even my piping is shaky.

My layers were really well-portioned, though! That's a plus.

Leçon 18

We had Chef Eric back for Lesson 18, and he showed us two more mousse cakes: the Trésor Vanille-Fraises de Bois and the Douceur Chocolat. The former is a vanilla chiboust cream and wild strawberry mousse cake with almond dacquoise (refreshing and very fitting for summer, I thought) and the latter is a glazed milk chocolate mousse cake with hazelnut dacquoise and a crispy layer. We’d seen the Douceur Chocolat before: it was the cake Chef Jocelyn showed us in the last demo of Basic Pastry to illustrate what our Intermediate classes would be like.

Vanilla and Wild Strawberry Mousse cake by Chef Eric

Chef Eric's plated dessert

Chef Eric's Douceur Chocolat

In the practical, we were required to make a large Douceur Chocolat with two-toned chocolate tiles around the edge. It was a great practical for me, and the only problem with my cake was the lumpiness of my glaze (you can see little lumps on the top of the cake).

A little lumpy, but not bad for my first try!

Leçon 201

With our “official” lessons over, we had two workshops to complete at the end of Intermediate. I was very excited for both of them. The first, Lesson 201, was the Breads Workshop, in which we made four varieties of bread from scratch in five hours.

The workshop format worked out so well. We were in the practical kitchen the entire time. Chef Hervé would call us to the end of the room, give a tiny demo of the first few steps of a recipe, then send us to go repeat what he had shown us. When everyone was finished, he would show us a few more steps. In this fashion, we made Pain de Seigle (rye bread), Pâte pour Décorer (decorating dough or “dead dough”), Pain Viennois (Viennese bread), and Pain Blanc (white bread).

We shaped each loaf differently and by the end of the day I had three baguettes (a traditional one, one shaped like wheat, and a “fantasy” baguette), two loaves of wine-dyed rye bread with tiny stalks of wheat and baby croissants on top, a turtle, a bunch of grapes, and a daisy. It was great fun, and the time flew by.

My breads from the day! (rye bread was still in the oven)

These grapes were the BEST! Chad and I had all of them eaten within a
few hours of me getting home. I'll be trying them soon at home soon, for sure.

Baguettes

Rye bread with red wine. How cute are the tiny decorations?

Baby Croissants!

Rye bread with red wine

Before leaving for class, I told Chad I was making bread all day, so we got excited to make burgers for supper that night. I looked at my pile of bread in the practical kitchen and tried to imagine making burgers on baguettes…which wasn’t really working out in my head. Chad and I found a solution when I got home, though: Turtle Burger!

Yummmm - Turtle Burger!

We cut it into fourths to eat, and the fresh bread made an
exceptionally delicious bun.

Leçon 202

Intermediate definitely saved the best lesson for last! Lesson 202 is the Plated Desserts Workshop, a five-hour adventure during which we were to make three plated desserts without a demo and make additions to them, as outlined by the Chefs. We were given the recipes for Crème Brûlée au Caramel, Macarons à l’Anis et aux Framboises (anise macarons with raspberries), and Craquelin aux Fruits Rouges (orange and nut crisps with red fruits). The Chefs gave us free reign over the design of our plates, but required that we create an additional Crème Anglaise-based sauce and include it on two plates, make chocolate garnishes, and an additional garnish of our choice. We were allowed to work in teams for a few of the preparations, to cut down on cooking times, but the design of our plates was individual. We were also instructed to keep our portions between 100 and 150 grams.

My plated desserts!

I was SO excited to get started! Andii and I teamed up for some of the preparations, as instructed, and we got right down to it. I made macarons and she made the caramel crème brûlée (which I ended up having to make also, as we thought we were allowed to share her batch. Oops!) We made big batches of pastry creams and mixed them with kirsch and anise. We had five hours, but hurried anyway. We decided on a reduced caramel cream for our required extra Crème Anglaise, and I decided to make cigarette paste decorations for my additional décor.

The mood in the kitchen was perfect: everyone was focused and creative and lighthearted. The Chefs reminded us that in the real world, desserts like these would need to be plated in less than five minutes, and recommended that we tried doing the same.

I had sketched out my plate ideas before coming to class (a practice which is required in Superior), and it really helped. With my sketches giving me direction, I quickly plated my desserts, and I was very proud. They turned out so well! Both Chefs complimented my designs, and I was one of only two people in the class to be within the portion limits. It was a great day and a great end to Intermediate Pastry classes.