Dessert Plating Week

Well it's been some time and it is time again to post! Here is dessert week and I should let you know I have decided a few things. I am going to cut down on my step by step postings and post mostly finished product but feel free to chat with me about the goodies! First up we made a light coconut dessert with a mango centre, a crispy sugary coconut based curl and coconut ice cream with mango reductions.

Here is the mango that will go into the centre. It was more a non Newtonian fluid than water or jelly and we poured them into half circle moulds and then stuck them together by heating each side. Good trick. 

Next we baked lines of coconut sweet cream and rolled them quickly onto rods to make spirals.

Then we cooked little circles of sweet dough with griottines on them to place the ice cream on later.

Plop the mango in the mould and pipe in your coconut filling. Bake and plate!

Here's mine. The plating isn't perfect but I would say my style is more staccato jazz than a smooth symphony at the moment. Improving but still playing with what feels right.

This was a particularly difficult but rewarding week so after getting a bit down on myself I went out for a bike ride and felt better. While on my ride I found a way to the bio-coop, an excellent all natural vegan vegetarian friendly all local product magasin! Aka my favorite grocery store in Agde.

The next dessert we make had rounds of carrot and mango on top of cream and a baked pillow of whipped egg whites and ground hazelnuts served with mango an carrot ice cream and circles (or what are supposed to be circles) of mango and carrot reduction.

I had a rough and fantastic day on the last dessert day. I was working my butt off and trying really hard but I made mistake with my pears and they were simply inedible. I was really angry with myself but the Chef and the other students in my class gave me some of their pears with no questions asked. I felt and feel so much gratitude that day. Then  I ate some yogurt that reacted badly with me and I was up all night sick.

Fast forward to some time off. I had to go to Montpellier to get my medical affairs in order and I had time to bum around the city before my train back to Montpellier.

First I caught a good picture in Agde centre ville.

Did you know that Agde has a lot of history with Greece? That's why you will find a lot of pillars like this one carved out of volcanic rock.

Finally after my medical check in Montpellier we went to Omija, the Korean store! 오미자가 너머 맛있어!

And we went past an American specialty store with bagels and pop tarts! Ahh the pop tart how could anyone survive without you?

And we found fabulous graffiti like...moustache rock. He's waiting to be invited in...

...Spray paint smurf...

...the humanization of the robot from A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy...

...and this little gate guardian robot.

As we were wandering around we noticed a gigantic crowd gathered and when we got closer we heard screaming and saw cops with orange capped safety training guns having a standoff with a guy in a car. It was safety training day!!

When it was time to go home we came across this little guy playing the most french song ever (I think it was a song from Amelie) in this place...

...La Comedie. I must say for someone his age the way he played was absolutely beautiful.

We came upon several more statues and beautiful places Montpellier before returning home.

So dessert week was not too shabby. I am getting much more confident in the kitchen and slowly more so with my french! 

Alright, until next time I hope the world is kind to you!

Au revoir!

Sara

Chocolate Week!

Well this is late...here is my post for chocolate week. So far probably my favorite week. Chocolate is really hard to deal with because you have to temper it properly or else it will come out dull or grainy or worse...taste bad O_O

So first up we made vervine and raspberry gel chocolate. We took a layer of raspberry gel that we made, not jelly like you put on your toast but a firm jelly.

Yumm! Then we topped it with a white chocolate vervine cream mixture to make a soft center.

After it cooled and we sprayed it with dark chocolate...

...We sliced them...

...Into gorgeous little rectangles. Then left them to cool.

Next we took the hardened mixture of nuts...

And ground them into a creamy praline.

So that we could make bars of chocolate, which we painted gold...

...and they tasted like gold!!

Later we filled these chocolate balls with a salted caramel and peanut filling plus a lil extra nut popped inside.

We also dipped our prepped vervine chocolates!

And painted a streak of green on them as a reminder of what is inside.

After the bottoms of the balls dried we dipped them in a fresh coat of our tempered chocolate and finished off with a bronze dusted peanut!

And then came the weekend. I was lazy on Saturday and sat around most of the day until I went for my gorgeous run along the beach just before sunset. There was a storm passing out to sea and it was so cool!

Then on Sunday it was too beautiful not to go exploring so I went for an unplanned 4 hour bike ride! First I went by the naturist village...(aka nudist)

Then I got lost on a path in the woods and came out next to this guy. Not sure what he used to be but I wish I could have gotten closer to explore more.

Then I came out next to a vineyard! How terribly french of me XP

And I rode alon the national wildlife reserve in out part of France.

Now, being me, it's almost impossible for me to exist without finding some kind of second hand place. Well I found a flea market. I couldn't go in because I left my bike lock at home but I have two more months to go so...bam.

I can't even begin to complain when I see all the gorgeous sights I came across. I was hoping to catch some fishermen but realized it was too late and as luck would have it I stopped right as this man was going out. Serendipity at its most subtle.

I biked all the way to Séte and I'm hoping to bike to Montpellier some weekend. Maybe after break. Here are my last photos from the bike ride.

The boardwalk to the beach.

And some remnants that remind me of Fort Williams in Maine.

Well that's all for now. I will try to e better at uploading but I upload nearly every day on Instagram so find me!! My ID is Quesaracera 

Hope to see you there! Have a lovely October Day!

~Sara

In which I make lots of goodies and forget my phone.

Sorry it has been over a week since I posted! I've been all over the place visiting and running and taking class and bonding with my roommates. But this morning I got up extra early just to post!

I've been putting my Le Petit Prince coffee bowl to good use! And I have been eating so well since coming to France. But enough about that! Onto the week of pastry past...

Last week the Chef made us chou so that we could have something to munch on and experience some extra goodies that we are going to need to make at some point in our pastry careers. Then the chef showed us how to assemble our Saint Honoré. Allow me to take you through all the steps (keep in mind everything you will see was made by scratch):

Step one, mount your praline filled chou with a quick-stick mounting caramel.

Next fill the bottom of your puff pastry with salted caramel spread.

After the caramel put your praline cream on top of the caramel spread.

And finish with a whipped chocolate ganache.

This is how ours turned out, front and center!

Next up is a tart with wine poached pears and almond cream (again remember everything is handmade).

We baked and coated the bottom of our tarts.

Then filled them with the poached pears.

Then added more almond cream!! Put sliced almonds on top and put to bake.

There is our freshly baked tart front and center just waiting to be glazed and topped.

The chef glazing his tart.

Then add some decorations!

Here is my tart topped with rounds of poached and glazed peaches, edible flowers, and pistachio.

My roommates and I nommed the half we got that night with vanilla ice cream!

Next up is fondant covered éclairs! 

Here is the chef piping the pearls of white fondant. After which we had to pipe the éclairs we baked last week with the cherry cream we made the day before.

Filling our éclairs with the goodness! Love piping bags.

Next, we took what we call the chocolate gun and sprayed down our éclairs with a rose colored chocolate.

Finally we took the fondant and put it on the éclairs!

Our best eclair!

That was all for pastries this last week. I went to Aix-en-Provence to visit my friend but then I left my phone at his house while we bopped around! But before I left I got a picture of our jousting gondola rider sculpture near the shopping centre in town.

And I found a double decker bus that serves pizza! It was closed but I am definitely going back!

Other than that there's not much else to tell. Stay tuned! Next week: Chocolate Week!

I hope the universe treats you well!

Sara