The French Pastry School-Week Five - Wedding Cake

                                                                 L'Art de la Pâtisserie  Week 5

Monday

Chef Sunny Lee and Chef Megan McCarthy

Wedding cakes: bake, torte, assemble, frost and pipe buttercream.

New Table and partner.  Cleaning duty: Sweep

French Sponge Cake:

• Sift flour.
• Gather parchment lined sheet pan and cake rings.
• Gather a large mixing bowl.
• Whip egg yolks, trimoline and sugar.
• Whip on high until ribbon stage.  
• Clean mixer bowl of fat residue.
• Whip egg whites, sea salt and cream of tartar on medium speed.
• Start adding sugar at soft foamy stage.
• Add sugar little by little.
• Meanwhile, melt butter with vanilla paste.
• Watch meringue for peaks on the side of the whisk.  Should not be runny.
• Whisk/fold flour into egg yolks in thirds.  Do not over mix.  It is okay if there are streaks at this point in the process.  Just make sure they are folded in at the end.
• Add a little batter to the melted butter and mix completely.
• Whisk/fold the meringue into the egg/flour mixture.  Do not deflate.
• Fold butter mixture into batter until well combined.
• Fill cake ring ¾ full.
• Conventional oven is okay.  Convection will brown the outside too fast.
• 350ºf for 35 minutes.

French sponge cake is called a biscuit.  The difference between a biscuit and a genoise is that a biscuit whips the whites and the yolks separately and a genoise has whole whipped eggs.  Biscuit is the most delicate of all the sponge cakes.  It can't hold much weight and is not good for stacking a tall cake.  American sponge is much denser.

Humidity causes cake flour to clump and must be sifted or lumps will remain in the finished cake.  Egg yolks get whipped first and egg white second.  Egg whites must be used right away and egg yolks are more stable so they do not deflate as quickly.  Using trimoline in the batter helps retain moisture by emulsifying and trapping air which makes the cake spongy.  Egg yolks are at the ribbon stage when they are pale yellow and have bubbles on top.  Egg yolks cannot be over whipped because of their high fat content.

Sugar stabilizes egg whites.  More sugar-more stabilized meringue.  Less sugar-less stabilized meringue.  It is important to keep the fat (butter) warm.  Warm fat emulsifies better.  Egg foam forms the leavener in sponge.  There is not baking soda or powder.  By adding batter to the melted butter, the mixture becomes less different in texture and emulsifies better.

Buttercream:

• Make sure butter is soft.  If cold, warm in microwave at 50% power.
• Pre-whip butter with paddle attachment.
• Start meringue and sugar syrup at the same time.
• Make the meringue.  Whites should be foamy without any liquid on the bottom of the bowl.
• Cook water, sugar and glucose to 121ºc.
• Pour sugar syrup down the side of the mixer bowl slowly.  Do not spatter on whisk or it will crystallize the sugar.
• Turn speed up right away to aerate the mixture.
• Whip until 37ºc.
• Add butter when meringue is cool.
• Will store at room temperature for one day, in the cooler for several and in the freezer for months.

There are three types of buttercream; Italian, French and Suisse.  Their quality is equal and makes them interchangeable.  Italian buttercream is good for cakes.  To make a chocolate Italian buttercream, add unsweetened chocolate.  French buttercream, which has egg yolks, is very rich and best for macarons.  Buttercream gives a strong structure to cake.

Whipping butter ahead of time cause it to lighten in color and texture.  Be sure that the meringue is cool before adding butter.  Have patience or the butter will melt and the buttercream will be ruined.  Butter is expensive.  Do not just throw away the buttercream if it seems ruined.  Try to trouble shoot and fix it.  

Piping Buttercream:

• Soften buttercream with a whisk before placing it in a pastry bag.
• Practice.
• Only fill a pastry bag ⅓ of the way full.
• Buttercream melts in a warm hand.  Once the buttercream softens, squeeze it out and get fresh.  If buttercream is too runny, it will not have good definition.
• Consistency is most important.
• Shell tip.  Shell border should have a teardrop shape and each shape should be individually visible.  Do not pipe shells too close together.  Do not lift bag up and down.  Squeeze, stop squeezing and pull.
• Star tip.  Rosettes should be piped with bag at a 90º angle and should not have a tail.  Tight spiral with ends "tucked" in.
• Round tip.  Bead border (snail trail) should be a nice continuous tear drop.  Dots should not have peaks.  Swiss dots, cornelli lace and scrolls look better when piped from a smaller (#1) tip.  The point to a scroll is elegance.

Draw a design in your head before beginning on a cake.  Pipe the basic body and then fill in the details.  

Buttercream Piping Evaluation:  Choose your most difficult style and fill a board.  15 minutes to work.  No erasing.  I chose scrolls.  Chef Meghan told me to watch my tails, smooth out the lines by using even pressure and watch the start and finish.

Tuesday

Torte the cakes:

• Torte the sponge horizontally twice.  This makes three pieces of cake and two layers of filling.  Score around the cake first, while turning the turntable, until the cake is evenly sliced all the way through.
• Cut the cake right before it is frosted and keep the layers together or it will dry out.
• Keep the layers even while the cake is built so that the cake will be straighter.

Building the cake:

• A cake board acts as a foot to a soft cake.  
• Either, pipe around the edge of the cake to keep in soft fillings or spread buttercream to the edge of the cake using an offset spatula. 
• Crumb coat immediately.  This should be a thin layer.

Frosting the cake:

• Use room temperature buttercream.
• Buttercream is airy, which will leave air pockets on the cake when it is frosted.  
• Use a whisk or paddle on low.
• Cold buttercream is too hard to frost and water will separate from the butter.
• Buttercream should be the consistency of mayonnaise for frosting.  It should be firmer for piping details and maintaining crisp edges.
• Spread buttercream out on top of cake.
• Fill in the sides of the cake with buttercream to even them out.  
• Spin the turntable smoothly and somewhat quickly to create and even coating.
• Pull in edges on top of cake with an offset spatula.  Top layer of buttercream should not be more than ½" thick.
• Work quickly when doing a finer coating. 
• Blowtorch metal bench scraper to warm it up.  This creates a cleaner finish.
• Lift and transport cake to a sheet pan using an offset spatula.
• Keep in cooler or buttercream will sweat. 

Stacking the cake:

• Coffee stirrers may be used with a biscuit because it is a light cake.
• Wooden dowels from the craft store may be used for heavier cakes.
• Push them down into the cake, measure it and cut with scissors.
• Add as many dowels as is necessary to support size and weight of cake.
• Cover the coffee stirrer marks with buttercream.
• Leave the middle empty so one long dowel can be pushed through the entire cake.  This will stabilize the cake and make it easier to transport.
• Sharpen one end of a wooden dowel with a pencil sharpener.
• Cut dowel a little shorter than the height of the cake.
• Use a rubber mallet to push dowel through cake and cake board.
• Seal hole with buttercream.

Piping a cake with Italian Buttercream:

• A cold cake is easier to pipe on.

Rose pastry tip:

• Buttercream roses need to be frozen on parchment squares and then peeled off and place on a cake.
• Royal icing roses will harden at room temperature.
• Practice rose buds and roses using buttercream.
• 3 petals make a bud.
• 5 petals make a rose.
• Pipe in odd numbers.

Wednesday

Third Stage:

Floriol - 1220 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, Illinois

7:00am - 12:00pm  Owner: Sandra Holl    Baking Manager: Betsy Grzywa

I began the day by egg washing croissants and popping them in the oven.  They need to be baked until they are nice and dark.  I made toasted hazelnut butter next by toasting hazelnuts and removing their skins.  The skins are easily removed by rubbing them together right after they have been toasted.  I removed the skins on a bucket of cold, previously toasted hazelnuts and the skins were stubborn.  I even popped them in the oven briefly.  After the skins have been removed, the hazelnuts are spun in a food processor until the resulting butter is very loose.

I washed and pitted cherries the rest of the morning.  I learned the hard way to wear gloves. My hands were stained.  I realized my mistake half way through the process.  I used a very efficient cherry pitter that rested on a mason jar.  Cherry juice splattered all over my apron but not on my shirt.  The cherries were a little past prime so they will be turned into jam.

Class:

Gum paste Flowers 101:

• Not easy to do.
• Gum paste may be purchase or made from scratch.
• Store bought gum paste is more expensive.
• Gum paste is made from CDC, or drought plants, and tylose, which is a plant product.
• Gum paste stays flexible when you use it but sets up when you stop using it.

Making Gum Paste:

• Mise en place.
• Sift 10x to get rid of any clumps.
• Paddle egg whites for ten seconds to loosen them up.
• Sift 10x to get rid of any clumps.
• Add half of 10x to the egg whites.
• Scrape down bowl.
• Bring to medium peak using the paddle attachment.
• Make sure all of the 10x is dissolved.
• Sprinkle tylose very slowly over sugar mixture.
• Put gloves on and knead by hand the shortening into the gum paste.
• Add 10x until gum paste is no longer stickily.  Humidity affects how much 10x must be added.
• Gum paste should be stretchy and elastic.
• Wrap twice in plastic.
• Label.
• Place in zip lock bag.
• Rest overnight in the cooler.  Tylose needs to rest overnight or it will not set up properly when used.
• Gum paste will last six months in the freezer.  Defrost in cooler before using.

Flowers:

• Flowers are made up of multiple parts; sepals, stamen, petals, calyx, leaves and stem.
• Specimen flowers are meant to imitate nature and are more complicated.
• Fantasy flowers resemble something found in nature but break the rules of color, size and accuracy.

Flowers in our posy:

• Rose
• Carnation
• Daisy
• Orchid
• Lily 
• Blossoms

We worked on our flower centers today.

Thursday

Color Matching:   Color matching is important when a color is to be used repeatedly and is custom matched to a flower or fabric swatch.

We worked on our flower petals today.  I used a multi petal cutter for the first time.  It was a little tricky but faster than cutting each petal individually.  I also learned to wrap and hook a floral wire in a new way.  A number, hook number formula indicates how many times you wrap the floral wire around the wire before hooking it and then wrapping it again with a specific number of rotations.  

Thursday Evening

Dinner with my visiting brother-in-law, Kevin:

The Publican -  837 West Fulton Market, Chicago, Illinois

Cocktails: Dark N Stormy and an Old Fashioned
Appetizers: Oysters, pommes frites, house made pickles, bread service and, the house specialty, pork rinds.
Wine: Sauvignon Blanc
Dinner: Ribs and summer tomatoes on rye toast with fresh buffalo mozzarella.  
Dessert:  Too full.

Friday

We worked on finishing the outer petals and calyx of our flowers.

Turn in self evaluations:  14/15

Question:  Describe three mistakes you have made and what you learned from them.  Describe how the mistake affected the taste, texture and appearance of your finished product.

Answer:  Hazelnut Mousse:  This mistake came early on in the module and I had just lost my partner.  I was anxious and rushing to get everything completed.  I also had not yet learned to juggle my notes, the book and the scalings.  The hazelnut mousse includes two additions of cream; whipped and liquid.  I completely forgot the second addition of cream due to confusion (maybe the cream was in the cooler), lack of organization and preplanning or failure to prepare the recipe ahead of time in my mind.  I should have walked through every step before I began mixing the first ingredients.

The result was a dense mousse that also did not have the volume it should have.  This affected the height and width of the cake on the inside and outside.  When I ate the cake the next day, I brought it to room temperature and sampled each layer.  The hazelnut mousse layer had good flavor but it was not light.  It almost had the consistency of a buttercream.  I ate it and while most people may not  have noticed,  anyone here at the school would have picked up on it right away.

Chocolate Mirror Glaze:

I made the chocolate mirror glaze the first time with no incident.  The second time I made it, I forgot to burr mix it before pouring it over my World Cup cake.  I realized that I had not mixed it and decided to use it anyway.  It was a spur of the moment decision based on the fact that we had our frozen, unmolded cakes on the icing rack ready to go.  In retrospect, I should have popped the cakes back in the blast freezer, admitted to my partner that we forgot it (she didn’t catch it either) and burr mix the glaze and recheck the temperature.

The result was that our glazed cakes were full of air bubbles. The made the cake look messy and unprofessional.  In theory, the bubbles could have been easily hidden with chocolate decor but in reality, in the future, I must make sure that each step is completed well before moving onto the next step.  The worst part is that I was aware of a preventable mistake and I went through with it anyway.  

Caramelized Hazelnuts:

I was having trouble melting the sugar after it was crystallized.  The induction burner kept turning off and instead of moving to another table, or getting another burner, I continued to plug and unplug the burner to reset it.  Finally, I went to my neighbors table and finished caramelizing the hazelnuts.  The sugar stayed in a large crystallized state and the outside appearance was unappealing.  I also failed to chop each hazelnut individually and when I sampled the cake later, the large pieces were hard to chew and altered the crunchy to smooth ratio.

Next time I make caramelized hazelnuts, I will make sure the equipment is functioning and have a back up plan in mind if it fails midway through my recipe.  I have made caramelized hazelnuts since then and they came out much smoother, the sugar was melted properly and evenly and I cracked each hazelnut into thirds and quarters and the texture had a better tooth feel in the final product.

Question:  Describe how you feel your, "pastry attitude" can be improved and what attributes you would like to work on to become better in the kitchen.  What qualities do you observe in the chefs that make them successful?

Answer:  My attitude is changing each day.  I had a little anxiety during the time my partner was gone.  It was difficult for me to focus on each recipe while managing dishes and being unable to do two tasks at once. i.e.. making caramelized hazelnuts or a meringue, while things baked and needed monitoring in the oven.  It was easy to relax during chef demos and cleanup but I felt rushed the whole time.  I had a, “can do” attitude and worked very hard.  As I have written, I made a few obvious mistakes but I also learned a lot.  I very much enjoy the basic recipes in pastry and benefit from repetition.  

During the last four weeks, I have learned that working with the class is getting easier and most people really want to work hard,  pitch in and learn to be efficient in their own way.  I feel more relaxed taking a step back an not micro-managing the work process of my partner.  If something does not work out, well then, we will do it again and make a good effort to determine at what point the problem began and how to avoid the same mistake in the future.

The chefs at the French Pastry School are very accomplished in their careers and on a daily basis they exhibit patience, organization, and the ability to define and remedy mistakes.  I enjoy the strict enforcement of rules in the kitchen.  Having a leader set the standard raises the bar for everyone.  It also removes the finger pointing and infighting.  The rules create a structure for cohesiveness in the kitchen that increases our efficiency and interpersonal relationships.

I think I am coming a long way in not feeling that I have to explain myself when I receive a criticism or suggestions.  I say thank you and then give it some time to sink in so that I can analyze my process and feelings.  This gives me the time to decide what I need to focus on and how much work I need to do to improve.  

Typing up my notes each night has proven to be a great study tool.  It also forces me to organize my thoughts and reinforce the proper methods used during the course of making product.  Working clean, being organized, focus and attention to detail are the four main things I work on each day.  I have much room for improvement and keep it in the back of my mind at all times.  

Gum Paste Quiz: 8 out of 8 correct.

Homework: Read Croque en Bouche section of book.

Chef Jacquay Pfeiffer stopped by my table while I was practicing buttercream scrolls and gave me some tips that improved my work immediately.

Friday Evening

A few of my classmates came over to my apartment for some pizza and conversation.  We had a great time and commiserated about school and cake decorating.

Sunday

Fourth Stage:

Hot Chocolate - 1747 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.  Wicker Park neighborhood.

9:00am - 5:30pm  Owner: Mindy Segal

I started the day by rolling out brioche dough using rice flour so as not to add dough toughening gluten to the dough, cutting out circles and holes in the middle.  This dough is used for their donuts.  Several trays went up front to the cook's line and the rest were wrapped in plastic and stored in  the cooler.  I rolled out cocoa nib dough, cut them with a 2" fluted cutter and baked them for a plated dessert.  I over baked them and had to make them again.  Because the dough is dark, getting them baked all the way through without using color as a guide was the trick.  I then scooped 535 mini s'more shortbread cookies.  

My last task involved cutting out prerolled pâte brisés dough with a 6" fluted cutter.  This is the dough they use for their mini quiche.  The circle goes into a small pie tin and must be pressed in so that the bottom corners stay sharp and the ends keep their scallop.

Mindy Segal was in the kitchen the entire day and I was able to observe how she works.  Her standards are high and the kitchen is clean and well run.  I was able to sample fresh spun mint ice-cream with sugared fresh mint and chocolate.  It was delicious.


Final Thoughts:

Make a mistake once or twice, third time, there is a problem.

Hotels will occasionally ask for a wedding cake and being able to make a gum paste flower is a good skill to have.

A posy is a collection of flowers.