Put A Fork In It :)

This right here... marks my first official blog posting! Hope ya'll do not get too bored with me... I read a ton of wedding blogs and food blogs but have always felt my life is not interesting enough for people to read about (the fact that I'm a horrible writer doesn't motivate me either) lol. Anyways... it think doing this with my classmates and Chef will be much easier! :) I am enjoying the class so far... when the AC is working that is! I am really looking forward to getting into the more complex plating, I think the more sauces and color on the plate the better. My group made a chocolate molten cake today, but I personally thought it was rather boring looking (however tasted very well). Carol, Katelyn, and Rita did a white chocolate molten cake with strawberry and blueberry "salsa" it looked soooo pretty...(but was not so tasty) I guess we need to combine the two next time! That's enough talk for me, now onto the picture! I took a picture of every step while Chef plated... enjoy!




Spread the "salsa" in the mold about half way full







mint sauce and strawberry coolie go down



add a little "flare" with dragging the sauce with the knife



carefully flip your cake over



top with more "salsa"



sprinkle with a little mint{another pop of color :)}



the finished dessert... Sooo pretty right?




FINALLY... Put A Fork In It! the center of this molten cake was filled with white chocolate.

Important Points to Remember Part 1

• Keep cold products cold and hot products hot
• Clean the plate before you use it
• Take note of the temperature of the plate
• Focus on multitasking during production
• Know where the front of your plate is and tailor the flow of your plate to that point(s)
• Troubleshooting fosters creativity
• MISE EN PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's Desserts--Hot and Warm Desserts

Carolina peach souffle with peach creme Anglaise

Coconut souffle with caramelized pineapple sauce

Warm dark chocolate molten cake, Mexican chocolate center, Red Hot syrup, vanilla bean ice cream, caramelized cocoa nib-cinnamon brittle

Warm white chocolate molten cake, strawberry-blueberry "salsa," strawberry coulis, mint syrup, fresh local mint

Peanut butter financier, grape gelee, peanut dust, malt cream, vanilla chiffonade

Chocolate Layer Cake

Hi ya'll! I'm so excited to be in plated desserts class this summer and can't wait to see all the edible works of art our class will create throughout the semester!

The theme for our first week was on classic American desserts, and each group was tasked with making two desserts, a batch of vanilla bean ice cream base, and a sauce or two for accompaniments. Needless to say, we had our hands full! My group made the lovely chocolate layer cake you see here. The batter for the chocolate buttermilk cake contained a fair amount of oil, which made for a moist crumb. The frosting was unusual for me in that we actually made it entirely in a Robot Coupe, first by processing butter and the dry ingredients together, then adding the wet, and finishing with melted dark chocolate. The frosting was beautifully shiny and spread like a dream so I enjoyed working with it to frost the layers.

This is definitely a good cake for dark chocolate lovers, and I admit that I'm not one of them so I just had a few bites to experience the flavors. I appreciated the presence of vanilla bean ice cream, the chantilly cream quenelle (yikes, I've got to practice doing these!), and the creme Anglaise sauce on the plate to help cut through the intense chocolate flavor of the cake. It is a beautiful dessert, though, and I'd be happy to make it again for anyone with a hankering for dark chocolate!

Welcome!

Pastry is a lot like kindergarten.  You get to play with your food.  Messes are a daily part of life.  Coloring insides the lines can be critical to your success.  Lack of scissor skills can be your downfall.  And you often learn more from your failures than from your triumphs.  Plus pudding is a major part of each day.  If only there were more naps....

This blog will chronicle the summer session of the plated desserts class at the Culinary Institute of Charleston.  Its purpose is to chart our progress from apple pie to zabaglione and beyond.

Come with us as we learn to put puddin' on a plate.