Before I continue, I need to clear up a few things. Y’all have been consoling me and texting me about my last post. lol I am ok. I was fine 10 minutes later. I just had “a moment”. I feel bad for making YALL feel bad for me. (That’s the type of person I am but you know that and that’s why you care like you do… so thanks!) Trust me, I am back to my normal self and I’ve fully recovered from my bus incident. Well, not completely because I still have some anxiety about misplacing things every time I board and stand to leave the bus….. the BUS! Your girl is on THE BUS!!!! I think I need some props! I’m not too good for the bus at all but I marvel at the independence I feel when I reach my destination. I feel like the few who commute to the school in their cars are taking care of their business, but the rest of us using transit, are KILLING IT! lol We’re more serious! lol
I made it through week one and I am ecstatic! I won’t say it wasn’t hard or that if I had I car, I wouldn’t have gone out to cry in it once or twice lol but I made it. There are 7 people in my program. I am the oldest and the only American. There are 2 ladies from India (who have also studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France!), an 18 yr old from Indonesia (my first partner…. we didnt understand each other so we did a lot of smiling…super sweet kid…..I think. lol) and 3 ladies from Canada. Of the 7 of us, I am THE ONLY ONE with ZERO experience in masking (covering) a cake with fondant (the layer of decor that gives cakes that pristine, crisp look) and zero experience in truly handling fondant itself for anything other than a few simple cupcake toppers. It messed with my confidence a little when I didn’t grasp it in my first try. I ripped the fondant, it puckled, creased, etc… I cut it crooked, put a hole in it and damn near threw it across the room. I was devastated. I felt clumsy and all thumbs, you know? The chefs tried to assure me I would get it but it seemed like we were sailing right through the intro and moving on to more difficult matter before I came anywhere near to mastering the skill. I won’t lie and tell you that I am not still trailing behind in cake decorating but you can put your money on it that I WILL get it… eventually………..
Most of the things that I’ve done are unfinished and rushed because I lacked the confidence to go faster I guess. But I promised to share so here it goes… I am proud of my work because I know it is evident of better things to come. lol
On the good side, I really enjoyed and did well on the baking side of this week’s lessons. We made:
1. “One bowl Vanilla Cupcakes” -you literally make the batter in one bowl. This is great since I will be my only employee for a while which means I am the “dish washer” as well. These cupcakes were flavorful but I think they were overbaked and the oven (industrial convection, meaning it has a fan to circulate the air for even baking) LITERALLY blew the cupcakes over in the oven. Please note: We were not responsible for handling the ovens, just the batter. The Chef burned them. lol)
I had to carry them home so I found some beautiful kids on the bus and asked their mommies if I could share them with them. I didn’t know the mommies wanted some too though. lol Oh well, I only had 2 people home waiting for them so it was perfect!
2. “Buttermilk Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream” – This cake was pretty good. My chocolate cake is a little better though.
I tasted one sliver of it and shipped it out of the apartment in pieces and my room mate’s sister had a friend down the hall with 6 kids. She said they were ELATED to receive it! I hope they mean it because there will be plenty more over these 16 weeks, I’m sure!
3) “Lemon Cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC)” – This was my favorite recipe so far. I love lemons and limes in everything so it was a given. We used fruit purees and high quality chocolate to flavor the buttercream. The fave among the roomies was the blackberry buttercream followed by the chocolate and then the passionfruit. The IMBC was sweeter and fluffier than the swiss meringue in my opinion and I think I will hold on to this tidbit and make it the primary buttercream when I’m not doing frosting. (Left to Right: Passionfruit, Blackberry and Chocolate)
Next week, we will cover a real cake and then start with Modeling Chocolate for you fondant haters!
Thanks for everything guys!! You are making this transition a lot easier with your well-wishes and support! Love you!!
(I’ll try to take some real pics but they are funny about cameras in the building…. so iPhone it is for now!)
