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