Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Mod 2

So we started our Mod 2 last weekend, and it's all about bread.  I made a hedgehog out of bread dough. Complete with top hat and cane.


This weekend, we made focaccia, ciabatta, pizza, whole grain rolls, sourdough, doughnuts and pretzels.  I think that's it? lol  No injuries!! =] I don't have pics yet, but will upload them when I have them.   Sorry so short, but I don't have much to write about. =/

Until next time..

Monday, November 1, 2010

Finals!

So I had my first final on Sunday. It was easier than I thought it would be, which is great. =]  I didn't do too bad.  We start a new module next week. Not sure what it is yet, we get our books when the class starts.  We made croquembouche on Saturday. It's a traditional French wedding cake. It was fun, but mine fell apart. =/  This is what it is supposed to look like though..
http://www.cake-off.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/finished-croque.jpg

We also had a career preparedness workshop. Worked on our resumes, cover letters, etc. I have to start looking at places that I want to trail at, to find somewhere to extern. Should be fun. Not much else happened this weekend, sorry for the boring post..  =/  

Until next time!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Schooooooooool lately

Hola!  So this post is for the last two weeks of school. Two weeks ago, we made cheesecake. SO good. The class favorite was mascarpone.  We made that, NY, Philly and No Frills.  They were gone pretty quickly after I got home. =]  We also made bread pudding, creme brulee and torrone. I got my first test back-93%.  My first final is on Sunday, which I am super excited about.  Who has a final on Halloween? really. We have to make a souffle, creme anglaise and also have a written test. We'll see how that goes!  I'll be making some souffle and creme anglaise if anyone wants some this week!  =]

This last weekend, we made ice cream and sorbet. My partner and I made baked alaska, with vanilla ice cream, blueberry sorbet and praline filling. We also made cream puffs and eclairs. I made a cream puff swan!

Baked Alaska

Cheesecake

Bread Pudding
Cream Puff Swan!
Creme Brulee!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Recreational Class

This last weekend I didn't have class because of Columbus Day, but did volunteer to help with a recreational class. The class was on Red Velvet Cake.  Another student and I were the two volunteers who helped Chef Kathryn with the class.  Though I would like to think that I was a huge help, I didn't actually do that much.  Red Velvet cake isn't too complicated, so everyone had a fairly easy time figuring it out. We used two different recipes for the cake, one that used red food coloring and one that used beets. If you didn't already know, beets don't add any flavor, just color.  We also made two kinds of icing, a cream cheese frosting and a milk based frosting.  They turned out very good.

So this coming weekend, I've got a paper due and my first quiz! The paper is my critique of a few different bakeries.  I tried Monkey Bread from a local bakery in Ridgefield, and it was really good, until i bit into a piece of pastry brush.  =/    

Well that's all for now, I'll let you know how next weekend goes!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

This weekend at I.C.E.

So Saturday was Evan's third birthday party and I made him a cake. His party was at the aquarium, so I made a cake with turtles, crabs and dolphins. I also made cupcakes with fish on them. I started making the decorations on Wednesday, started baking on Thursday and finished the cake Friday night.  I went to wrap the cake on Friday night and dropped the roll of cling wrap on top of the cake. At 11:30pm. The night before Evan's party. And I had to be up at 5 to go to school.  So I had to bake a new top tier and make another batch of frosting, and of course I didn't have all of the ingredients. I met Michelle who brought me some Crisco and vanilla. Life saver!  =]  So I baked the cake, had to let it cool, re-iced it and decorated it. I finished around 1:30 which was earlier than I thought it would be. Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake, which is always a good thing. =]





So Saturday at school we made Panna Cotta, Gelle, marshmallows and SoufflĂ©.  I got to bring the SoufflĂ© and marshmallow home and everyone liked them. I brought the Gelle and panna cotta home tonight but no one has tried it yet, so we'll see. =]  I sliced my finger open cutting a lemon in class. It looked a lot worse than it was, because it wouldn't stop bleeding. I bled through about five band aids/gauze wraps. It's all good now though, no worries.

Today at school, we walked to six bakeries in Manhattan and had to buy and critique something from every place.  It was fun, but tiring. We went to Baby Cakes, a vegan bakery, and it was pretty cool. Most of the cupcakes we tried weren't very tasty(no dairy or gluten) but a couple were really good. Now I'm supposed to use whatever my budget allows to go to as many bakeries I can and taste test in the next year. Not sure I can handle that much sugar. =]  This afternoon in class we just practiced butter-cream piping.  We had to make rosets and shells. not as easy as it looks. lol  

Well that's all that happened this week! There are no classes next weekend(Columbus Day) but I am helping my instructor with a recreational class, making red velvet cake.  I've got my first test in two weeks too! =/

Wish me luck!   =]

Monday, September 20, 2010

I.C.E.

Sorry it's been so long! I've been busy?  =]   So, I started at the Institute of Culinary Education two weeks ago.  I am taking weekend classes, so I'm working Monday to Friday and in school all day Saturday and Sunday.  It's busy but I love it so far.  We haven't done much baking yet, it's mostly reading and learning our workspaces, etc.   Sanitation is SO much fun to learn about. Especially when it is presented in a 1980's VHS.

My class is pretty small, which is nice. There are 15 of us, most in their mid 20's.  They are all from the tri-state area, so of course they are interested in exotic South Dakota. =]  Most of them asked if Fargo was in SD. There are a couple of people who want to go into cake decorating, but everyone else is pretty mixed as far as what they want to do.  There are a couple who are into artisan bread baking, a few into classic French pastry and a couple who have no idea.

We got our Wusthof knife sets this last weekend and started by learning what each one is used for, how to keep them sharp and clean them. We practiced using them by cutting all different fruits. We had to slice grapes, quarter apples and fan out strawberries, as well as cutting pretty much every other fruit there is. I only cut my finger once. (They are SO sharp!)   So part of my homework this week is slicing fruit, making sure they are sliced evenly at the right width.

We also made Pate de Fruit.  It's almost like a gum drop.  We made them with apricots, but you can use pretty much any fruit.  It was super easy and I am for sure going to try them again at home.  If you want the recipe, just let me know. =]


Well, that's pretty much all I have for now. I will keep you updated on what's going on with school.  Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Courtney's Birthday Cake

Courtney's birthday is on Memorial day and she asked me to make her cake. Of course I said yes.  I also went on a camping trip that weekend. =]   So I baked the cake Friday night before we left. I had planned on being back home around 2 on Monday so that I would have time to fill and decorate it. It didnt work out that way.. We ended up leaving Lake George around 2, which meant we would be home around 5. The party started at 3, but Courney was fine with me being a little later.  So we are driving home and decide to stop and eat. Then got rear ended at the toll booth. Plus Memorial Day traffic.  I ended up getting home around 630.  I had to fill and decorate as fast as I could (without completely sacrificing the design..)   I finally finished and got to the party around 9pm. Only 6 hours late.  =]   Courtney was a good sport.  She loved the cake, and everyone enjoyed a late snack.    It didn't turn out exactly as planned, but such is life.  =]

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Aaron's First Birthday!!

Aaron turns one tomorrow, but his birthday party was this last weekend. Susan asked if I would make Aaron an Elmo cake(to go with the whole Elmo theme) and of course I said yes. I tried a new vanilla cake recipe as well as a new butter cream icing. The cake was good, but not the best. I made the cake two layers with an Elmo figure on top.  I made the Elmo out of rice crispy treats molded and covered in Fondant. I was worried that my red looked more pink, but it turned out nicely. Now I know it's not the best Elmo, but it's not bad for the first character I've attempted to make. =]

My next project is my bake sale!  Lots of delicious treats being sold to help end childhood hunger in America! Stay tuned!




Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Oreo Balls

Ushir had been bugging me for weeks about making oreo balls for him to take to work.  I finally made them for him, and of course they were a big hit at work.  =]    So the thing with oero balls is that they are REALLY difficult to make. There's the oreos, the cream cheese and the almond bark.

First, you crush the oreos in a food processor then mix in the cream cheese. It works best if you use your hands.


Next, you roll the mixture into balls(or whatever shape you want, i guess.)  Refrigerate for an hour to let them firm up.



Next is the almond bark. I melt it in the microwave, mixing it every 20-30 seconds.  Now all that's left is to dip the oreo balls into the almond bark and let them sit and dry on wax paper.  See, SO HARD!




My next big "creation" is Aarons 1st birthday!  I've got to start planning his Elmo cake! Stay tuned =]

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

JETS WIN!!!

So Sunday was a very big day for the Jets. So of course I had to make a Jets cake. I was pressed for time, so I settled with a vanilla cake and butter cream icing. I tried a new cake recipe from a book I got for Christmas. Everyone seemed to like it, so I guess it's a keeper!  I left the cake white and added the JETS logo on top. I printed out the logo and put it under a sheet of wax paper to pipe on. It turned out nice, but it never hardened, so i had to put it on the cake with the wax paper. :/   Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.  =]


Saturday, January 16, 2010

My first entry



So here it is. My very own baking blog. I've read and followed many, and now it's my turn. I pretty much just bake and decorate cakes, but am ready to expand my horizons. I am open to requests, so if there is anything you would like me to try, let me know! 

I thought I would start by showing a few of the cakes I have made in the past.  Enjoy!