First, I graduated from Wilton class #1. I was super happy with my final cake:
We finally learned the ribbon roses in the last class and also practiced handwriting and a few other things. I signed up for the second class, and then an hour later my work schedule posted and I had been scheduled for some night shifts (I had only worked mornings so far so I thought I would be ok...). So I had to postpone that, but I still plan on taking course #2 eventually because it covers way more flowers, including lilies, daffodils, violets, and more roses.
Work has been going well but I am just struggling with getting back into the swing of things. I guess I took too much time off because working 30 hours plus going to school plus keeping up the house is kicking my butt. I know I should just be grateful for all of these opportunities, and believe me I am, but I am tired! I can barely find time for homework and housework, much less blogging or anything else fun! Anyways, I have been decorating cakes and lots of other desserts at work, and this week we got in the Easter egg cakes. Today I decorated 12 of those, which was fun because I could get a little more creative than with the usual cakes. My borders and flowers are getting better, but they still need some work.
I did find a little free time this week to bake at home, including one of my favorite cookies, Oatmeal Scotchie Bars. The neighbors brought us a housewarming bottle of wine, so I wanted to come up with something quick, easy, and yummy to thank them. And of course I saved some for Trev and I...
I also brought home some of the puff pastry scraps from school last week and attempted my own jalousie (a streudel-ish pastry based on a type of window), based on what we were going to make in class this week. I used some granny smiths that had been forgotten during strawberry smorgasbord, and some extra homemade caramel sauce I had in the fridge to fill it. It was wonderful!
In pastry techniques, we baked all the jalousies that we made up last week. We had a wide array of fillings to choose from (raspberry cream cheese, bluberry, cherry, pear, pear frangipane...), so there was a lot of tasting involved. We also made some palmiers (aka elephant ears) from the extra puff pastry. They look so simple and they are so easy to make, but they were amazing straight out of the oven! I guess any pastry with that much butter would have to be, right?
The other recipe we made in pastry techniques was a fun and completely new-to-me technique. We baked chocolate roulade in very thin layers and then cut it into even strips. Then we covered it in French buttercream, and then rolled the strips up together. When we turned it on its side and iced it, it looked just like any other cake. But the fun part is that when you cut it open, it has vertical layers instead of horizontal. I think this is a great idea to change up cake presentations, and would be a fun surprise for any occasion. The only challenge is that not every texture of cake will roll as well, so only certain recipes would work. I still plan to try it!
In cookies and tarts, we made an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie tart with a graham cracker crust, and a rustic apple tart. Neither was my favorite recipe. The oatmeal-choc chip was good, but not amazing, and it really needed a scoop of ice cream on top. I liked the crust on the apple tart, but since the recipe was French, it didn't call for any cinnamon or nutmeg, which I personally think should be a requirement for baking with apples.
In cakes class, we finished our Charlotte Royale. We had made the outer mold and filled it with the mango mousse last week, so this week we basically had to pull it out of the freezer, cover it in apricot glaze, and eat it. I loved the mango mousse.
We also made opera cake - layers of jaconde soaked in coffee syrup, coffee buttercream, and ganache. Yum! And that meant we got to practice writing in chocolate on top of all the tiny little pieces of cake.
All in all it was a good week, just crazy busy! Learned a lot and had a lot of fun, but I am wiped out. So I am off to work on some homework while I can keep my eyes open!
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