Week 9 marks the end of my 9 month journey at Le Cordon Bleu, and the start of an exciting work life. :)
Last weekend and Monday was spent finalising the components of my exam gateau. We had to create an original gateau for our exam in 4.5 hours and for me, this task really made me shift away from the mindset of just blindly following recipes, and instead fine-tuning the ingredients and amounts until they achieved the texture and taste that I wanted. I made this trial cake for Chef to try on Monday. The flavours worked beautifully but sadly my pistachio mousse leaked down the sides because not having a blow torch at home, I placed my jaconde in the grill to caramelise it..but it ended up shrinking, leaving many gaps for the mousse to seep through.
Last weekend and Monday was spent finalising the components of my exam gateau. We had to create an original gateau for our exam in 4.5 hours and for me, this task really made me shift away from the mindset of just blindly following recipes, and instead fine-tuning the ingredients and amounts until they achieved the texture and taste that I wanted. I made this trial cake for Chef to try on Monday. The flavours worked beautifully but sadly my pistachio mousse leaked down the sides because not having a blow torch at home, I placed my jaconde in the grill to caramelise it..but it ended up shrinking, leaving many gaps for the mousse to seep through.
But not to worry..have faith..and I did because I had practised this cake many times at home and made sure that my workflow and everything was right. This is what I made for my exam on Thursday, and I got top in the class for my cake..I'm over the moon. Make that doubly over the moon and the stars since I also had top marks for my theory exam. :)
I named my gateau "Ruby's Secrets" because of the hidden strawberry jelly layer inside the gateau..this strawberry jelly layer was an addition made just a couple of days before my exam, many thanks to chef joseph who suggested that I put it in. It works really well because the praline and pistachio mousse is on the sweet side, the chocolate meringue and pastry cream made using cocoa powder gives a slightly bitter kick and the strawberry jelly balances the taste perfectly with its tangy taste.
Making the strawberry jelly was an interesting process. Initially during my trial runs I pressed the berries through a sieve to get fresh puree, but it took really long and I wanted a tool that was simple and efficient without having to use a stick blender (only 100g of strawberries)..so off I went for a walk around town..and I found the magical garlic crusher that would solve all my troubles..and it only cost $2.50. It did a wonderful job in the exam and it only took 10 minutes to get my jelly done. Well done garlic crusher!
Anyways, to relax before the exam I made some sugar figurines for my chefs and my friend's birthday.
Making the strawberry jelly was an interesting process. Initially during my trial runs I pressed the berries through a sieve to get fresh puree, but it took really long and I wanted a tool that was simple and efficient without having to use a stick blender (only 100g of strawberries)..so off I went for a walk around town..and I found the magical garlic crusher that would solve all my troubles..and it only cost $2.50. It did a wonderful job in the exam and it only took 10 minutes to get my jelly done. Well done garlic crusher!
Anyways, to relax before the exam I made some sugar figurines for my chefs and my friend's birthday.
Oh yeah..betty boops haha..well, I only made it because we had gone to Singapore's newly opened Universal Studios during the last holiday and snapped a photo with a life-sized walking Betty Boops..and it was something memorable that we both enjoyed.
Ok, that's all for now, check back soon for more!
Ok, that's all for now, check back soon for more!