The Douceur chocolat was the cake we had to make in the practical class. It is a cake with a hazelnut dacquoise base, followed by a layer of praliné crisp, a milk chocolate disc sandwiched between milk chocolate mousse. Then the entire cake is covered with chocolate jelly glaze, and decorated with handmade chocolate decorations.
Chef H's full-size (10-inch) Douceur chocolat and mini-cake for the plated dessert were simply amazing. He taught us a number of techniques for decorating the cakes:
Plated Douceur Chocolat by Chef H
The 10-inch Douceur Chocolat cake by Chef H
At this point, you might be asking: So how is it done? Well, I cannot divulge the secret here now, can I? (Those of you who know me can, of course, send me an e-mail to find out.)
Anyway, taking this Intermediate Pastry course has really made me think about not only techniques of baking and time management, but also what constitutes an *artistic* presentation. I'm not a naturally artistic person, but this course has taught me some valuable lessons about aesthetics.
The technique for making the Douceur chocolat is similar to that for a Marquise au chocolat, the cake with which I had considerable trouble a few weeks ago. This time, however, because I had practised making chocolate mousse several times at home, I had little trouble with the mousse, but the chocolate jelly glazing still presents a slight problem (I still find it tricky to know when it is the right consistency for pouring onto the cake). Anyway, this was what my cake looked like when I presented it to Chef N:
I have to admit I thought my chocolate decoration was ghastly because of a series of compounded mistakes. I'm sure you agree, but you also have to realize how hard it is to put chocolate decorations on chocolate jelly glazing. Once a chocolate decoration touches the glaze, you have to leave it there, because if you remove it (for example, because you changed your mind about the placement), it leaves a horrible mark/scar on the glazing. In other words, you have to know exactly what you are doing with the placement of the chocolate decorations. I have learnt my lesson now - the next time I do it, I know there will be no trial and error. A couple of simple decorations and that's it. To tell you the truth, it really takes experience to know whether an inserted chocolate decoration will stay in place or fall over into the chocolate jelly glaze and create a dreadful mess ... I guess that is part of the learning process here.
During the feedback session at the end of the practical, Chef N also pointed out a couple of mistakes I should correct for my cake (e.g. thinner glazing on top), and I can fix them by just being more careful or more mindful of potential problems. It is good that the chefs give us constructive criticisms so that we learn from our mistakes.
Having had that bad experience with the Marquise au chocolat, I was careful with my timing this time (I checked the clock regularly and paced myself), and managed to finish my cake on time. This is one minor success for which I am grateful. We didn't have to make a mini-douceur chocolat for plated dessert, so that made things just a touch easier too.
The other minor success I had today was with the making of the white chocolate cigarettes (the long, thin chocolate curls). I had been unable to make them before today, either because of bad technique(s) or because my chocolate was not tempered correctly (or both). But I finally got it today. Yay!
This is the final practical for the term. On Wednesday afternoon, we have a workshop on plated desserts, so more practice with presentation techniques. Pretty timely too, I might add.
[Aside: In Intermediate Pastry, a practical is assessed, whereas a workshop usually isn't. A practical is 2.5 hours long + 30 minutes for feedback and clean-up; a workshop is 5 hours, and is there for students to explore or practise or experiment with a number of techniques. With the guidance of the chef instructors, of course.]
