This summer school thing has been much rougher than I imagined. Not harder really, just more compacted and time-constrained. But, I have had my written final for Advance Baking and Pastry and am doing my production final tomorrow morning.
I have also secured an internship for the fall. I’m doing the first one at an upscale hotel and will get to rotate through the restaurant, banquet and garde manger kitchens. I’ve done all the interviewing and am just waiting on the background check and drug screen, neither of which hold any surprises for anyone unless they count my abysmal credit score against me.
In other news Foodieporn will soon have a new home at foodieporn.com. Right now it’s a holder, but we’ll be migrating all the old posts over that way. The Journalspace version will remain so guest posters can still contribute. The new site will also list cooking classes and other goings on. Keifel and I are hoping to have it up and running before the Fall semester starts and I am ragged with doing too many things again.
Victoria’s Production Final Recipes
Blackberry-Cassis Mousse Cake w/ Chocolate Sauce
Components:
Genoise, 2 layers
Ladyfinger cookies
Kirsch dessert syrup
Blackberry-cassis mousse
Glaze
Chocolate sauce
Fresh blackberries, for garnish
Assembly: In a cake ring lined with acetate cake band, place a genoise layer in the bottom, trim if necessary. Cut ladyfingers to evenly reach top of ring and place around the inside of the ring, between the genoise layer and the ring. Brush genoise with syrup. Layer half of mousse on genoise and cover with second layer of cake, brush with syrup. Cover second layer with remaining mousse and chill until set. Glaze when firm and garnish with fresh blackberries on each portion. Serve with chocolate sauce and additional berries for garnish.
Recipes:
Genoise from Professional Baking edited by Wayne Gisslen
Yield: two 9” layers
Eggs 9 oz
Sugar 6 oz
Cake flour 6 oz
Vanilla extract approx ½ teaspoon
Procedure: As for plain sponge method. Bake in two 9” cake pans, prepared as for genoise, at 375°F approximately 15 minutes. Cool completely on racks.
Ladyfinger Cookies from The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg
Yield: approximately 180 2” cookies
Bread flour 4 oz
Eggs, separated 6
Granulated sugar 6 oz
Lemon juice few drops
Cornstarch 3 oz
Procedure: Sift the flour. Whip egg yolks and 1/3 of the sugar at high speed until light and creamy. Add half of the remaining sugar, along with the lemon juice, to the egg whites. Whip the egg white mixture at high speed until it is foamy and tripled in volume, about 2 minutes. Combine the remaining sugar and the cornstarch. Gradually add this to the egg white mixture and whip to stiff peaks. Fold in the reserved egg yolk and sugar mixture, and then fold in the sifted flour. Place the batter in a pastry bag with a 10mm plain tip. Pipe cookies, 2 inches long, onto sheet pans lined with baking paper or Silpats. Bake at 425°F for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Ladyfingers will keep for weeks if stored in a dry place.
Kirsch Dessert Syrup from Professional Baking edited by Wayne Gisslen
Yield approx. 6 fluid ounces
Water 3 oz
Sugar 2.5 oz
Kirsch 0.5 oz
Procedure: Boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Add kirsch.
Blackberry-Cassis Mousse and Glaze adapted from Christmas with Victoria 1999
Yield: mousse and glaze for one 9” cake
Blackberry puree from 1 pint of blackberries
Cassis syrup as need to equal 11 oz with puree
Sugar 2/3 cup
Heavy cream 1 ½ cups, divided
Powdered gelatin 4 teaspoons
Glaze:
Apricot preserves 1 cup
Reserved puree mixture 1/3 cup
Procedure: Puree and strain blackberries to remove seeds. Add enough cassis syrup to the puree to make 11 ounces. Combine this with sugar over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Chill until needed. In a small, heatproof bowl combine 1/3 cup of the heavy cream with gelatin and allow to bloom. Set the bowl in a pan of hot water and stir until smooth. Stir the gelatin mixture into the puree mixture. Reserve 1/3 cup of this mixture for the glaze. Beat the remaining heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. Gradually add all but the reserved 1/3 cup puree mixture to the cream and fold gently to combine. Chill until ready to use. To make the glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt apricot preserves, simmering until slightly thickened. Stir in the reserved puree. Let cool for 5 minutes and spoon over the top of the cake. Chill until ready to serve.
Chocolate Sauce from Professional Baking edited by Wayne Gisslen
Yield: approx. 6 fluid ounces
Dark chocolate 4 oz
Water 2 fl. oz
Butter 1.5 oz
Procedure:
Chop chocolate into small pieces. Place the chocolate and water in a saucepan. Heat over low heat or over hot water until the chocolate is melted. Stir while cooking to make a smooth mixture. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted and mixed in. Set the pan in a bowl of ice water and stir the sauce until it is cool.
Tartlet Trio w/ Raspberry Sauce
Components:
Short dough
Almond-Amaretto tart filling
Pastry cream
Fresh peaches
Apricot glaze
Raspberry jam
Raspberry sauce
Fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish
Assembly:
Pool raspberry sauce on dessert plate and arrange the three tartlets—Almond-Amaretto tartlet, Fresh Peach tartlet, and Raspberry Jam tartlet with short dough cutout—evenly around plate. Garnish center of plate with three mint leaves and a fresh raspberry and place a fresh raspberry on the jam tartlet.
Short Dough from The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg
Yield: 2# 7 oz
Granulated sugar 6 oz
Unsalted butter, room temp 14 oz
Egg 1
Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Bread flour 1# 1 oz
Procedure:
Place the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl; mix at low speed with the dough hook until just combined. Add the flour and mix only until the dough is smooth. Chill until ready to use but at least 30 minutes.
Almond-Amaretto Tartlet adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg
Yield: more than enough for three 4” tartlets
Eggs, room temp 2
Light brown sugar 3.25 oz
Light corn syrup 1.5 oz
Molasses 1.5 oz
Salt ¼ teaspoon
Vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon
Amaretto 0.5 fl. oz
Butter, melted 0.75 oz
Slivered almonds 5 oz
Procedure: Whisk the eggs just to break them up. Mix in brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, salt, vanilla and amaretto. Stir in melted butter and pecans.
To make tartlets: Line 10 mini-tartlet pans with short dough rolled 1/8 inch thick. Fill tartlets just below rim of tartlet mold with filling. Bake at 375°F until firmly set, approximately 12 minutes. Cool completely and drizzle in a criss-cross pattern with melted dark chocolate.
Fresh Peach Tartlets
Pastry cream
Fresh peach slices
Apricot glaze
For the pastry cream:
Milk 8 oz
Sugar 1 oz
Egg yolks 1
Whole eggs 1 oz
Cornstarch 0.75 oz
Sugar 1 oz
Butter 0.5 oz
Vanilla ex. ¼ teaspoon
Procedure: In a heavy saucepan, dissolve sugar in the milk and bring just to a boil. With a whip beat yolk and whole egg in a stainless steel bowl. Stir the cornstarch and sugar into the eggs. Beat with a whip until perfectly smooth. Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in the hot milk in a thin stream. Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat when thickened. Stir in butter and vanilla and pour into a sanitized hotel pan to cool. Chill as quickly as possible.
To assemble tartlet: Line 10 mini-barquette molds with short dough rolled 1/8” thick and bake at 375°F until golden brown, approximately 8-10 minutes. Cool completely and fill with pastry cream 2/3 full. Place two fresh peach slices with rose centers facing on top of each tartlet and brush with apricot glaze.
Raspberry Jam Tartlet with Short Dough Cut Out
Components:
Short dough
Raspberry Jam
Fresh raspberries to garnish
To assemble: Line 10 mini-tartlet molds with short dough rolled 1/8” thick and bake until golden brown, approximately 8-10 minutes. Roll out remaining dough 1/4” thick and cut out 10 shapes with mini-cutters. Bake to golden brown, approximately 4 minutes. Allow tartlets and cookies to cool completely. Fill tartlets half full with raspberry jam and top with cut out. Garnish with a fresh raspberry.
Raspberry Sauce
Frozen raspberries 10 oz
Corn syrup 1/3 cup
Puree thawed berries and strain. Stir in corn syrup.
