12/12 - Class - More Random Stuff

Another class of various different things, it went pretty well today.

The first item that we made were hot Lemon Souffles. They were pretty simple and turned out very well. They collapsed a little since they sat a while but still tasted fine. Very strong lemon flavor.

We also finally got to finishing our sorbet from a while ago. We were going to make mango sorbet but there wasn't enough puree for our batch so we tried lime. It turns out the puree we used was ridiculously bitter. We had to melt the churned sorbet back down and add a whole lot of sugar syrup to make it even palatable. When we churned it again, it was following a group who made raspberry sorbet so it took on the raspberry color and a little bit of the flavor but it was an interesting combo. Still really sour but at least edible now.

Another item that we made was an Apple Strudel. It was a fairly simple mix of apples, raisins and cranberries mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and some other stuff. It was then mixed with phyllo dough and baked. It turned out really nice, I can't wait to try it for breakfast. We also made a Calvados Sabayon to go with it (the "theme" of this week was plated desserts but we didn't really bother, some of the components just aren't worth the effort). I didn't taste it not take any, I want to enjoy the fruit as it is, not tasting like brandy.

We also took our the Bavarians that we made yesterday. They froze completely in the ring so we torched the ring a bit to expand it and it slid right out. They came our really nice. My only concern though is that they have to be constantly chilled or they melt really fast - I don't think I used enough gelatin in the recipe.

In addition we made pate a choux (I made it so it turned out right) though my piping sucks so they didn't cook very evenly. At least I can do the recipe right though so another member of my group can pipe them for the exam. However the pastry cream was made wrong since it was left in the hands of our third group member who seems to screw up every recipe - hate to be rude but I'm not gonna let someone screw up my grades cuz they can't follow a recipe. I also practiced some piping. Even though we just learned it I think I'm doing very well. I just need to practice that and my knife cuts a little for next week's exam.