Week 9 of IP

February 25, 2013 Monday

Demo Class#15: Chef Eric Jaouan's Pacific (Lemon and strawberry mousse cake).  We all were laughing about the colour choice Chef Eric made... didn't it look like Jamaican flag? The funny thing was that many classmates hated this cake, and called it "ugly"!

During the break, I stayed in school, and studied with the help from Tika and Cynthia.  They kept asking questions to prepare me for the exam tomorrow.  I've been feeling sick, I hope I could do well on the exam.

Practical Class#15: Today, on our row, we had Chef Arnaud Bonnefoy grading us.  He told me to practice my piping and writing.... haven't been told about that for a while :-)

Doesn't it make you happy? :-)

After the practical class, I went to Cynthia's place.  Jason and Cindy were there already.  Tika made us food again before our study! Thanks Tika and Cynthia again!

February 26, 2013 Tuesday
Written Exam: I think I did okay.... :-) but I'm still sick :-(

Demo Class#16: Chef Eric Jaouan's Opéra (Chocolate cake with coffee butter cream and chocolate cream) and Tarte au chocolat (Chocolate tart)

I went home to rest and organize my notes after demo class.  I was planning to take a nap but didn't happen.

Practical Class#16: My Opéra (Chocolate cake with coffee butter cream and chocolate cream)

Chef Eric was always very helpful, especially when I was masking a cake.  He was trying to remind me not to put too much buttercream in the final layer, he realized I was sick.  Then he said to me: You're sick, stay away from me.  Don't you love your kind Chef! So much love, eh? :-) Again, Chef Arnaud told me to work on my piping and writing.... so I asked Jocelyne if my writing was that bad.  We didn't think Chef's writing was that great.... so why picked on me?? LOL

February 27, 2013 Wednesday
Open Lab: Marquise au chocolat was the cake that I was making in open lab, reason is that I didn't do well on glazing the cake in my practical class.  We were told to pour the glaze on the cake at 30C, but mine didn't turn out well at all.  This time in open lab, I heated it up to 32 to 33C instead.  Not that I did a perfect job, but better.  Chef Eric was nice enough to teach me a few things about unmolding and glazing the cake. 1) We were taught to torch the cake ring on the back of a tray (by Chef Jocelyn), or holding a cake up in the air while torching the ring (by Chef Hervé), but Chef Eric told me to do it on the edge of the table.  2) He also told me to start torching at the point (or line) where the ring was sealed, so you would know where to end in a circle.  3) He mentioned that while glazing, we all tended to pull the spatula down naturally when the spatula met the edge of the cake.  We supposed to imagine the cake was much bigger than it actually was, so that the spatula maintained on the level.  Good tips, eh? :-) This time I was smart enough to do some bigger chocolate decoration for hiding the side of my cake! Inspired by Jocelyne Bégin, thanks for the idea (stolen :-)!
Here's my improved Marquise au chocolat:

It was fun doing open lab with Cynthia, thanks for your help! And we did well, finished fast! :-)

Snow: LOT OF SNOW TODAY!!

Dinner With A Bunch Of Pastry Students: We were invited to have dinner at Cynthia's place.  Tika made a big dinner for us, including:

I can't thank enough to Tika, Cynthia and YY for preparing and cooking an amazing dinner for us, especially during the time of studying for our written exam, and when I was sick.  Also for helping us to study.  What are we gonna do after you guys graduate? :-(

March 1, 2013 Friday

Open Lab: Cynthia and I decided to make Mousse au chocolat blanc et aux oranges sanguines in open lab today.  We had Chef Hervé, and everything was ready for us when we walked in.  Time was the key for this cake.  We were rushing to finish those 3 types of cakes and 2 types of mousses.  I was feeling 100% today, wasn't as organized and clean as usual :-( Thank God, Cynthia was beside me and helped! In the end, my cake was done, but I didn't have chocolate decorations.  Apparently, I didn't temper the chocolate correctly.  It must be my karma! I was laughing at Cynthia's untempered chocolate on the last open lab, and now it was my time to be laughed at :-P