Red, White, and Cordon Bleu: Sugar Week(s)

Superior Pastry is arguably all about the sugar work. It is the most advanced thing we learn, and many students continue through Superior specifically to get some experience pulling sugar. We saw a sugar demo in Intermediate (one Chef Eric gave us towards the end of the semester just for kicks), but now we were finally to the real deal. After the chocolate bonbons, it was Sugar Time.

The sugar portion of our education comes in three parts over two weeks: One class for pastillage and a little practice (and to get over the initial shock of the high working temperature of isomalt); one practice run of the Sugar Exam, during which we construct a Sugar Showpiece and the Chef gives critiques about the design and execution; and the Sugar Exam.

Leçon 107

For the first time, Chef Hervé gave us a straightforward list of the requirements for our Sugar Showpiece. We had to know, because the pastillage we would make in Practical 107 would be the exact same pastillage we would use in our Sugar Exam. He had been avoiding telling us, because he didn’t want us to get distracted while we were supposed to be working on our Chocolate Showpiece. Lesson 107 was the pastillage demo, and it went really well. We learned how to make it, a white fast-drying dough that can be used to build hard-as-a-rock sugar components. It is opaque, so it adds a nice design element to our mostly-transparent Sugar Showpieces. Chef also demoed a few different sugar flowers and the best technique for a sugar ribbon.

Chef's pulled sugar demo

A pulled sugar daisy: one of four flowers the chef
taught us how to pull

The practical was our chance to get adjusted to working with sugar. We spent the first hour making and shaping our pastillage components. I had spent the previous few days working on the sketch for my Sugar Showpiece, and I am so glad I brought it to class! I made a whole tray of pastillage leaves, barnacles, ropes, fish, and lily pads…everything I thought I could possibly want on my showpiece, making sure I had at least three of everything (to account for the practice exam and possible breakage). The rest of the class was spent cooking and working with isomalt, a sugar substitute that is slightly less susceptible to humidity. The flowers took a lot of trial and error for me, but I finally got one decent-looking rose. The ribbon was much easier for most of us (to the surprise of Chef Hervé), so I made a really cute, shiny sugar bow.

My tray of pastillage. Everyone thought my lily pads were
Pac Men. That anchor is made of compressed sugar, and it
didn't work out. But it was worth a try!

My first successful sugar rose...I knew I needed to practice
at home before the exam

My shiny sugar bow!

Leçon 108

Chef Hervé was out of town with a few of our classmates who were competing in the Canadian Youth Skills Competition, so Chef Jocelyn gave us our Sugar Showpiece demo in Lesson 108. He showed us all of the required elements for our exam: a poured base, a poured main piece (shaped however we like), three flowers (including at least one rose), leaves, a ribbon, and some pastillage. Every other technique (including the blown sugar that I was determined to do) was worth extra points. Quite a few things went wrong in the demo (things that just happen sometimes), but Chef handled it like a pro! He used the pastillage from Chef Hervé’s demo the previous week, and at the end of class he addressed our many questions about the practice exam that would take place in the next two days.

Chef Jocelyn's sugar showpiece

My mom was in town speaking at a conference, and she was staying with us! It was great fun, and she graciously fielded design questions I bounced off of her about my final sketch. I had been practicing blown and pulled sugar at home, and it was really fun to show her what I planned to do in 3D.

Practicing pulled roses at home

Practicing blown fish at home: I really wanted
one on my final piece!

Chef Hervé was back just in time for our practical class, and I couldn’t be more excited to get started! I really believed in my design, and practicing so much at home had me determined to produce something beautiful. Months before, I had visions of using an anchor in my sculpture, so I ultimately ended up with an underwater-themed design that included a blown sugar fish and a huge pastillage lily pad. I made my own anchor mold out of a square sheet of silicone, and I hoped it would work out…but I wasn’t really sure it would.

The practical was so much fun, and it went really well for me. The main poured piece turned out much darker than I had envisioned, but it grew on me, and the anchor mold was fine. I had plenty of time, so I worked at a cautious pace to be sure I didn’t break much. After everyone had finished and walked their sculpture down a few stairs, through three doors and around three corners, Chef gave comments on every piece in front of the entire class. It was good to hear everyone’s comments so clearly, and to see everyone’s different designs. When it came to my sculpture, Chef said, “La Petite Erin...Good Job! I like this. Keep the colors. Good shape. Ribbon, very nice. This (the flower with the green center) is beautiful! One thing: pull sugar a little more. Nice work.” I was so happy with his critique, and was excited to show Mom and Chad my work! They had seen first-hand how nervous I was when I left for class that afternoon.

It was fun to see all the different designs we came up with
using the same materials and techniques!

Mom and Chad met me at school to pick me up and sneak a peak of my piece. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside to take a look (the building was locked), but I suspected as much, so after we had finished and everyone had left, Robyn (my classmate) and I returned to the showpieces to take nice photos of ours. It was a successful day, and Mom and Chad had fruit salad and supper waiting for me when we got home.

My first Sugar Showpiece!! (From the front)

From the side

From the back

Leçon 109: Sugar Exam

Between the practice exam and the Sugar Exam, Chad and I went home for a week (Mom got on the same planes as us!), but that’s a different post all-together.

Since we had already seen the Sugar Showpiece demo, Chef Hervé gave us a wedding cake demonstration to accompany our sugar exam. It was casual and fun, though many students complained that we wouldn’t be making a wedding cake in practical. Chef even told us about a French wedding tradition in which family and friends plant a tree in the house of the newlyweds. They put a stork or a baby on top of the tree, and if a baby comes within a year of marriage, the couple has to chop the tree down. If they wait at least until their first anniversary, the tree gets to live. Interesting, huh?

The French and American aesthetics are a bit
different when it comes to wedding cake,
bit it was a really fun demo

Although the practice exam had gone so well for me, I was still pretty nervous for the Sugar Exam itself. It composes 20% of my final grade, and with sugar, things can go wrong so easily. I made a few small changes to my sketch, mostly concerning the scale, and I practiced a little more at home.

Regardless of my nerves, the practical went really well. I took my time again, being sure to make extras of my flowers and bubbles and fish, and it was actually kind of leisurely. Chef Jocelyn was in the practical, and he often stopped at my station and complimented my tiny fan (I brought it from home to help with my sugar blowing), my spirals, and my flowers. Chef Hervé stopped at my station and complimented my work now and then, too, which was great encouragement.

When it was finished, I was so proud! The colors were different from the first time (as Chef warned us they would be), but it was nice. We didn’t get comments this time, but I am confident that I did a good job. My little anchor worked out, and I know I’ll continue to do sugar work in the future, even if it’s just in my leisure.