week 9 cake decor!!!!

Da Bears!!!! This was my first venture into cake decorating and I think it went well. Chef showed me how to make the "scallops" which are in blue- and then I just praciced my accuracy and consistency with the orange with an homage to my beloved, but struggling bears. I am not a fan of the italian buttercream-- a little too stiff for me. The biggest problem is evening out the buttercream- very tedious

week 8

Unfortunately my pics didn't turn out for week 8- but my cakes turned out pretty good. They came right of the pans and were relatively fluffy. I really didn't care for the angel food cake. Tasted a little funny. I was impressed with the way the butter cake turned out-- although there was some tunneling due to overmixing. I had a lot of fun in this lab because I had never made a cake before so I was looking forward to the challenge.

Biscotti and lemon bars

This was alot of fun- I guess because every thing pretty much turned out good. Amanda and I worked well together- we had no bumps in the road and had alot of fun doing this lab. I really liked the biscotti- it went well with my morning coffee.

My first napoleon!

This was pretty easy since we didn't have to make the puff pastry. We just had to bake it off and then layer it with the pastry cream and creme chantilly. I wish I would have had some strawberries to make it more colorful.

Pate a choux swans

This was one of the more difficult items for me because I had major problems with the pipng bag at first but then I got the hang of it. You have to let the pastry bag do the work and just guide the dough into form. The swan heads were a little fat, but it was my first time so I am not getting too worked up on it yet.

week seven eclairs

The ecalirs turned out good. I do have to work on handling a pastry bag filling them properly but they turned out better than expected. The pastry cream was tasty too. I just have to remember to starin next time to get the texture right.

Creme Brulee

The creme brulee turned out awesome-- it is just that the picture didn't turn out..... maybe I'll make some this weekend and post it!!!

Floating islands with creme anglaise

This was actually the most fun I've had so far. I like making creams-- and the floating islands were really easy. The creeme anglaise was good-- but it needs to be more nappe

week 5 flan!

This flan turned out pretty good. It is a little too rich for my blood. The only problem was that the caramel didn't turn out too well- most of it hardened. So hopefully next time-- it will turn out

My first apple pie. Yes it is my first!-- no lattices-- because I'm really slow- Crust was awesome. The pie filling was very runny and had too much sugar

My first Tart!

this was definitely the prettiest of week three. The crust was a little underdone-- but it was still edible!

Banana Cream Pie

This was a little difficult. The pastry cream turned out ok but the crust and the meringue were a disaster. Oh well! better days ahead. I hope

Sticky Bunzz!

Foccacia!!!!

Lecture week 2

Lecture and lab in week 2 were interesting because I didn't realize how tempermental yeast was--It's alive!!!!! It is good if it is bubbly! Bad if it is not. I was a bit overwhelmed about the sticky buns because the recipe was very detailed. Once the yeast started rising I was a bit relieved. The filling and topping were pretty simple. They turned out awesome. At least I think. My whole family like them-- they're all gone now! Hopefully lab in week three goes well too. a little nervous about pies and pastries-- never made them before

Baking is precise

I didn't realize how precise baking is. There is alot of science involved. There can't be a whole lot of substitutions or you will ruin the recipe. I also didn't know there was that many different types of sugar. This whole baking thing is a new venture for me but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

1st baking lab

The first baking lab was interesting. I dropped the ball big time. I forgot to add the milk to the tea bread. Better days ahead for my baking escapades. My muffins turned out ok. There was no tunneling!!!! I don't think it was too bad. It was only the thrid time I've baked anything. I'm sure I will improve. I definitely want to improve my biscuits. Because I love me some biscuits!

up and running ready to start making the donuts!!!!!