Last Post of 2011!

Well, I'm slacking on my posts but I cannot end this year without summing up what I have been up to in product rotation.  I've actually went through 3 more weeks of rotation and it totally slipped my mind to update this. Sorry! So....where were we?.....Oh yes! Since the first week of rotation, I have done Cut-In Method, Lamination, and Creaming Method.

During Cut-In Method, we had to fit two days of production into one since it was a Monday class. We made White Chocolate Macademia Nut Scones and Apple Pie.

White Chocolate Macademia Nut Scones

Apple Pie

The following week, my station was on Lamination.  We made Apple Strip and Palmiers from our Puff Pastry Dough, and Croissants and Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants).

Apple Strip #2 (Which I happened to not dock very well, but now I will remember for next time!)

Palmiers # 2

Croissants

Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)....by the way....very, very delicious!


Last but not least, Creaming Method! I enjoyed this station very much!  We made Spritz Cookies, Chocolate Tarts and Fruit Tarts.

Spritz Cookies

Chocolate Tarts: Pate Sucree filled with Chocolate Mousse and topped with Chocolate Ganache, garnished with toasted coconut and a strawberry! :)

Fruit Tarts: Pate Sucree filled with Almond Cream and Pastry Cream and topped with small cuts of mango, pineapple, strawberries and kiwis in a lime zest glaze.

Well, that's about it for now.  I would go into more detail but I have so much to do!!! Oh, here is a picture of a marzipan rose. This is the most recent one I've done. I've been practicing them so I could perfect the look.  Still room for improvement but it definitely looks better than before.  Better yet, I'll show you the first rose I've made and the last so you can see for yourself! :)

Rose I made on November 11, 2011

Rose I made on December 9, 2011

Remember: Practice makes Perfect! :)

Well, I hope you all have a safe holiday! :) Merry Christmas and a Happy Spectacular New Year!!!! :D

Catch you all in 2012! :)

<3 Debbie

Super Busy!!!

Don't worry. I didn't fall off the face of the Earth and forget about my blog. I've just been SUPER busy since I got back from Thanksgiving break. However, I promised myself I wouldn't abandon my blog no matter how busy I got.  Before break, I had my finals for Math and Food Safety and midterm for Baking Ingredients and Equipment Technology (BIET); all of which I got A's on! :) Then when I returned from Thanksgiving break, I had my first Skills Verification Exam in my kitchen class.  We had to make genoise, eclairs and pastry cream.  I got an A on that as well.  Super happy!  However, I wasn't so happy to find out our chef was leaving our class so he could teach the incoming class. :(  On that note, a French pastry chef took over our class, and it's working for us so far.  Another reason why I haven't updated this in a while was because I got sick...It was bound to happen with me constantly staying up late and stressing over my work. But I won't let that stop me!

We started product rotation last week. On Day 1, my team had to make genoise, Italian Buttercream, and temper chocolate to make cake decors.  On Day 2, we practiced cutting cakes into layers, and then we iced our cakes and made them all pretty!!!  ;D  It was a very nerve-racking two days, because it gets frustrating when everything doesn't turn out perfect. But I had to step back and realize this was my first time tempering chocolate and icing a cake and it wasn't going to be "perfect."  I tend to set my standards too high sometimes, but I realized it will only get better with practice.  It won't be amazing the first time around, and while your running around in the kitchen it's hard to think that way.  As ambitious as we all are, it's natural for us to strive for "perfection," but I am here to learn and not to compete.

So here is a picture of the cake I iced last week!  I know it didn't come out great, but I think for my first time it came out pretty awesome and I'm proud of it! :)

By the way, this cake doesn't taste good.  It is just a very basic cake to learn, well, the basics of icing a cake.

Here is my chocolate tempering work:



Making chocolate decors.





Chocolate cigars. These were soooo fun to make! :)

 Today, I am making scones and apple pie and then the end of this week, I am making apple strip, croissants, and chocolate croissants with puff pastry. Fun. Fun. Fun.

....I cannot wait for Christmas break :)

<3 Debbie