Pastry classes, Day 4

I am in my second week at the French Culinary Institute Pastry Program! I am in the process of uploading the documentation of my trials so far. So going back to week 1, this is what's going on!

Days 1, 2, and 3 we made an apple tart, a banana cream tart, and did administrative stuff. I didn't bring my camera those days, so we're just going to skip over them.

Day 4!:

We made a Fresh Fruit Tart, a Tarte Bourdaloue (Pear and Almond Tart) and baked off gingersnaps from a previous class.

The Fresh fruit tart was made using a Pate Brisee (Flaky tart dough), a layer of Almond Cream, a very thin layer of Creme Patisserie, and then an arrangement of fresh fruit on top. I found out I really like segmenting oranges. This tart has a really nice thin flaky dough, similar to a good American pie crust. I liked the amount of almond cream in it too- not too much as to overwhelm it with flavor, but enough to create a nice cushion. I found out that I don't like pastry cream- its just kind of goopy and when its cold it looks like lipo-suction fat. Fresh fruits are always nice. Overall, this was one of my favorite tarts because it was delicate with nice flavor.

The Tarte Bourdaloue was made with a Pate Brisee, a layer of almond cream, topped with sliced poached pears and sliced almonds. This was generally tasty, but I thought it had too much almond cream in it. And because the thick almond cream baked under the pears, it didn't brown or get anything other than just pasty. I like the flavor, I would just use less of it. The pear part was super yummy- we poached them in a liquid with a dry caramel, wine, and spices, and they were just perfect!

We also baked off gingersnaps from a previous class. These were delicious cookies- taste and texture just perfect. We used ginger, cinnimon, cloves, and cardamom, and molasses, and I thought it was just the right level of spice. We also used vinegar in the recipe- something I haven't seen in a cookie dough before - and I've been meaning to ask the chef what thats about. We rolled them in granulated sugar before sticking them in the oven!

More updates soon!