In our practical (in the much-hated 7-10pm timeslot), we had to make six of each of the following (in other words, 30 items altogether):
* mini acorns (kirsch pastry cream inside, plain fondant on top)
* mini coffee eclairs (coffee pastry cream inside, coffee fondant on top)
* mini chocolate religieus (chocolate pastry cream inside, chocolate fondant and plain buttercream on top)
* mini swans or baby swans (chantilly cream inside, dusted with icing sugar outside)
* mini Paris-Brest (praliné buttercream inside, dusted with icing sugar outside)
In addition to making and piping the choux paste in the correct size and shapes, we had to make the different fillings for the pastry. Can you imagine doing all of the above in two-and-a half hour, without a mixer? Chef N banned us from using a mixer for the practical, so back to whisking by hand again. I'm really exhausted now...
I was slightly late in finishing again, but I did produce the 30 required items for grading. Just about everyone in my group had trouble finishing on time. /sigh/
Mini acorn. Please don't ask why the acorns are covered in white fondant; this was what Chef N's acorns look like too. I can only assume it was meant to be snow-covered acorns.
Mini coffee eclair. This is not bad. Personally, I liked the taste of this.
Mini chocolate religieus (nun). All my nuns were not very straight, so I told Chef T, who was supervising the practical, that all the nuns were bowing their heads in prayer (I managed to convey this without using too many English words). :-D But he would have none of it. He insisted (with only a couple of English words) I make them straight next time. lol
Baby swan. Yeah, I know, it looks more like a duckling. Or, maybe, a baby vulture! lol At least I managed to get the right consistency for the chantilly cream. (You might recall I struggled to make the perfect chantilly cream last term.)
Mini Paris-Brest, topped with almond slices and dusted with icing sugar.
This is what I ended up taking home (i.e. what I presented for grading and the spare/extra petits fours I had). Minus the ones Chef T tasted, of course.
A plate of petits fours like this (if well-made and pretty) would probably cost over $30 in a pastry shop. Most of mine ended up being consumed by my housemates, who apparently liked the taste of my petits fours.
I seem to be able to make my pastry and cakes taste as they should be (even my exam cake last term scored highly on taste), but I have trouble making them look nice and neat, and that is something I have to work on this term...
