A Sweet Odyssey Continues: My Culinary School Journey – Part 3
Eight whole weeks have flown by since my last culinary school update, a whirlwind of learning, baking, and culinary discovery. If you’re just joining my adventure, catch up on week one’s insights and peek ahead to culinary school update 4! In this latest chapter, I reflect on the sheer volume of work we’ve tackled – 118 recipes and a surprisingly modest 21 pounds of butter (trust me, for a pastry program, that’s practically restraint!). While I’ll spare you the details of where every ounce of that butter went, let’s just say it was put to delicious use in the safe haven of our pastry kitchens.
Reflecting on the Culinary Path: Bittersweet Realizations
It’s a strange dichotomy, feeling like there’s both an endless amount to share and yet too little time to articulate the depth of this experience. The recipes, once distinct challenges, now blend into a seamless tapestry of techniques and flavors. The days have merged into weeks, transforming from individual lessons into a continuous flow of knowledge. My brain is a swirling vortex of facts and formulas, leading to dreams of perfectly piped “Happy Birthday” greetings and the ability to whip up a flawless pastry cream in my sleep – or at least until my arm gives out from whisking!
The swift passage of time brings a poignant realization: culinary school will soon draw to a close. This thought, unexpectedly, fills me with profound sadness. What about the incredible friends I’ve made, the camaraderie forged over shared successes and challenges? What about my favorite chefs, whose guidance and passion I won’t get to experience daily? What about the exhilarating pace of learning and the daily routine that has become so ingrained in my life? And what about this vibrant city that has become a backdrop to my culinary dreams?
Yet, the most heavily weighted question, the one that lingers constantly in my mind, is:
What will I do after graduation? I honestly have no clue, but it’s a question that occupies my thoughts daily and weighs heavily on my mind. I’m entirely open to any and all suggestions for the next chapter of my culinary career!
But for now, let’s put that aside. Let’s talk about the incredible journey of BAKING I’ve been on!
Diving into the World of Cakes: From Pound Cakes to Patisserie Masterpieces
So much, indeed! Let me guide you through a rapid tour of our adventures in cake making, bread baking, more elaborate cakes, and the delicate art of petits fours. Our introduction to cakes was surprisingly gentle, a smooth transition into more complex pastry arts. We started with foundational recipes like a delightful Chocolate Swirled Pound Cake – one of my personal favorites, as reflected in this picture – a classic Lemon Pound Cake, and adorable chocolate fudge cupcakes. It was like a little celebration with every batch!
The Joy of Cupcakes and the Science of Baking
That’s right, cupcakes! You can bet I was as excited as a child on Christmas morning. It’s hard to contain such pure joy, even in a professional setting. #fail. We quickly learned that baking isn’t always about secret family recipes; sometimes, it’s about clever techniques. For instance, did you know that to achieve that perfect slit down the middle of a loaf cake, chefs often open the oven after about 15 minutes and delicately slice the top with a knife? Before culinary school, I genuinely believed such perfection was pure magic. Turns out, magic is mostly confined to the pages of Harry Potter. #dreamscrushed
Our curriculum soon expanded beyond the familiar Creaming Method, delving into aerated cakes where mere bubbles are tasked with leavening the batter. Air, it turns out, is a powerful leavening agent! Can I get a witness? It’s less magic and more science – a delicate balance that is incredibly easy to deflate. Not that I would know anything about that, of course! 😉
Throughout these cake units, we continuously honed our piping skills. Apparently, the ability to flawlessly pipe “Happy Birthday” is a pastry chef’s new best friend. I’m still searching for a new best friend that involves less repetitive lettering!
But fear not, the exquisite Flourless Chocolate Cake came to the rescue of my piping fatigue! Topped with delicate chocolate meringue sticks and a sprinkle of cocoa nibs, it was a truly standout creation. #ooc. And with another blink of an eye and one more “Happy Birthday,” we transitioned into the wonderful world of bread!
The Art of Bread Making: My Ultimate Culinary Weakness
If you thought I was excited about cupcakes, you haven’t seen anything yet. Bread is my ultimate weakness, a profound love I’ve harbored since birth. Right, Mom? Right. This entire bread unit can essentially be summarized by one overwhelming feeling: OMGITWASSOGOODICANHARDLYBREATHE! Every loaf, every bun, every crumb was a revelation.
Quick Breads vs. Yeast Breads: A Leavening Lesson
Similar to our journey with cakes, we began our bread exploration with Quick Breads. Chef Jürgen was quick to correct any misconceptions: they aren’t called “quick” because they’re made swiftly, but because they employ chemical leavening agents instead of the slower organic leavening (yeast, in simpler terms). Chemical leavening cleverly mimics the action of yeast but in a fraction of the time. So, unless I completely misunderstood the twenty times this was drilled into my head, quick breads *are* indeed breads that are leavened quicker than their yeast-based counterparts. Am I being dense, or is this a classic case of splitting hairs?
I barely know where to begin detailing the sheer variety of breads we mastered in such a short period. We crafted everything from chewy bagels and soft English muffins to rustic focaccia, hearty traditional harvest grain loaves, delicate milk bread, vibrant orange swirl bread, and oh-my-goodness, pecan sticky buns… HOLD UP!
The Irresistible Allure of Pecan Sticky Buns and Rich Brioche
These pecan sticky rolls are absolutely to die for. They’re actually made using the versatile orange swirl bread dough, which is then generously spread with even more cinnamon sugar and crowned with the most divine caramel pecan topping I have ever tasted. Cinnamon sugar truly does make everything better – it’s a universal truth!
And then there was Challah! A beautiful, braided bread that’s as delicious to look at as it is to eat. And if you thought Challah had enough butter and eggs, then you haven’t truly experienced the decadence of brioche. Buttery, rich, and utterly irresistible – it’s a testament to the luxurious possibilities of bread making.
The Croissant Conundrum and Danish Delights
My culinary Achilles’ heel (and not in a good way) remains the croissant. Despite my best efforts and countless attempts, I have yet to create a croissant dough without my butter breaking during the lamination process. Grrrrr. Perfection runs in my blood, and this elusive skill leaves me utterly displeased. Not pleased at all!
Ironically, Danish pastry dough is remarkably similar to croissant dough, but with the addition of more milk and eggs, which makes it incredibly rich and, in my opinion, even more amazing! Why I can master Danish dough but struggle with croissant dough, when they share such fundamental similarities, is entirely beyond my comprehension. Alas, I have no answer to these complicated culinary riddles. What I can tell you is that the bread unit marked the last time I saw my waistline in its original form!
Cakes 2: Mastering Complex Patisserie – Entremets and Petits Fours
And just like that, we were off to Cakes 2! The breakneck pace at ICC did not slow down simply because we entered a more intricate unit. On the contrary, the sophisticated cakes in Cakes 2 made our initial cake lessons seem like child’s play.
Charlotte Creations and the Grandeur of Modern Entremets
Allow me to introduce you to the Charlottes. Above, we have the elegant Charlotte Russe, a delicate dessert featuring ladyfingers filled with light fruit mousse. Below, you’ll find the rather unsettling Charlotte Royale – a jelly roll meticulously shaped into a half-sphere and filled with Bavarian cream. To be completely honest, it was visually intriguing but personally, quite disgusting. Just keeping it real!
And if those aren’t complex enough for your palate, behold the artistry of modern entremet cakes!
These aren’t just cakes; they are intricate constructions of layers upon layers, each contributing unique textures and flavors that harmonize into one cohesive, visually stunning dessert. It’s truly no small feat to achieve such balance and beauty. Take, for instance, the Chocolate Caramel Tropical Fruit Entremet (visible in the top left and bottom right photos above). Its foundation is a light coconut *biscuit dacquoise* cake, artfully topped with luscious caramel milk chocolate Bavarian cream, homemade pineapple compote, a delicate chocolate *génoise cake*, and then crowned with a layer of vibrant passion fruit Bavarian cream. The entire masterpiece is encircled by a light, egg-foam cake, baked over a decorative yellow *pâte à cornet* pattern (yes, you even make that cookie-like batter!), before being glazed with a rich chocolate ganache and meticulously decorated. Oh, and it wouldn’t be complete without a touch of gold leaf, because who doesn’t love a bit of edible bling?
This level of dedication and craftsmanship is precisely why these types of cakes command prices of $20 a slice or more. It’s an immense amount of work, folks!
Fondant, Fondipan, and Finishing Touches
We mastered the art of working with fondant – learning to make it, color it, and elegantly cover cakes. We also delved into fondipan, a delightful blend of fondant and marzipan, which offers a slightly different texture and flavor profile for cake decorations. And, of course, we wrote “Happy Birthday”… a lot more. Sometimes, it felt like the entire curriculum revolved around this one phrase!
Despite the complexity, there was often barely enough time to fully complete and assemble cakes like the magnificent Chocolate Caramel Roulade Cake shown above. The real challenge came with the decoration – we often had less than 20 minutes to add all the finishing touches. What wonders can truly be achieved in such a short window of time?
Last but certainly not least, we created a carrot cake that my husband and I adored so much, I immediately adapted the recipe into these irresistible carrot cake cupcakes for my blog.
The Delicate World of Petits Fours: Tiny Bites of Grandeur
For all my friends and the fortunate recipients of my baking who expected miniature cakes when I promised “Petits Fours,” this definition is for you: Petits Fours are essentially any small, bite-sized confection that can be eaten in one or two bites. So, delicate macarons? Petits Fours. Savory gougères? Petits Fours. Fluffy marshmallows? Petits Fours. It’s a broad and beautiful category of tiny treats!
Some of these little creations were so incredibly intricate that I can’t even fathom the thought of making 40, let alone 1000, for a grand party. Consider the tiny boat-shaped confections on the far left of the tray above – Chestnut Barquettes. The process is painstaking: you line a minuscule mold with *pâte sucrée*, pipe in an even more minuscule amount of classic almond cream, and then bake it. Next, these delicate shells are filled with a rich chestnut cream, meticulously shaped with an offset spatula to achieve their elegant tapered form. And then, as if all that weren’t enough work, you carefully dip them into a glistening chocolate glaze, exercising extreme caution to ensure not a single drop touches the pie crust. I know, the French are *incroyable*!
For an entire week, I was utterly inundated with petits fours – more than I can possibly showcase here, more than could even fit on our trays. I honestly can’t even with the sheer volume of petits fours we produced!
Until the Next Sweet Chapter
This is where I’ll leave you for now. There’s still so much more to share, but I’m certain I’ve already exceeded your attention span, and I’ve most certainly outlasted my own! Stay tuned for more culinary adventures as I navigate the final stages of my professional pastry training. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for daily glimpses of my creations, as well as the delectable sweet treats and savory delights I discover across NYC!
And if you simply haven’t had enough of my culinary school saga, you can always catch up on my First and Second Culinary School Updates. Thank you for joining me on this incredible journey!