The End

well as crazy it as it is this semester is over. i really enjoyed my self in the baking and passtries arts program. i have learned a lot of new things about baking that i never new before taking the coures. it was a lot of fun learning new things and improving my skills on things i already new. i am sad to see the semester end but am looking forward to coming back and taking the next level so that i can further my knowledge as a baker and MAYBE one day open a bakeshop of my own.

Last Challenge Monday

Every Monday for the whole semester Mrs. Nikkel gave us a different challenge each Monday. For the last challenge of this semester Mrs. Nikkel  challenged us to use chocolate bars and make a dessert with it we had to come up with a recipe on our own and we had to be creative with what we made. I decide to make a trifle using a coffee crisp chocolate bar, chocolate cake and coffee flavored whipped cream it turned out really well and tasted really good.

 

 

Chef's Table and Goodbye?!

DUN DA DA DA! This was my Chef's Table. It looks great don't ya think? It tasted really good too. I think everyone enjoyed. It's ice cream, why wouldn't they? The one thing that I was really concerned about was about them liking it. Wanna know why? Because me and my friend Hannah, sat in the fridge and freezer for half an hour, constructing these bad babies. It was super cold and I was so sure I was gonna get sick or something, so I wanted everyone to appreciate them. In the end, it all turned out because they all gave me tons of praise for the sandwiches. It was great. Anyways, the semester is almost over-only four more days- which is crazy because it went by so fast but all good things come to pass, I guess. I guess this is farewell. Happy baking!

January 19.2018

Creme Anglaise  

First whisk egg yolks with sugar in a bowl milk in pot until hot. Slowly pour milk in bowl. Not want to cook eggs. Whisk milk in eggs. In other pot. Have boiling water put boiling put bowl with eggs, milk and sugar on top. Stir until thick. Add vanilla. Strain into new bowl. Put bowl in bowl of ice to cool fast. Keep crème Anglaise in the  fridge for 3 days 

Apple Challenge

September 18

I decided to make Apple Slab Pie. It was a hard because it had three different things I had to make . I had to make a crust, an apple pie filling and a crumble topping. Even though it was a bit challenging I liked making it. The best part was eating some because it tasted delicious.

Project Gingerbread House

When the class made the gingerbread house we made a mistake when connecting the sides to the front and back pieces. The side pieces should have overlapped the front/back pieces so the roof pieces would have fit better. The house still looked nice when it was all done. It was fun to decorate it.

Apple Crisp With Ice Ceam

There a lot of desserts I like making and eating. One of my favorites is apple crisp especially when it is served with ice cream. So when I got the chance to make homemade ice cream in class I did it and for my first time making ice cream it turned out really well. I decide to make apple crisp with the ice cream because it is one of my favorite dessert and the two desserts go really well together. I really enjoyed making this dessert because it was simple and delicious.

Reaching The End

There is only two weeks left of this class. This semester has gone by so fast its almost scary. Among the last of things, today is the last chef's table and I am the chef. So I thought that the last chef's table needed to go out with a really good dessert. So I'm making ice cream sandwiches. For the cookies, I'm using double chocolate cookies. And the ice cream is just crème anglaise that will be churned in the ice cream maker. It was actually pretty easy to make. At least, a lot easier than I thought it would be. A lot of people that this would be a good idea. Especially Daniel. He wanted ice cream sandwiches, like, a lot. I just hope that they will suit to his liking enough for him😂. Anyways, I am going to go get them ready, so I will see you later!

Bienenstich

This semester has gone by very quickly, I have experienced lots of different things: How to use stuff in the kitchen, how to use the proper methods and techniques, and how to know when something is done baking. One thing that I made and enjoyed making was Bienenstich. It was also a cake batter that you should not deflate, because first the eggs and sugar get whipped till its tripled in volume, and then you add the rest of the ingredients. The topping of the cake has a very nice sweet taste, it also has sliced almonds on top it gives it a mouthwatering crunchy taste. I never have made this

cake before, but I have tasted it before, so it was my first time trying out something new. Sometimes I like challenging things, because it helps me to learn more things and get further with my baking.

Something Different

I made chocolate soufflé, I was very nervous to make it. There were a lot of instructions and my aunt had said how she had trouble making it. But as I made it I found it wasn’t as hard as I had predicted it would be. If I followed the instructions and did not rush myself (as I often do) I would not fail quite so easily. They sold quickly, but I feel like most of them were bought by the culinary students and teachers. They tasted great, it was a shame to see them deflate.

Team work on an order!

Me and Daniel were paired together to make cow cupcakes for an order. Now in all honesty, they looked more pigs. When we started, we didn’t have a clue what to make (I didn’t at least), so the internet came in handy for this project. There were so many ideas on Pinterest, I could not decide. So, we came to an agreement to make individual cupcakes and shape their faces with fondant. I made chocolate cupcakes and the frosting while Daniel made the fondant. We made two recipes and died the one a darker brown so that when we put them in the cupcake liners it would give them a marble effect. It didn’t, we spent a long time scooping each batter in intervals and it didn’t even make a difference in the final product. We were disappointed but continued. Daniel made the fondant, cut out each piece, the white circle for the face, the nose, the candy for the eyes, and the ears (which took the longest amount of time because of the way they were shaped). I made a simple butter cream and then we assembled the cow cupcakes, or as Daniel called them cow cakes ;) As we went to assemble the cow cakes we found that they were stuck to the pan! Ugh. They looked ugly but luckily the icing covered most of the mess. The cow’s faces were placed on the cupcakes and with that our cow cupcakes, that looked like pigs, were finished. A lot of work went into these cupcakes, despite mine and Daniels disappointment in them, they lady who ordered them loved them!

cheesecake

one of my favorite things to make in bakeshop is cheesecake. I like making it because its really fun and its also pretty easy but yet the finally product looks and usually tastes really good. in bakeshop so far I have learned how to make two different kinds of cheese cakes a unbaked and a baked one. some of the unbaked flavors of cheesecakes that I have done are peppermint, peanut butter and blueberry and I have also made one baked cheesecake that is caramel flavored. They have all turned out really well I was especially happy with the baked one because it was my first time making it and turned out great.


peppermint cheesecake

 blueberry cheesecake

 

 turtle cheesecake

Better Late Then Never

So, even though it's pretty late in the semester-only 2 weeks left- I'm still making new recipes. Like éclairs. I made them for the first time last week and had so much fun. Éclairs are like cream puffs only in a longer version of them. You make the dough in a pot and mix the eggs into the dough using a mixer to create a pipe able dough. You bake them until they are the color you want and then you put them in a lower temperature oven to dry out until they are hard and hollow with no wetness inside. Another thing I made for the first time was macarons. These cookies are picky so you have to make the batter right. They are probably the most intimidating cookies that I will ever make. So, since I was intimidated there was only one thing to do. I got my friend to help.😂 They turned out really well in the end so I was impressed. For my first time, I did really well and I was really happy about that. The only thing was that when they were baking, the heat wasn't evenly distributed so that some of the macarons were baked lopsided. I had them flavored coffee, so they were really good.

 These are the éclairs that I made. I used cinnamon pastry cream as the filling. First try.

These are the macarons that I made. I flavored them coffee. as you can see on the sides there are some macarons that are a bit lopsided. First try.

Chefs Table

 

For Chefs Table I made a chocolate peppermint cake. It was almost Christmas so I chose to make something festive! To start I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe and added some peppermint extract to it. I split the batter between two round pans and baked them. While the cakes baked, I made two frostings, a simple buttercream and an Italian meringue buttercream, the simple buttercream was colored pink. When the cake was baked, I leveled them but kept the scraps so I could make mini trifles later. To layer the cake, I put both frostings in piping bags, starting with the Italian buttercream. I put one ring around the edge of the cake then with the simple buttercream and alternated until I reached the center, creating a candy cane effect. Then I put the cake together, crumb coated it and chilled it. I used the Italian buttercream to ice the cake, when the cake was nicely shaped I crushed candy canes and put them on the bottom of the cake. The simple buttercream was used to make pink rosettes on top, for a final detail I toped the cake with the crushed candy canes. Lastly, I made trifle in plastic cups with the cake scraps and leftover icing. When it came time for chefs table everyone loved it! I was told it was the best yet!

Our Ginger Bread House.


Right before Christmas, we worked as a team to build a giant ginger bread house. We where given the freedom of doing what ever we wanted and to see where our imagination brings us.


I was given the task to split up all the work and to keep everyone on task as needed. We spent a couple days working hard and created this ginger bread house, I really like the way it turned out and how everyone put their own detail into it, and that's what made it all come together.

Some Things I Made

 These are the result of a challenge Monday. It was to make a cupcake with a frosting. We were to use our creativity and I used mine to create a party themed cupcake. One mistake I did make was not mixing it enough. So next time I make these I'll make sure to pay attention to this detail.

 These are some raspberry cheesecakes I made with actual raspberry sauce in the batter to flavor it raspberry.

 This is another result of a challenge Monday. We were to make anything we wanted as long as it was pumpkin. So I made a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling.

 Some cookies I made.

 These are danishes that I made. I was a bit iffy on these but they
turned out great for my first time.

 This is a peanut butter cake with strawberry jam flavored icing. Also my first time but it tasted really good. It was perfectly moist as well.

This Japanese Cheesecake that me and Hannah made for one of our projects in the classroom.

Home Stretch

This is it. The last month of the semester and this class. The semester went by really fast, at least for me. But we have done and learned a lot in this class. I've learned how to make custards, creams, laminated doughs, pie, cake, bread, and many more things. I thought maybe that I would never be able to do the things that I'm doing now. Not only have I learnt a lot about these things but I've actually gotten good at making them. But also, oven times. I used to have to ask Mrs. Nikkel about the oven times for everything but now, I can do that on my own. You only have to bake your product until its done. So, when you put it into the oven, you start with a time that you deem fit for whatever you are baking. When that timer goes, you check your product and you either take it out or add a couple more minutes until it is done. Another thing to remember, is that some products will also harden as they cool so you have to be careful to not overbake them. Some examples are, gingerbread cookies and crusts. Gingerbread cookies will get hard so I take them out when they are baked but still slightly soft in the middle so that when they cool, they don't become as hard as rocks. Then, there are crusts. They can become really hard when they cool. So take those out of the oven as soon as they baked. See, this class has taught me so many things about baking that I never knew from just baking at home. I do not regret making the decision to take this class.👌