The photo below shows what I managed to make in the 5-hour workshop that was supervised by Chef H (because Chef CF is away) today:
These are my Feuille d'automne (chocolate mousse cake) and Nid d'abeille (honey chiboust & dacquoise cake).
I have to say these cakes were not easy to make at all, but I am generally satisfied with what I managed to produce today. I know it wasn't meant to be easy, and I know there's room for improvement. I didn't have enough time to make chocolate decorations for the sides of my Nid d'abeille, so I left it as it was. I managed to serve everything on time, and that's at least a consolation.
My plated dessert was still a problem for me. I find it extremely difficult to plate a dessert without any fruits... We had no strawberries today because they were so awful that they had to be returned to the suppliers. I guess sometimes things like that happen, and it is simply beyond our (or the School's) control.
Anyway, I am glad Chef H gave me some good suggestions during the feedback session, because I now know how to do it better if I get one of these cakes in the exam. Basically, I need to practise the things I've learnt in Intermediate Pastry and be able to apply the techniques better.
You know, I am relieved these are the last two cakes we are making in our practicals this term. I think I have figured out I am not exactly a "cake person". More specifically, I dislike making cakes that are overly complicated or tricky.
I have a lot of patience for chocolate work, but very little for complicated mousse cakes. The main reason is, I struggle to make these complicated cakes look neat and nice (well, as nice as some of my Group B classmates can make them). And until I get really comfortable with the mousse cakes I learnt to make in Intermediate Pastry, I feel the ones we make in Superior Pastry are a touch beyond my capabilities. If I had a choice between tarts and mousse cakes, I would rather make tarts (especially the ones with fruits in them).
Besides, I don't understand why people are so keen on mousse cakes these days. Maybe I am just old-fashioned -- I like my cakes to have more flour (be it wheat flour or nut flour) than cream. If I wanted more cream than flour in my dessert, I would have gone straight for ice creams. Note that this is in no way a criticism of the LCB Ottawa syllabus -- I know they have to teach us all the techniques they think we will need in order to work as pastry chefs in the future... I just have my own personal preferences, that's all.
Next week we do fruit carving, which I am really looking forward to. You might recall I enjoyed carving pumpkins during Halloween. Now we get to learn some really cool carving techniques from Chef A. :)
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PS. Happy ANZAC Day to all Aussies and Kiwis!
