Proof!

First day back in London. Rainy and wet but there are signs of a spring soon to come.



Today we began with an easy introductory to the second semester of pastry. Just when I thought I had finally gotten over the exam embarrassment of my wet pate a choux and burnt pastry cream, what is our first recipe? Gateau St Honore (a cake composed of non other than pate a choux and puff pastry). I hoping this was not done in my honor, or should I say in my memory…

We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow.

Despite a two hour torturous reminder of the past, I received a sweet reward that made it all worth it:



Pain is Beauty





Darcy Jones

A Bit of Brilliance from Bavaria

The Bavarian Cream is master of all mouses. The French Bavarois taste encompasses layers of rich flavored cream suspended on pockets of air that create a cloud like texture. Think of it as the Hungarian goose down pillow of mouses... or simply put: it's the creme de la creme.



There is no better way to experience the bavarois in all it's brilliance than in the Charlotte au Chocolat and the Charlotte aux Fraises. The etymology of the Charlotte is disputed: some believe it was named for the wife of England's George III in the 18th Century, yet other say it was developed for King Alexander of Prussia and named after his sister in law Charlotte of Prussia. Regardless of which line can lay claim to this treat, the Charlotte is an undoubted royal relic.



The Charlotte aux Chocolat has a light chocolate sponge cake that is studded with pistachios and adorned with a chocolate bavarois. The crowning glory of this cake though is it's unique chocolate couverture, or chocolate fan. This whimsical garniture gives the cake surprising movement and height and just makes me think of Charlotte dancing away at a royal ball long ago...



Never one to be upstaged by it's distant cousin, the Charlotte aux Fraises has an equally distinct and magnificent appearance.



Here layers of sponge have been separated by a berry jam and fixed in a pinstripe pattern, topped with a gleaming glacage of strawberry puree and syrup.



Put it this way, there was a lot of elegance and ego cramped into a very small fridge this weekend.






Darcy Jones

Foray into the Foret

As the semester draws to a close I am ever more sensitive to the heat of the kitchen. The pressure is on to not just finish, but to finish strong.

So now it's time to get serious. Seriously sweet that is.


Tis the season of Creams, Cakes, and Chocolate.

This week marked a battle with genoise. Genoise, or sponge cake, is a lot like a difficult child really, you have to trick the sponge's meringue into thinking that you are not incorporating the dry ingredients, and if it's on to you it will do everything in it's power to resist. This means that if you do not fold gently, carefully, and conservatively, you are well screwed. The batter will suck all the volume out of the whipped egg whites, and your cake will collapse in the oven. This is the moment when the chef feels most like a hated babysitter.



So when not being beaten, battered, and broken I was confronting the Conan of chocolate cake:

Gateau Foret Noire (the famous Black Forest Cake).



Now it's not necessarily the most posh cake in terms of polished presentation, but this homey delight is so decadent and delicious that it will make you question why you ever order dessert out. It's just that good. Traditionally, the chocolate sponge layers are soaked in a Kirsch simple syrup, and separated by layers of Kirsch marinated Griotte cherries reduced to a compote.

But here is my culinary, or rather confectionary, confession: I hate Kirsch.

Even the smell of this intensely strong liquor makes me look for the ladies room. So in a culinary covert operation, I snuck fresh raspberries into the fruit layer in place of the cherries, and neglected to add the Kirsch to the simple syrup. And I have to tell you that while my adapted Black Forest may run the risk of being black listed by Le Cordon Bleu, I think this rogue confection beats the original at it's own game.



Even my husband, who hates chocolate, finished off nearly half of the cake in a two round sneak attack on our fridge last Friday night. And that's all the proof I need.



*Note: Do not ask me what is going on with the chocolate propeller decoration. Not my finest moment. It was 10:30pm and the purpose was to learn how to temper chocolate for Transfer Sheets. But yes, I am aware that the cake looks like it's about to take off. C'est la vie.



Darcy Jones

Puff Pastry Payoff

Practice makes perfect, and third time was indeed lucky: my puff pastry produced!



My gift to you just in time for Valentine’s Day: Practically Perfect Palmiers.

Second out of the oven came the plush puff-pastry Tart aux Fruits.


This parade of fresh fruit a top a Grand Marnier laced crème patissiere leaves you wanting nothing, well maybe more of the same.


On the eve of the SuperBowl, it was a night of sweet surrender and succulent success.




Darcy Jones

Sojourn with the Swans of Chantilly

It was an evening of eclairs that began with a creme chantilly cocktail, and ended with a flock of swans in my foyer.

I realize that I just painted a picture for you that sounds something like the movie The Hangover so let me start again.

Three words: Pate a Choux, or Choux-Pastry. The name derives from the pastry's baked appearance: when cooked the pastry surface resembles the head of a cabbage (or at least some ancient french chef believed so). Regardless, choux-pastry is one of the cornerstones of French Patisserie, and can weigh about a stone when filled with coffee Creme Patissiere and covered with chocolate fondant.



Choux Pastry is an incredibly satisfying thing to make if you are a baker, for it doubles in volume in a warm oven in under 30 minutes. Considering the near 48hrs it takes to make brioche, this is remarkably swift and satiating. Once cooked, Choux Pastry can also be successfully frozen and defrosted to then be filled and served. Hence the array of fresh eclairs, Paris brests, religieuses, and salambos found in any pastry shop each day.

It was quite seamless in the kitchen tonight. I wouldn't quite say 'ballerina stage' (the term used to describe the beauty of an organized and skilled chef who works about the kitchen as though his every move were part of a choreographed dance), but some of us have definitely found a rhythm.

I have made some personal progress in the patisserie. Today my eclairs (pictured above) won Best In Show, or in class at least, and my family of swans received a resounding honorable mention.


Family Cygnes

So sailing home at half past 10, glowing with the success of my good grade, and delighting in the prospect of a late dinner of prize-winning dessert, I missed the door step and proceeded to set my swans free to fly all the way across the front hall floor.

"Those babies can really move across the sky..."
Image not available.

As for them? At least you knew them at their best... As for me? Seems I need to work on my footwork in and out of the kitchen.



In Memoriam

Darcy Jones