Chocolate, Sugar and Wine: The Sweet Stuff of Life

After a long break (5 days), it's hard to settle back into a scholar routine and today of all days was an especially long one, and a sweet one at that. 

At 8 this morning we entered class for a chocolate tasting. Sure, no one is too keen on the idea of chocolate so early in the morning, but we did learn a great deal and it will sure help us in our coming final exams. Personally, I am a fan of dark, bitter chocolates, so it was all right when we tried some with high percentages of cocoa butter. This is not to say that I dislike creamier, sweeter chocolates. Trust me: if there are things I absolutely love in this world, chocolate is definitely one of them. But yes, at such an early time, I do prefer a bitter, less sweetened chocolate. Ask me after lunch and surely, I wouldn't go for the dark ones. 

We tried a whole variety; even some that are not exactly chocolate and that are used mainly for decorative purposes. For example, melting the orange or pink colored ones we tried to decorate our Easter eggs, or Easter cows as our Chef said. My favorite one was one called Madagascar and according to the Chef, it is one of the most versatile chocolates as it is a "common" chocolate. It can be used for almost anything, however, he mentioned, he would not recommend using it to mold chocolate (the chocolate box we are to make next term). 

Apart from the difference in cocoa butter percentages the different chocolates contain, and recapping the different types of cocoa beans grown and where, I found interesting learning about the snap chocolate gives. If the snap is clean (no splinters and it doesn't crumble), the chocolate is of a good quality. If the appearance of the chocolate is smooth, with no streaks or air pockets, it is of good quality. I guess now I'll be analyzing every piece of chocolate I eat (not chocolate/candy bars though). 

Sadly I have no picture of my tasting plate...I couldn't resist eating them as soon as I got them. My apologies.

But that was only the first class of the day. During our second period, we got a preview of sugar work we will be doing on our next term, in Superior Patisserie. We saw poured, pulled and blown sugar. It looked easy enough, but the Chef assured us, it only looks easy. As we are still in Intermediate, there are more pressing matters to worry at the time, still, we have to bear in mind we might burn ourselves working with sugar next term.

Imagine more colors..amazing!!!

We will be making a sugar centerpiece using the techniques we were demonstrated today. With the use of silicon mats, silicon strips, metal bars and cutters, we will test our skills with patience and creativity. The chefs will also assess how quickly we work without making a mess or hurting ourselves. We shall have to wait and see.

The finished centerpiece

The smokey aroma and honey taste of the wine were exquisite. I liked them all, but this one was fantastic. Surprisingly, we were informed that for such a vintage wine, the price for a 75 cl bottle falls around £19. The reason for this is due to the wine being a fortified wine, meaning it had alcohol added to it, a process not widely used nowadays.

If you are a wine enthusiast or connoisseur, consider the following sweet wines:

Château Les Sablines Monbazillac (FRANCE)

Château Suduiraut Sauternes (FRANCE)

Arnaud de Villeneuve Rivesaltes Ambré Hors d’Age (FRANCE)

Sweet Agnes (New Zealand)

Royal Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos (Hungary)*

*King Louis XIV referred to it as "The Wine of Kings for the Kings of Wine"

So the day ended on a sweet note indeed and we left school with heaps of knowledge on chocolate, sugar and wine. Not a bad day for future pastry chefs right?

If you have any inquiries or wish to know a bit more on these wines, don't hesitate and ask. 

Sweet dreams xx

Foodstuffs and others

Well hi there!!!

My apologies to those of you who follow my blog. My head's been in the clouds these past few days, but I'm back.

All in all, this past week was a calm one. My last class was on Wednesday and we got see one of teaching chefs make a chocolate box. This is what we will aim to achieve in some classes next term. The main component is the correct tempering of the chocolate (in my opinion). As we should have mastered tempering by now, it should be a fun and messy practical. 

A bit too much...? There's never too much chocolate!!!

The box doesn't look elegant, but this is because our Chef wanted to show us all the different designs we can use when making the box. He made chocolate ribbons, chocolate cigarettes, chocolate curls, checkered designs and some more abstract ones. When we make it, we will also make molded truffles which will fill the box. It seemed fun to do, but I tend to stress when dealing with the delicate thinness of chocolate designs. Cross your fingers for me!!!

Some of the different elements involved...the box,
the cigarettes and the making of the ribbon.

We finished class early and decided to check out The Big Chair Project. The store Republic of Fritz Hansen, in Margaret St, near Oxford Circus was showcasing some of the chairs that will be auctioned or won by bidders and lottery ticket holders. They were quite impressive. My apologies for not taking pictures of them. The project itself is to raise funds for The Better Food Foundation, founded by Jamie Oliver.  

Check it out: http://www.jamieoliver.com/thebigchairproject/big-story.php

So we saw the chairs and went for an early dinner. We went to Garfunkels. I had never been to one of their restaurants, but I don't think I will be going again. Bad food and bad service. Still, I had "fun" attempting to eat the ginormous club sandwich I ordered.

It may not look it, but it was really big.

I haven't had a good club sandwich in a while and I'm determined to find one. So, I shall try them all. I just hope my jeans don't complain. 

As you see, I continue my adventures, both in the culinary world and life here in merry ol' London and up till now, I have faced no major disappointments (I really want a good club sandwich...). 

Thursday I met some my college friends and we had dinner at a really good spanish restaurant in Bermondsey Street called Pizarro. We ordered every starter in the menu so we could try them all. The guys also ordered the 3 specials on the board and all 3 desserts as well. Thank the Lord the serving portions were more like tapas, otherwise someone would have had to roll me home. 

On Friday, I joined two other friends at a wine bar near Charing Cross station and let me tell you guys, I loved it!!! The place is called Gordon's Wine Bar and apparently it's the oldest wine bar in London. It is underground but it also has a vast terrace. It was packed when we got there, but we found seat a while later. If you have time, check them out.

Pizarro: 194 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ

Gordon's Wine Bar: 47 Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NE

Saturday was a calm day. As usual, the rainy weather decided to make a rather marking appearance and it rained throughout the day. I absolutely love rainy weather, so I enjoyed the day. We had dinner at a french brasserie with a branch here in Camden Town (my lovely London home) and I must recommend the roast duck breast (for those who enjoy the subtle taste of pink meat), served with a potato gratin and a cherry sauce. Yum!

The name of the chain is CÔTE. I haven't tried anything else on the menu, but I would go back for the duck :). 

Ultimately, the week went by smoothly and I am grateful for that. This coming Friday is my final practical exam and as nervous as I am to see the date here so soon, I am sure we will achieve good results. 

Hope you guys had a pleasant week as well and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Until next time!!!

xx

Fruity Tuesday

Tuesday came and went so quickly and we spent another busy day in the school kitchens.

We continue our culinary adventures in the plating of cold desserts. 

Today's Menu Special: 

Délices aux Fruits Exotiques

Yummy, right?

So in plain English, individual molds of coconut and mango mousse encased in an almond sponge with a red currant jelly center. Sounds appetizing? At first, it didn't, until I tasted the one we made. 

Verdict: WE LOVE IT!!! 

What's not to love? It's not overly sweet and the components in the entremet (in the chef's words: a multi-layered, multi-textured cake) complement each other well. I first thought the mixture of coconut and mango might be too heavy, but the chef explained the coconut is used simply to balance out the sweetness the mango puree adds. Made sense in the end. It was a fun practical. We got to make tuilles once again, color the paste and spread a colored pattern onto a silicon mat. We did this to make an imprint in the joconde sponge. The results: Groovy!!! 

Something new for me: adding chili to a fruit salsa; the result was amazing. I still find it weird to add spicy elements to desserts, but the end results are always great. And paired with the small entremets, the dessert comes to life. 

Still, the purpose of the last practicals are to see how we evolve and grow into plating desserts. Less is more according to the chefs. I have to say I agree. When you have a small dessert, unlike a wedding cake, one must think about not overpowering the dessert by adding unnecessary elements. Whatever is added to the plate must complement the dessert, or make it stand out. Simplicity is always a good way to go, but why not explore a bit? The tuilles we made today added a sense of height to the dessert. Complemented by the salsa and some mango puree, most of us did a good job. What do you think?

I try. I do hope I am not disappointing anyone. Feel free to comment, criticize and ask questions. After all, I am in the learning process.

I hope you guys had a nice Tuesday as well. Until next time.

Sweet Dreams xx

Monday Blues

Hi there!!!

I trust everyone had a lovely weekend. Let me tell you, the weather here in London is truly unpredictable. 31°C yesterday. How often does that happen? RARELY! Coming from a tropical country (HONDURAS), I can tell you...we need AC and my lovely flat does not have one. So I decided to go out and buy a fan and to my surprise, they were all OUT OF STOCK! People have complained about the cold, rainy weather in this beautiful city, but I for one, cannot wait for it to come back.

Anyway, let me tell you about my new "creations." Last week, we made Chocolat Fondant or Molten Cakes as they are known in some places, and having plated the darling dessert, I was graded on it. Good criticism, although I did burn the caramel...oops! It was purely for decoration purposes, however, I could not resist trying it and I ate it all...and forgot to take a picture.

So, I brought home the remaining three and Sunday, I plated one for my friend and voila!

Chocolat Fondant avec caramel

What do you think?


I made caramel and did not burn it. I showed one of the teaching chefs at school and got good criticism on it. 

Moving on: Mondays...I have never met a person who liked a Monday. Unless it was their birthday...it still sucks though. So it started out slow. The sky was feeling blue as well and I decided to carry my coat and umbrella to school, just in case we had a downpour. Seriously, you never know with the weather here. The temperature was really nice and despite being a Monday, I was glad I wasn't sweating. We had a demo for today's cooking plan and once it was over, the sun came out. Thank God the school is air-conditioned.

Today we made a Tarte Tatin, a French dessert. Many of you will know it, some of you might not. It is an inverted cake, with caramelized apples and a crust made out of puff pastry. There are many ways to make it and as we only made small, individual ones, the presentation may not seem traditional. 

Tarte Tatin avec créme anglaise et caramel

For the tarte, we made a direct caramel (*melting the sugar directly on the pan, without stirring it), added butter and lemon juice and cooked our sliced apples to line the tarte and make the filling. The puff pastry rings were made by our wonderful teaching chef.

Last week, we made the chocolat fondant and we also made a Delices aux Bananes (*a banana mousse with a caramel filling and chocolate sponge). We got to plate the cold dessert today.

To present both, we cooked a créme anglaise, a black currant coulis and got to "play" around with sugar decorations. 

Delices aux Bananes avec coulis de cassis

The practical was a peaceful one and despite not being overly happy about the plating, the remarks were good. I still need to practice.

Any thoughts? I hope you guys a wonderful Monday!!!

Sweet dreams :)

The Culinary Adventures

Well, hello! And welcome to my blog. 

After months of dismissing the idea, I finally decided to start one of my own. With so many different one's out there, it is difficult to stand out. But sit back, and relax. This will be delightfully messy and sweet.

Strawberry Millefeuille...yummy

This is me: the messy chef. 

So, a little bit about me. Call me Cito (pronounced see-toh). It's my nickname. No idea why...my grandfather gave it to me. My actual name is Alessandra. 

I love baking and I have since I was very young. It's hard to forget your very first batch of cookies baked...especially when they were stone hard and your older sister laughed about it for years after. I guess I owe her a big THANK YOU!!! She gave me the motivation needed to better my, then, almost non-existent skills. Presently, I reside in one of the world's most amazing cities: LONDON!!! Here I am improving my raw skills and through this blog, we'll see together how I *hopefully* evolve and grow as a pastry chef. Are you ready? This will be a spoonful of messy sweetness.