We had 3.5 hours the first night to do our mise en place (preparation) in order to present out final products the next day. We had 3 hours to assemble everything and make it look beautiful on the final day.

 

Let me tell you, friends, I will NOT be challenging Mario Batali or Bobby Flay in this lifetime on Iron Chef America – timed cooking/baking is not my style! I’m more of a sip on a cup of tea while I chat with my friends and listen to Frank Sinatra kind of chef! Anyway, I was sweating and checking the clock every second I had during the exam, and I could swear time sped up, leaving me with less! I was down to the wire, whisking away, building some serious muscle in my right arm as I whisked my sabayon for my lemon sabayon tart over a bain marie (simmering water with a bowl over top). In 3.5 hours, I made pastry cream, Italian buttercream, lemon sabayon filling, made, rolled out and baked pate sucree, made and baked genoise cake (in preparation for a 3 layer birthday cake) and made and proofed croissants, which I baked off the next day (you have to let the dough proof – not poof – overnight). We had 3 hours the next and final day to assemble everything and bake off the croissants. Final products for presentation? A 3 layer birthday cake decorated with chocolate writing and buttercream rosettes, and iced, off course, with Italian buttercream, 20 croissants, 12 profiteroles filled with pastry cream and topped with a dusting of icing sugar, 12 eclairs filled with pastry cream and dipped in chocolate, and a lemon sabayon tart topped with swiss meringue. Done and done! I made many new friends enroute home from school that night as I gave everything away to security guards, employees and passengers on the seabus!

 

Another quarter of pastry school behind me, and I am celebrating by going to the motherland of food: France!! Have a lovely 10 days, everyone! I will talk to you when I get back! Here is a preview of what you can expect from me everyday in France:

 

 

All my love to each and every one of you!

 

Sincerely,

Lauren

xxx