That's what Chef N said to me this afternoon, during my practical class. Apparently, when I was masking my cake with Italian meringue, I was holding my breath (probably because I was concentrating so hard), and the chef could see it was not a good idea. :-D
This morning, Chef N showed us how to make the Ambassadeur Exotique, both the traditional version and the modern version of it. The Ambassadeur Exotique is basically two layers of genoise sponge cake, with fruits (e.g. oranges and pineapples) and pastry cream in the middle. And the sponge layers are generously imbibed with kirsch syrup.
The modern version of the cake is masked with Italian meringue on the side, coated with almond slices, and the top is piped with Italian meringue. The traditional version has a layer of buttercream and covered with marzipan, and then the word "Ambassadeur" is piped on the marzipan in chocolate.
Modern version of the Ambassadeur cake (by Chef N)
Traditional version of the Ambassadeur cake (by Chef N)
Here is my Ambassadeur cake (you can see the fruits sandwiched between the two layers of sponge cake):
In terms of feedback, Chef N said my cake tasted fine, but I still required more piping practice (because the piping looked a little wobbly at various points). My dark chocolate decorations were tempered correctly, so they were shiny - it is the first time I have ever tempered chocolate and I was lucky to get it right the first go.
Here's another thing I was thankful for: I managed to finish my cake on time. It was truly a relief to me. I wanted so badly to be able to finish on time because I was slightly late the last two practicals.
I am grateful Chef N was very encouraging throughout the practical class, showing me the right techniques to temper chocolate, to mask a cake and to pipe the meringue. Oh yes, he was also there to give me a gentle reminder when my syrup was boiling for too long on the stove -- thank goodness he caught it before I created burnt caramel (again)! Anyway, I ended up with a slightly more concentrated syrup than stated in the recipe, but no harm done. As long as the syrup is not burnt, there is an easy fix. Times like these, I am glad the chefs keep a watchful eye on everything.
There was a little bit of drama towards the end of the practical class. You see, one classmate had put her cake in the oven to brown the Italian meringue at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, but another classmate (who was sharing the oven) turned the oven up another 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and left it at that higher temperature after taking her own cake out. Of course, when the first classmate came back to the oven a minute later, thinking her meringue is nicely colored by now, found that her meringue and almond slices were burnt... (Even Chef N, who was in the middle of giving someone some feedback, could tell something was burning.)
I bet you can imagine what happened next. This classmate was so upset/angry that she was in tears, and she thought of throwing her cake in the garbage bin. I had almost finished my cake by then (I just needed to insert the chocolate decorations at the last minute), so I went over and encouraged her to scrape the burnt meringue off the cake and to pipe the meringue again. I managed to gather some leftover meringue from other classmates, and there was just enough for her to re-do her meringue topping and present the cake for grading. Thank goodness things worked out! Chef N was very understanding and allowed her to be the last to present a cake. And I personally think her cake looked pretty nice, thanks to her skillful piping.
I guess these things happen, and it is important not to give up when all seemed lost.
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PS. It was cold outdoors today. So cold that it almost hurts to breathe in the air. But I don't think it reached -35. The sun was shining, so (psychologically, perhaps) it didn't feel like it was even -25 degrees.
