Well.  I didn’t realize how long I’d gone without posting.  No great excuse.  Caught a nasty cold in the second to last week of Intermediate and just concentrated on classes for a couple of weeks.

Finals for Intermediate were Thursday the 21st (Practical – in the kitchen) and Friday the 22nd (Theory – written).    For the final Practical you have to memorize the recipe and method for 3 different pastries (cakes).  When you walk into the room you have  a little paperwork where you are asked to write the recipe and method for one of the 3 and draw a quick sketch labeling the elements from a top view and side cut.  It’s a surprise as to which cake your test will be based on up to this point.  This time it was a nice surprise since I wanted the Alhambra Cake and didn’t think we’d get it.  I thought we’d get the Sabrina because it’s the most difficult with several elements.  The cake itself is very dense – brownie like – and takes 40 to maybe 45 min to bake.  It also has soaking syrup with a coffee liquor flavor and if the cake isn’t baked correctly and you add the syrup you’ll have a gooey mess.   There is also a Ganache center and you mask the cake with the same Ganache.  There is only one layer of masking so it must be perfect and smooth with sharp edges using simple tools.  (No spinning cake plates, etc…).  After chilling, the cake is covered in a chocolate Glacage which is very similar to the Ganache but with butter to emulsify it.   This also must be perfectly smooth.   You decorate the cake with a marzipan rose and Leaf decorations you made with tempered chocolate earlier in the session. Tempering is melting chocolate to a certain degree, then cooling it down to a certain degree and raising it again so it will harden when piped or used and not melt at room temperature.  Also, you pipe Alhambra across the cake – evenly – and the right thickness.  Multiple elements that all must be timed correctly and pretend you are on a reality show and you do it all in the specific frame of time.  You are penalized points if you go over up to 10 minutes.  If you go over more than 10 minutes they will simply stop you and you are graded on what you have accomplished.   Now, I wasn’t overly happy with my Ganache but that seemed OK to the judges.  I might have gotten a point or 2 off on my Glacage for being a little too thick and they thought my tempered chocolate decorations were too delicate but they were tempered correctly and held up.  You aren’t allowed cameras or notes or anything extra in exams so I don’t have a pic of this cake but I would have eaten a slice with a glass of bubbly.  Incredibly rich, dark chocolate.

I’m going to blast through the last couple weeks so you can see what we’ve been up to.  We spent 5 weeks in Intermediate (start to finish) which would have been around 8 or so weeks if it hadn’t been the “intense” course that I signed up for.   So I’ll stop my whining.   I don’t have my own pics of everything because I kept forgetting to take pictures or I was so hurried at the end of class there simply wasn’t time.  Most of the chefs were surprised how fast we were going through Intermediate. Chef Olivier tried to convince us it was a good thing because you are forced to learn quickly at this rate.  OK.  Some truth to that I suppose.  I would have liked it a bit slower but its over now.

Back on June 4th we had a Demo immediately followed by Practical for the Fraisier cake which was also one of our exam possibilities.  This is a Genoise sponge with creme mousseline topped with pink marzipan, decorated with fresh strawberries and a marzipan rose.  It has it challenges and there are certainly places to screw up but not a terribly difficult cake to make and if you like strawberry and creme it’s a winner.  This is one I didn’t get my own pic of but with fairly happy with my end result other than my piping of Royal Icing which I still need work on to this day.

These are both shots of the Chef’s from Demo.  If you are not a fan of Marzipan that might make you turn away but other than that the cake is delicious.

June 5th: Gateau Opera.  This is an almond sponge with coffee syrup, butter cream, ganache and chocolate glaze.  Lots of other Intermediate students (different classes) had this as an exam dish and said we were lucky it wasn’t one of ours.   I liked this cake but once again, the Chef in our practical session found little things that I would be graded down on.  (i.e. I could have used more coffee extract in my cream, it looked like my cake was a little off on one side because he could tell where I filled a little extra with ganache to balance the height.  (They miss nothing!). And my piping of Opera across the top was a bit too thick.  (Elaine’s was a bit too thin.  Sometimes you feel like the 3 bears and you can’t get it “just right”).  I forgot to take a picture but I brought this one home and nibbled from it for several days.  This is a really nice cake and I enjoy coffee and chocolate flavors together.

Again, chef’s Opera cake from demo. Forgot to take a picture of mine but I was happy with the outcome and took it home for dessert for a couple of days.  No, I did not eat the whole cake.

June 6th: No class.  Beat the heat and joined some of the girls for Jurassic World at the IMAX.  The opening credits were the best part of the 3D but I enjoyed the movie. Of course felt sorry for the Dinosaurs who were left behind and kept the nerdy glasses which I have no idea what to do with.

Styling.

June 7th:  Only a demo today for the Alhambra cake.  June 8th was the practical for Gateau Alhambra. This is a cake named after the region of Spain where it was first served.   This was another exam possibility and the one we ultimately got for our Final.  Seems like there is a lot of chocolate going on and I’m pretty good at getting chocolate out of my white uniform now.   I love it when the Chef’s remind you that you should stay clean as possible and really try not to get chocolate on you. Sure. Will do.  Its great when you leave class and think you’ve managed to stay clean only to hit the locker room and realize at some point you leaned into your cake and are therefore sporting a daring streak of chocolate straight across your midsection.  Nice.

This cake with all its chocolate elements also has a Marzipan rose on top and tempered chocolate decoration.   I liked my cake created in Practical but once again did not take a pic.  so I’ll share the Chef’s photos from Demo.  However, I wish I had a pic of the final exam cake because I liked it and although I know they found things wrong, it looked good.

That’s a pistachio border by the way.  This is just chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. with a little coffee splashed in there.  Decadent.

June 8th was also a Technical class on Verrines.  They show you and teach you but we don’t get a Practical sessions on Technical classes.  I believe these come up again in Superior.  The chef prepared Citrus and Speculos Delight in a Glass and Iced Crumble with Raspberry and Sesame. There are so many layers of different flavors and textures to these which make them lovely.  They look fun to make as well but there are so many elements it wouldn’t be fun with a strict time limit.  The chefs are just fast.

You need a really small spoon to get every last bite from the bottom which sadly we did not have in class.

June 9th: Gateau Sabrina.  Disastrous day for me.  Full of cold medicine and not thinking clearly at all.  Sabrina was also an exam possibility and unfortunately I was not on my game.  I did remake this one at home and it turned out great but just a miserable day in class.  I was so sure we were going to get this one for our final exam I would have bet money on it.

They describe it as a contemporary gateaux made from concentric circles of sponge and strawberry cream with marzipan and chocolate finishing.   The chocolate finishing is tempered chocolate over a sheet of marzipan.   Below is a shot of the chef’s from demo.  There is no way I would have taken a pic of mine.

The sponge is rolled with strawberry mousse to create the cake base then masked with more mousse.  Pistachio nibs around the bottom.  A layer of Marzipan covered with tempered chocolate and cream for decoration makeup the top.   This is a difficult one but a good one.  I think the Marzipan could be left off but then it wouldn’t be true Sabrina.

Sunday June 10th a day off.  No clue what I did but probably tried to get over my cold.

Monday the 11th we had 2 Technical classes and a Demo.  Torte and Tarts and savory Petits-Fours.  I know the Petits-Fours come up again in Superior as we prepare for our High Tea.

Croissants au Jambon (puffed pastry with cured ham), Petites saucisses (puff pastry with sausage), Bouchees (puff pastry with chicken, béchamel, mushrooms and herbs), Roulade au salmon Fume (this one had salmon) Paillettes (cheese sticks with cayenne pepper to add a kick), and Mini pizzas.

Sampling cheese sticks and playing a round of UNO during break in the Technical class.

Punchy.

June 12th:  Two Practical session this day.  The first one was for Poires au Caramel Religieuses (Pears in Carmel with chocolate sponge and Mousse).  I barely recall this one.  I recall the poached pears in Carmel – yum.  I recall the chocolate sponge cake – also yum.  Thats about it.

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The second Practical was for Entremets au Chocolate Blanc et Pistache avec sa Glee aux Fruits Rouges (White chocolate and Pistachio Entremet with a Red Fruite Jelly centre using fish Gelatine).  Breaking this down further it is an almond meringue sponge with a cream anglaise mousse and a layer of strawberry jelly inside.  Tempered chocolate pieces with design around outside with white chocolate glaze on top.

This time it’s my cake.  I was a little slow on the feathering.  You can’t stop to think for a second.  I stopped to slide my cake to make room for another student and the chef barked and said – no just do yours first.  OK.  I see his point now.  Maybe you do too?

June 13th:  Chocolate work.   Bon Bons!   We made Truffles, Chocolate Moules, Caramel cups and Malakoff.  We were in teams for this so Ana and I each made our own Moulded Chocolates with chocolate cream inside and then we teamed to make Caramel cups.  These were both delicious and I saved them in the fridge at the flat until Bob got here.  He enjoyed a few.  I just got rid of the rest today.

The chef’s bon bons are on the left and Ana’s and my Carmel cups are on the right.  The Carmel cups are tempered chocolate cup with caramel, ganache and a pistachio on top.  These also have Bailey’s in the caramel.  Double yum.

June 14th:  We made boxes out of chocolate.  This was a fun one.  The hardest part of this class is tempering the chocolate so if it works the first time it’s fairly smooth sailing.  Tempering can take a couple of times to get it right.   We do it all by hand.  If you work in a commercial kitchen I’m told they have equipment now that will keep chocolate in temper.   Ana and I partnered again and we rocked it with one minor exception…..  We both put the hole for the box lid on the bottom layer instead of the top which made us laugh.  Luckily the chef was cool about it and said then just switch the top and bottom.   All fine in the end but my top turned out so nice I really wish you could have seen it.

I used a paintbrush with tempered white chocolate then covered it with tempered dark chocolate which should have been my top but you can see a bit from the bottom edge.  the sides are also chocolate over combed white chocolate and the top with the hole should have been the bottom.  At least it had a nice texture.   We scraped the chocolate to create what they call cigarettes and there is tempered design chocolate on top.   The trim is a white chocolate with this edible dusting powder that looked copper.  I know my piping needs work.  When I’m at home practicing piping there is no stress and I do pretty well.  But piping always comes towards the end of class when you are down to the limit and if your hands are shaking your piping is as well.  Simple fact.

June 15th:    We made a banana mousse we will use in Monday’s Practical to show a “cold” plated dessert and a chocolate fondant with orange and ginger syrup to demonstrate a hot plated dessert. The second one is similar to a molten cake.

This one’s mine.  That’s a little sugar decoration on top I threw together in the last-minute.

Saturday and Sunday off – this is the last weekend chance to study and practice before final exams.  Among the cakes I practiced at home in some cases I only practiced elements.  Because 2 of the 3 cakes we could potentially have included marzipan roses I practiced that separately .  This is my best rose.

June 18th:  Plated the Banana Mousse with syrup, fruit and pulled sugar for design.  First time with pulled sugar.  Fun to do.  Absolutely no give to pulled sugar.  Its like fragile glass.  I had it until about 10 seconds before the chef came over to grade me.  All he said was I should have more height to my sugar design which me made laugh and I said well I did about a minute ago.  It was Chef Graeme and I think he knew but was being kind. English men have a way of backing into these things.

I had a nice straight piece which showed I can make that.  Then I had a tall round piece of sugar that attached to each side of the banana mousse.  Thats what I broke and you can see the carnage I just laid across the top. Oh well.  He like the rest.  That mousse is still in my freezer as a matter of fact.  I should break it out this evening and at least taste it.  Perhaps I will with some fresh British Strawberries on the side.

In the same practical class we also made a Pistachio Mousse with a cream anglaise, and black cherry compote.  Thats a circle of tempered chocolate on top of the mousse.  The mousse is hot fresh out of the oven so the chocolate gets soft quickly, then you break the center and pour the cream anglaise inside. Nice one.

We also covered hot and cold Souffles in a Technical class today but didn’t have these in any Practical.  One was made with a cream patisserie and the other was made with a roux into a béchamel.  Both yummy.

June 19th:  A day off.  seriously the last day before exams but wait!  They threw in 2 more classes!

June 20th: In the vein of hot and cold plated desserts we made Exotic fruit mousse and our final Technical Class was on some classic English desserts namely Apple Strudel with Calvados Chantilly which was phenomenal.  The chef also made Tate Tatin et Poire Sabayon.  This is an upside-down pastry with caramelized fruit in butter and sugar before baking.  He made it with pears but I believe it is usually with apples.

Strudel on the left and Calvados not he right.  The small ramekins in the background of the Strudel is a Clafoutis which is an egg cream with prunes that have been steeped in Earl gray tea, lemon peel and orange. It’s better than I’ve made it sound here.

The Exotic Fruit mousse had a biscuit Joconde (almond sponge), a layer of jelly, tropical salsa, exotic fruit Gelee and piped Tuile decoration. Another fun one to do.

This one is mine.  The chopped fruit was really refreshing with a little spicy pepper added and the best part otherwise it’s another mousse.  Can you believe I’m saying that.  They all seem to be blending together now.

June 21st:  Final exam.  8:00am.  This is where we made the Alhambra cake.   Then, because we still haven’t gotten all of Intermediate in under the wire we had a Gum Paste flower making demo and ended the day with a Chocolate tasting Technical class.  Bar far one of he best classes.  Chef Olivier was the instructor and we were running out of rooms because LCB was hosting a big chef challenge with chefs from all over so we went into the small lunchroom and sat around the table (8 students and chef) and he brought in 21 different chocolates varying in degree of cocoa and flavors added by companies to expand their base and we just sampled and talked and it was great.  Really interesting.  He knows so much about chocolate.

June 22nd:  8:00am was the Theory part of the exam and they only give you an hour so we were done early before… you guessed it … one more class!  Cake decorating!  But first breakfast.  we have 2 hours to kill before class.   Joyce knew a good place for coffee and croissants.   I don’t recall the name of it – but we enjoyed being done.  After all we just had to decorate a cake later.  How hard could that be?

This is Paula (Brazil), me, Elaine (Hong Kong) and Joyce (Malaysia now Switzerland).  Breakfast after final exams.

I was only kidding about the cake decoration.  It’s not hard just time-consuming.  We spent one Practical class on Friday afternoon shaping our flowers that are glued together with egg white.  LCB stores these for us over the weekend so they completely dry.   Then on Monday the 25th they gave us 2 Practical classes back to back to get it done starting at 8:00am. First you cover the cake in a layer of Marzipan making it very smooth because any blemish will show.  Then you cover that in a layer of rolled fondant all having to be colored for the design you wish to achieve.  Then you have to paint and highlight your flowers or whatever design you are making and assemble this all onto the cake.  I did a simple yellow cake with these purple flowers.  I came across these or something similar in Hyde Park and used it as my guide.  Bob said it looked like one of the Queens hats.  I’m cool with that.  I wouldn’t eat that cake (its a fruit cake we made 3 weeks ago underneath all the layers) but I like the decoration.

My cake.

Hopefully you can see the variety of decorated cakes.  There are all different types

This was Monday afternoon and Bob arrived this past Saturday (23rd) so I was really anxious to be out of there.

We all spread with plans of escape.  Everyone needed a break.

Bob and I did a few London things and then traveled up to Bath for a couple of days.  Those adventures in the next entry.

We’ll talk again soon.

Mel