Right. If you think my mood ain't so good right now, you're spot on. That's because the internet hanged right after I typed my post for week 3. Now I have to retype and maybe the feelings that I put in the previous post would've been lost.
Anyways, this week was a sweet affair where we made lots of confectionary and petit fours. Only two things caught my attention. The first one was the colouring of moulded chocolates. Chef showed us how to use cocoa-butter colouring/ paste, luster dust and transfer sheets to design our chocolates..all these used properly really makes a chocolate go 10 notches up in term of appearance. I especially loved the copper luster dust which gave my yellow-coloured chocolates a lovely orange hue with just a very light dusting. I think the hue can't be seen from the photo but it's the two pieces in the bottom right hand corner. The fudge and caramelised marzipan/ fruits were the other part of the lesson which I didn't like because I think caramelised fruits are more for display rather than consumption (the caramel is horrible and too hard and sticks to your teeth, and the fudge is way too sweet).
Anyways, this week was a sweet affair where we made lots of confectionary and petit fours. Only two things caught my attention. The first one was the colouring of moulded chocolates. Chef showed us how to use cocoa-butter colouring/ paste, luster dust and transfer sheets to design our chocolates..all these used properly really makes a chocolate go 10 notches up in term of appearance. I especially loved the copper luster dust which gave my yellow-coloured chocolates a lovely orange hue with just a very light dusting. I think the hue can't be seen from the photo but it's the two pieces in the bottom right hand corner. The fudge and caramelised marzipan/ fruits were the other part of the lesson which I didn't like because I think caramelised fruits are more for display rather than consumption (the caramel is horrible and too hard and sticks to your teeth, and the fudge is way too sweet).
The second thing which got my attention was marzipan modelling. Chef Joseph asked me during class whether I liked marzipan modelling, as I previously did prince and rapunzel for my croquembouche, an elf for my buche de noel, and most recently a piglet on top of the fruits that we were supposed to model. I said no, but I kept thinking about it when I got home..I'm not sure whether I like it, but it's just that I find it therapeutic and really satisfying when I complete a figurine. Maybe I need to take up a course on this when I've saved up enough money again. Anyways, during modelling, we got to use the spray gun, which is a totally awesome tool! It makes the stuff look so real..check out the red spray on the pear and apple..the right technique is to hold the spray gun at a distance from the fruit and spray so as to get a thin, even colour coat. My only complaint? THE GUN IS NOISY. Hahaha.
From left to right: That's the Gianduja on the left, which is pretty similar to fudge, except that it is made up of chocolate, praline cream and paillete feuilletine (pronounced as pie-teh fil-tin - puff pastry crumbs). Second, nougat montelimar - which is a soft nougat hailing from the city of Montelimar in France. And third, Pate de Fruits - French for fruit jelly. This jelly was gelled using a combination of yellow ribbon pectin (a citrus-based halal alternative to gelatin, made from plant cell extract) and tartaric acid (to activate the pectin).
Alright. Off to do my assignments. I'm gonna complete all in the next two days so that I can concentrate on planning for my exam gateau and theory.
Alright. Off to do my assignments. I'm gonna complete all in the next two days so that I can concentrate on planning for my exam gateau and theory.