Birthday Party/Lack of Fingertips

Sorry that I didn't post last night!It was my significant other's birthday. He's afraid of Internet celebrity, so I won't say anything more. But I made him these cupcakes.


Yum. Pastry Cream. The top is whipped ganache. I was going for a Boston Cream kind of thing.... and trying to practice stuff I need to make for my practical tomorrow.

Yesterday in class we made Gateau St. Honore. For those of you who are interested in saints, St. Honore is the patron saint of bakers and he has his own cake.

It's puff pastry with pastry cream inside, lined with caramel profiteroles. Those caramel profiteroles are responsible for my current lack of fingertips --- dipping them into a scalding pot of sugar is NOT something I would try at home. Then we piped chantilly leaves on top and VOILA:

Yes, I realize that I was somewhat of a failure at spacing those profiteroles correctly. Whoops.

We also made eclairs, cream puffs and Paris-Brests. Paris-Brest is named after a famous bike race that goes from Paris to Brest (not French boobs, like I originally thought). It's a ring that's coated in almonds, sliced in half, and then filled with hazelnut cream. Too sweet for me!


Tomorrow is my last day of Classic Pastry, THANK GOD! Today I came home from class and just sat on my couch in a haze, thinking about how much my hands hurt. Then I passed out in my chef outfit and woke up an hour later in a panic, thinking I was late for class. AND, to top it all off, my hands still hurt. Wah.

I'll be back tomorrow with a full report on the practical and some pictures of cream-based desserts we made today.