Usually Artisan Breads tends to drag by as there are only 7 of us in the class and a maximum of 5 of us show up on a regular basis. Also, it is a Thursday/Friday class from 5:30pm to 10:30pm which is not an ideal way to end every week. This week was still a little slow but I really liked what I made and picked up a couple of good recipes that I would actually use at home.
I made Brioche this week. It can be made into loaves but we had an Open House this weekend at the school so we opted to make individual portions. As far as I know, I have never had Brioche before, and if I have then it obviously wasn't very memorable. To me, it is a little similar to a croissant but not as flaky or buttery. Personally, I like it better than croissants. I ate about 4 of these little portions when they were still nice and warm. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try the first type which was covered in a streusel topping and then filled with a Creme Chiboust. Chiboust is a pastry cream that has been lightened with an Italian meringue, which I have never actually made before so that was nice to master something new. There are 2 hot kitchen classes that are going on at the same time as ours and we usually are swapping sweets for savories as the evening drags on. One of my favorite Chefs, Chef K, asked for a sticky bun when they were ready so I added on one of my rolls to his plate. Later on he came in and asked who made the Brioche. At first I didn't want to answer because Chef K will come right out and tell you something is terrible. I have seen him spit out plenty of food that was not to his standards in class. Anyways, I told him I did and he said it was the best Brioche he had tasted from the school in the last 4 years. Woohoo!! That made me feel pretty good and it was nice to know that it actually tasted good, instead of me thinking it did because I was so ravenous.
These were the pecan sticky buns that we made and they were SO GOOD! I will be using the recipe a lot at home. Maybe it will become a Christmas time goody. Or maybe I will just make them as often as I can afford. :)
Also, earlier in the week in Advanced Patisserie we started working on flowers. I have never attempted any form of edible flowers and buttercream roses are not to be brushed aside. I always associate these cakes with grocery stores and being simple and generic. Man was I wrong. I suppose once you master it, it is a much more efficient tool, however, I am no where near mastering it. For being my first time though I wasn't too terribly disappointed in myself. The cake itself was iced and bordered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it is definitely not my favorite to work with. It melts very quickly in my hot hands and tastes like plain butter to me after it is chilled. Hopefully, this coming week we will get to keep working on flowers.
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