Estatically I can report no burnt jus, no burt meat and best of all no burn fingers :) Oooh, and I'm excited to report that I was back on form at the top of the class and not only managed to produce a perfectly cooked pastry shell (I think that's the first one ever) but also managed to finish my Clafoutis Flan and Anglaise sauce so quickly that I went on to make meringues, which were very popular not only with all my classmates, but also with the Kitchen hands and Ryan at home!
So, down to the nitty gritty, we started by making a Pate Sucree (a sweet short crust pasty) , using the creaming method (aposed to the rubbing method that we used before in the quiche lorraine). To ensure the pastry is nice and crispy and short in your mouth there are a few easy tips to follow:
- Use plain flour
- Do not overwork the flour (you do not want to manipulate the glutens)
- Rest the pastry for at least 30 minutes
- Bake the pastry straight out of the fridge (make sure it is cold when it goes into the oven).
We then made the custard mixture for the Clafoutis, this is a simple egg, egg yolk, milk and flour mixture, set asside for later. We drained and checked that our pitted cherries were actually pitted. I found 2 cherry stones still in my cherries, so thinking ahead have hopefully save somebodies tooth.
Similtaneoulsy while resting, dry baking, and assembling our Clafoutis, I got started on my Anglaise. This vanilla custard sause is very high in egg yolks (and protein and fat) and is slowly baked on the stove until it thickens. It is then chilled before serving. Its so yummy, like drinking a thick creamy vanilla milkshake.
And then because I was all done, Chef Elke let me loose on the Kitchen aid with meringue recipe. I've never actually cooked meringues before and it was fun, but mostly delicious when we got to each the marshmellow type meringues that were really melt in your mouth. I saved 1/2 a tray for the kitchne hands and served the meringues with a pot of melted chocolate, which they loved. i walked into the washing area later, where I saw them all licking their fingers with big smiles on their faces, so definitely a big hit!
Finally to top off what was a great day, the TAFE has opened up a new cafe, which is selling off the produce of the TAFE students and as I arrived just as they were closing up I managed to buy a few dishes at only $1 each. Just redonculus! So Ryan and I have been eating like Kings all weekend. I bought Prawn Timbale with prawns and seafood bisque, as well as freshly made pasta with coriander pesto and finally panecotta. I actually stopped to watch them making the pasta in the morning and it was really yummy.
Terminology used
Creaming method: First you rub the butter with a spatula or whisk until it changes colour to be a more creamy colour. This is called creaming. We then creamed the butter and sugar together, then add and cream in the egg before adding the flour.
Rubbing method: Rub the butter and flour together with your finger to make a consistency similar to breadcrumbs, then add the liquids to create a dough/pastry. This was used in my very first scone recipe.
Plain flour: what you buy in the supermarket, low in gluten, approx. 10%
Bakers flour: used by bakers to make breads, it has approx 30% gluten.
No comments:
Post a Comment