Week 24: The sweetest thing

Welcome to 2012 and the final leg of the journey. We have nine weeks of classes ahead before we all go off to complete three weeks of work experience "out in industry". We have to organise this for ourselves, so that is causing some consternation for some people. After work experience it is back to class for a week or so then it is all over. Time flies.....

On the first day back we number seven. Yes, 7. During the week one or two more turn up - China boy had trouble with flights out of Hunan province; sadly, mother of three's own mother died over the holidays and she is having trouble getting it together; not sure about the others. By the end of the week we are nine, but I am pretty sure we'll settle at eleven for the rest of the course, which means 60% of our starting group will finish. I am not sure about the drop out rate in the other three groups.

This week we settle into desserts and cakes. On Monday we make Petit Fours, Chocolate brownies, Shortbread, and Chocolate Genoese Sponge. Petit fours - the literal translation from French is "little ovens" - are little treats generally eaten with coffee at the end of a meal. They come in a variety of forms, for example tiny iced cakes, or macaroons, or the ones we make which are crisp buttery biscuits. We make Battenberg biscuits which, like Battenberg cake, is a checker board. To answer your unasked question, the history of the Battenberg cake is as follows. It was was created in 1884 in honour of the marriage of Queen Victoria's granddaughter - Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (which makes her sound a bit like a racehorse) to Prince Louis of Battenburg. The four squares of the cake - or biscuit - represent the four Battenberg princes: Louis, Alexander, Henry and Francis Joseph. The marriage was a love match, unlike many royal pairings.  During WW1 two of her sisters who had married into the Russian royal family were murdered by communist revolutionaries, and she and her husband abandoned their German titles and adopted the British-sounding surname of  Mountbatten - an English translation of the German "Battenberg". Incidentally, she was the maternal grandmother of Phil the Greek.

Chocolate Brownies, on the other hand, were created to celebrate the love match between women and chocolate, and subsequently cardiologists and their consulting fees. 

If you need reminding about the gym workout involved in making a Genoese sponge, review Week 16: Sure to rise. We make the sponges on Monday then use them as the layers in our gateaux on Tuesday. Stage one, even up the cake and slice into layers. Stage two, smother layers with butter cream, sandwich together and drown entire cake in butter cream.  

Stage three, decorate as artistically, or not, as you like. The best part is making the chocolate shards I have to say. Now, I do not eat this creation, however the banker and the accountant assure me it is delicious and enjoyed by them and the wider family.

The week continues with Tiramisu, Carrot Cake, Baked Cheesecake and I can't remember what else, even though most of it has made its way onto my hips. I must stop licking the spoon. It adds up, not to mention being very unprofessional and un-cheffy.  As you can imagine, the hunter gatherer is very happy with the avalanche of baked goods and puddings.

No assessment this week but we finally get our assignments back - see Weeks 19&20: Menu planning and more nutrition. In the PC way of New Zealand modern education we are marked "competent" or "not yet competent". However my tutor's feedback is that my assignments are excellent and it was hard to mark others after mine because of the contrast effect, so that was good to hear. Not that I am competitive.....

Week 23: How much butter is in that?

This is a fun week working with speciality breads and enriched yeast products.  It is no surprise that the enriched part generally means eggs and/or tons of butter, and (all together now) "butter is fat and fat = flavour", the oft repeated mantra of our tutors. 

You will recall my despair in week 16: Sure to rise when I bemoaned my lack of bread making skills, but went on to bake successful products in class.  This week is the same -  I think it is safe to say yeast and I have formed an alliance.  At least we have in the Weltec kitchen: whether it translates to home is another matter.



Monday we start with wholemeal bread rolls and bagels, and it's all a slippery butter slick from there. 



Not much else gets the Heart Foundation tick this week.  We spend a good part of the lesson also making the paste for croissants and Danish pastries, and doing the folding work which makes the layers - lamination in the culinary world - of pastry.  If you have ever wondered just how much butter goes into these products I am now in a position to tell you.  Heaps.  By weight, the recipe for croissants has 450 grams of flour to 225 grams of butter. Danish pastries?  Don't ask.  OK then, I'll tell you.  225 grams of flour and 200 grams of butter. You may as well slap it directly onto your hips!

  

Layer of butter on croissant pastry



In both cases the slab of butter is laid onto the rolled out dough (see picture), and then folded in and rolled again.  Fold and roll three times, giving a half turn of the dough block each time.  This means you are distributing the fat and adding layers.  You can see the process on any number of you tube videos if you want to know the details.  When the dough cooks, the fat melts and creates steam which puffs up the dough.  The dough then cooks in place and the gap that is the flaky layer is created.   Again, cooking as magic!

The pastries for the croissants and danishes we let prove in the fridge overnight and roll out and bake the next day. I really enjoy shaping and making them all and they turn out well. When I show them to some of you the comment is unfailingly "they look like bought ones form the shop!"  I'm not sure if I should be pleased with the comment or affronted by the surprise in your voice! Of course they are just like bought ones - only they taste better!  The hunter gatherer is well pleased this week. Having missed out on the doughnuts (week 16: Sure to rise) he is happy when the cabin crew in from Dubai (son and girlfriend) pause in Wellington and can deliver fresh pastries to Marlborough.

Dough, dough and more dough. Chelsea buns, brioche loaves, cornbread, focaccia, a wholegrain loaf (Heart Foundation tick on that one) and sourdough.  There is no solace for the gluten intolerant in this world. 

Dough performs its own special magic. To wit, brioche.

You start with a relatively straightforward sweetened yeast dough, and then add LOTS of butter. The dough is soooo sticky you are severely tempted to add flour. But you mustn't! You just keep kneading with your fingertips (so as not to overheat the dough), knead, knead, knead and  - nek minnit - (yes, I am in touch with popular culture) it comes together into this smooth,silky and glossy dough. Then shape, prove again and bake into a lovely buttery yummy thing, which, I make into a dessert for hunter gatherer and the aforementioned cabin crew. Make french toast with the brioche (fry in butter - why the hell not?) and serve with poached rhubarb and yoghurt.

Assessment sees us make and present Wholemeal rolls - 3 different shapes, glazed Chelsea buns and a whole Brioche loaf (as opposed to individual rolls).  I gain another Distinction proving I must have shrugged off my yeast product jinx!

And while we are on the subject of Distinction, I also receive my results from the Certificate exam I did in week 18. Yes, I passed with Distinction which, while they don't tell you your mark, I am informed that means over 90%. All in all, a good week to break up for the holidays.

Back at school the week commencing January 16th.  So until then, compliments of the season to you and yours and I look forward to blogging in 2012.