This cake, was simply delicious, and really, really fun to make. It is a wonderful flourless chocolate cake, made with just butter, eggs, chocolate, and almond flour. Because of the almond flour, it still has a nice body, that is substantial, and takes this cake away from the "Brownie" tendencies most flourless chocolate cakes err towards. Then, the cake is covered in Creme D'Or, which is just melted chocolate and whipped cream, whipped until it is stiff. Then, we made chocolate meringues, piped them, baked them, sliced em up, surrounded the cake with them, then piled them on top. These meringues, when you eat them plain, and they melt on your tongue, taste just like cooling hot chocolate - it's quite incredible. Not to mention, its a really stunning way to finish a cake, and a wonderful textural addition to a flourless cake.
I made sure to pipe my meringue really thin - I just love it visually, with the very tall, and thin meringues. Love love it.
This cake was...interesting. We laughed, because "interesting" is the word I use to describe things I don't like to eat. Since my chef and I have really quite similar taste, we often look over at each other, squint, and say, "it's interesting." Gotta love her.
But this cake is a Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake. Some people really love it, but, I tend to not be that into cakes anyways, and especially chocolate ones at that. However, it was fun and interesting to make. And, I made the design on the top so tight that it would hopefully look like knitted fabric a little bit.
Too bad for that hole right there...but those things are also impossible to fix...
My exam cake - Genoise, with a Framboise Soak, Raspberry Jam, Vanilla Buttercream (if you look really, really close you can see the flecks of vanilla - so pretty) finished with Candied Almonds. And, to the side, a Marzipan Rose and a Marzipan "Happy Birthday" Plaque.
Back to bread! There's nothing I love more than making bread. It's especially refreshing after the cake unit, which is particularly finicky, this is a joy to do. Bread is so free - so environmental and pleasant to work with, doughs and what not. During the cake unit, my chef asked what exactly it is that I dislike about making cakes, and I told her, "I just want some dough in my hands." I love doughs - puff pastry, pie dough, croissant dough, bread dough - the way it feels, the warmth after it rises, the shaping. It's all about the hands and the dough. There's rarely a tool involved. While it is somewhat fun and incredibly satisfactory to take an offset spatula and make really, really perfect 90 degree angles on a cake, I much prefer the natural shaping of doughs. I call these units "The Birkenstock Units". I LOVE Birkenstocks. And Bread. And turns out, they kinda go together.
This here is an Irish Soda Bread - incredibly delicious. The best part is the top, most crusty piece. Buttermilky, buttery, studded with currants and caraway seeds - just lovely.
Don't be fooled! These are not baguettes. (Baguettes should not look like this, so if these were Baguettes, I'd be doing something wrong). These are called Viennoise. It's the Vienna version of a Baguette - sweeter, with milk in place of water, this bread tastes like a dinner roll, just in the shape of a Baguette. But they are still quite delicious.
It feels so good to be scoring bread again. I think of all the aspects of my job back home, I miss bread the most. Here's to the Bread.
Cheers.
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