Baking and Pastry: Week 5

I can't believe class is almost over, and I must say I am kinda looking forward to it. Mainly because after this class we have spring break, a full week away from school. Well this last week has been a fun week with cakes. On Monday we worked on our vanilla butter cream cake. Overall this cake is not a favorite, other than the butter cream, because it is a SUPER dry cake. While I was putting this cake together though my butter cream decided to get a little on the melty side so half of my rosettes look awesome and the other half look droopy. I actually remembered to take a picture before leaving class, but it was after I wrapped the cake.

While I was taking pictures of my cake, Raul decided to get in on the fun as well.

On Tuesday we started our chocolate sponge cake and made pizza. That day was an absolute blast because it was the first time in almost 14 weeks that we have had the opportunity to do something on the savory side. It was actually really nice to throw stuff in a pot and taste it until we had the right flavor profile. According to my husband Jon the sauce was really good and unlike any other sauce he had ever had. 

On Wednesday we finished our chocolate sponge cake by rimming it with hazelnuts and topping it with glazed, cut strawberries. After that we started our tiramisu and did a review for our final next Thursday. After the review I discovered I have a LOT of studying I need to be doing over the next week. Thankfully we actually have a text book to read through other wise I think I might have the lovely dear in the headlights looks.

 Thursday was a really busy day that seemed to drag on forever, mainly because no one wanted to be there thanks to it be our Friday and St. Patrick's Day. Once class got started we were off and running. First we started our cheesecake, then creme brulee and creme caramel (flan). Once we finished all of that we made Tuile dough and then we made financier's (petit four cake). Once all of that was done I got started cleaning only to find out that we still needed to finish our tiramisu and then we got to go over to F3 and have some of the sea food buffet. Overall I thought our buffet was better but they seemed to do pretty well. Now as for the tiramisu picture I forgot to take a picture before I cut it in half and wrapped it up, so I grabbed a picture of Raul's even though it was already wrapped and a picture of half of my cake.

Well that's all for now. Next week is going to be our last week of baking and pasty and then we go on a one week break. After that we will be returning to Nutrition and Psychology. Till then, happy cooking everyone.

My First Catering Event

Ok I know what you are asking, "What happened to week 4?". Well  week 4 was actually pretty boring. On Monday we finished up our eclairs then Tuesday and Wednesday was spent working on our practical that I received an 89% on. Then on Thursday we got started on our next section, cakes. I also found out that as of right now I still hold my "A" in the class. Despite the practical though I was pretty worried about the up coming catering job I had Sunday night.

On Friday I went out and did all of my shopping for the event and then the second I finished shopping I got started on doing the prep work. I had a large menu so I needed to get my butt moving. So lets start at the top.

The Menu

Crab Salad in Crispy Wonton Bowls

Shrimp Cocktail

Salsa Bar: Pico De Gallo, Mild Salsa, and Mango Salsa

Ham and Swiss Cheese Wraps

Roast Beef and Provolone Wraps

Ham and Ranch Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Roast Beef and Horseradish Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Vegetable Platter: Tomatoes, Celery, Carrots, Broccoli, and Cauliflower

Fruit Platter: Honeydew Melon, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Grapes, and Strawberries

Lemon Bars

Chocolate Mousse Cups

Pound Cake Bar: Pound Cake, Glazed Strawberries, Sliced Strawberries, and Whip Cream

Overall I worked on prep for 3 days. The first day I cut up all of the fruit, and prepared all of the cream cheese. The second day I made the crab salad, the mango salsa, and cut up all of the vegetables. On the third day I made all the desserts, and rolled all of the wraps and pinwheels which did not go as well as the other days. While making the desserts I started having issues. I had decided to make the lemon bars out of a box to save money, but I quickly realized that wasn't the greatest idea when I tried to remove them from the pan. The bars went everywhere and resembled a trash heap. It was not pretty. So quickly I sprang into action to try and make the lemon bars from scratch. Thankfully I had all the ingredients in my house. While I was zooming around the kitchen I slipped and fell leaving a NASTY bruise.

Around 2:45PM it came to load up my car. At first I didn't think I was going to get it all in there, but thanks to my wonderful husband we were able to get it all in, including 3 coolers. Around 4:00PM I arrived at my Mother-in-Laws house and began setup. With everyone's help I was able to get everything looking pretty good. Once it was all set up the guests started arriving and my sister-in-law's bridal shower started. Now on to the pictures. 

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