Pastry classes, Day 5

Day 5, our chef-instructors started kicking our asses. In this section, we are learning the basics - how to slice and prepare fruit, how to roll dough, how to make basic dough, how to cube butter, etc. While I am find this information useful, it is technique I have done already (although not necessarily the way they want me to do it). I understand that this is important to go over, in order to get everyone up to snuff, and I see it as an opportunity to ask a lot of questions on the whys and science behind the baking process.

But because this is considered pretty basic, there is a drive to get through it and be done, so we can go onto more advanced levels - Pate a choux! Puff pastry! Bread! Chocolate! So during this class, there was a lot of "you're not moving fast enough! You need to slice that apple in 30 seconds! etc... " which for me, sends the adrenaline rushing through my veins and I love it. Class is over before I know it and I say holy shit that was fucking awesome.

Here is the selection of treats from Day 5:

Tart Alsacienne. This was sliced apples that we got to flambe (fucking awesome! If there is ever a flambe station in a pastry kitchen, I think I have found my true calling. I probably wouldn't have any eyebrows left though), and then was baked in a sweet dough with custard. I think this shit is disgusting. It looks like an infected vagina. I'm not a fan of custard really, so obviously this did not appeal to me.

Vanilla Cresecents. On a lighter note, these appealed to me. This was made with a basic butter cookie with the addition of hazelnut flour. Hazelnut is one of my favorite flavors in dessert, so I was a fan. We shaped them in cute little crescents like little wrapped up babies, and coated them with vanilla-sugar after they baked. They had a very tender crumb, and were nutty and buttery.

Baked Fruit tart. A variation of the fresh fruit tart, only this time, its baked! Sweet pastry dough, with pastry cream, a layer of cake crumbs, and then in this case, nectarines sliced on top. Again, I am not a fan of pastry cream (its just sweet goop! There are such better things to take up space!) so I wasn't going bonkers after this shit either. But it at least looked appealing. Adam enjoyed it.