** Madeleines
Almond Tuiles
Batons de Maréchaux (coated with chopped nuts and chocolate)
** Palets de Dames (raisin cookies, with raisins macerated in rum)
** Cigarettes & Tulips
(We had to make the ones marked with asterisks)
Here is Chef N's presentation of the petit-fours he made:
And here are the petits fours I made and presented to the chef for grading:
From left to right: Madeleines (coated with chocolate on one side), Tulips (can be used as an "edible cup" for ice cream or other desserts), Cigarettes (with one end dipped in chocolate), and Palets de Dames (basically, raisin cookies)
Chef N said we could brush some chocolate on our madeleines, so I did. I have to say it made the madeleines taste even better. Chocolate makes everything taste better. ;-)
The cigarettes were not easy to make because you have to work quickly while it is hot and pliable. You have to roll it into shape as soon as it is out of the oven, and I hated getting my fingers burnt for that. But, we all had to do it. I think saying "ouch, ouch, ouch" while rolling the cigarettes helped me to endure the pain. :-)
Chef N told me later that I could have used the latex gloves in the kitchen, if I really felt the unrolled cigarettes were too hot to touch. Why didn't he tell me earlier?! He had actually watched me go "ouch, ouch, ouch" but did not suggest the gloves (until later). In fact, at the time, he said "allez, allez, allez" ("c'mon, c'mon, c'mon" in French). He wanted me to work faster... Sigh!
I know I will have to master the techniques in this lesson really well, because (1)petits fours are popular with the public, and is usually part of a French pastry chef's repertoire, and (2)some of the techniques learnt here will be needed again at the Intermediate level, with plated desserts and so on.
Next lesson, we will be making dacquoise cakes, i.e. cakes made with almond powder or nut flour (as opposed to plain/all-purpose flour). I really like the taste of the dacquoise, so this should be a "delicious" lesson.
