Week 8

This week we made ice creams and sorbets. I, again, don't have photos of those since they will be used next week at the buffet we are doing. I will have plenty of pictures next week! We made a vanilla ice cream and a french ice cream. Both turned out fine. We also made a mango sorbet, a mojito sorbet, and a coconut sorbet. All turned out well. The coconut sorbet, though, was absolutely divine! We used high quality coconut puree to make this sorbet and the finished product was perfectly smooth and creamy. I wanted to eat the whole container myself!

We also made a coffee rum parfait. This is not a parfait as typical Americans would think of a parfait. This is a still frozen dessert that has whipped cream folded into it to make it light and airy and then piped into a mold and frozen. The coffee was not an overpowering flavor and it was, not to be crude, but basically an orgasm in a cup. We were all just melting as we were tasting this dessert. This is what it looks like now, before we unmold it.


We made a chocolate hazelnut marquise that was poured into a terrine mold, but it is being saved for next week, as well.

We completed all those projects yesterday. Today we made nougatine and formed them into cup like shapes to place some of the ice creams and sorbets in next week. We ended up making this three times before it came out correctly. The recipe specifically says not to stir the corn syrup and fondant while it is cooking together to an amber color. I assumed this meant not to move the sugar at all and one side began to burn. Chef then told me that you can swirl it while it is cooking. The second try, Chef stood with me the whole time. The almonds browned a little too much while they were being toasted in the oven. They would have been fine, but when they were added to the hot sugar, they got cooked even more and the nougatine tasted burnt. The third try worked out well and tasted fine. It's a pain to work with, but at least I've had the experience.

Lastly, we got to work with gum paste and make roses. Not too many people enjoyed this activity, but I got a huge kick out of it. Here is my first try at a rose.




We also unmolded our mango tortes from last week. You will see it again, once it is plated, next week, but I thought you may like to see the whole top of it, and a side view. I brought some pieces home and both girls gobbled it up.




My brother in law will be in town for the buffet and I think Marc, the girls, and he may come out to enjoy some free food. It will be fun to show them all what I am doing, and also to show the girls off to my classmates.