This Monday I completed my practical for my first pastry class, Principles of Baking. I had 4 hours to make 5 dishes: Lemon Chiffon Cake, Orange-Cranberry Scones, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Focaccia, and Palmiers. I was certain that I wouldn't have enough time to complete everything and was unbelievably nervous the night before.
I had made a timeline of when I should start making the recipes, when I should put them in the oven and when I should take them out. My timeline gave me 5 minutes to clean up at the very end, so I was FREAKING out. Cleanliness was a big part of the evaluation and I will admit that I'm not the neatest baker. Flour is flying around me a lot of the time. So when I went into the kitchen Monday morning I had pretty much given up on being able to finish all five dishes. But then we started....
I got all the ingredients that I would need for my first 3 recipes, Focaccia, Lemon Chiffon Cake, and Palmiers. I started with the focaccia because it rises for 1 1/2 hours before you can put it in the oven. I breezed through that, and started on the Palmiers (which if you don't know, are those delicious pastries that look kind of like a heart). Anyways, those have a high butter content and involve a lot of rolling and folding so they need to be refrigerated often so the butter doesn't get too soft. I had put that dough together and placed it in the fridge and it wasn't even 8 yet, I was on a roll! Then I started on the cake, this was the most involved of all the recipes. I made a base batter and then folded in whipped egg whites. I had to make sure the whites were fully incorporated without over-folding. I managed to finish that, get the batter in the pans and bake those in about 30 minutes.
I went bake to the Focaccia, slathering it in herb oil and getting it on a sheet pan to rise for 30 more minutes. Then I got the Palmier dough out again, folded a few more times and rolled it up. I put it back in the fridge so it would be easier to cut. While that was cooling I got the ingredients together for the scones and the cookies. Those are both relatively easy so I saved them until the end. I put together the dough for the cookies, scooped them on the tray, then popped them in the fridge (a secret to making sure they come out chewy).
The Focaccia was finally done rising so I put that in the oven to bake. While that was going I cut the Palmiers, put them on a sheet pan and BACK in the fridge to harden up. I took the cookies out, put them in the oven and I could see the finish line.
I put together the scone recipe (that I fudged a little, but don't tell anyone) and cut them up to put in the oven. I took out the cookies and Focaccia, both looking exactly how I wanted. The scones and the palmiers went in the oven and I started busting my ass to clean up my station. Surprisingly enough I had been cleaning as I went (my mom would be so proud!) so I didn't have a lot to clean at the very end. I watched the Palmiers like a hawk b/c they are known to burn quickly. I took those and the scones out and even had enough time to plat them nicely.
It was a MIRACLE. I had no idea how I had finished all five recipes, let alone had enough time to clean up and present my creations on something other than the pans they were baked on. It was an amazing feeling, I was so proud of each recipe and the way it turned out. I now know what a natural high feels like. I showed my dishes to the chef and she reviewed them. Later I found out that she thought my cake was perfect and that I had aced the practical.
Next semester I will have 3 practicals and I am dreading each one. I can't help it, I may have passed this practical, but that won't keep me from getting butterflies for the next one, and the next one, and the next one. I think nerves are good though, it lets you know that you care about what you're doing.
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