Coleman Wedding

Last weekend I had the very special honor of ,not only, completing my very FIRST wedding order and set up but doing this special order for a very special friend.

I have known Miss Stephanie since high school. She was a friend of my brothers and soon became a friend of our family. My whole family completely adores her as she is such a friendly and kind person. Stephanie contacted me last November in hopes that I would be able to assist her in putting together some sort of cake/cupcakes for her wedding. Of course I was totally willing to do it but I was about to embark on my journey through Culinary School so I wasn't able to commit to such a big project, not knowing what I'd be doing at the time of her wedding. 

This past October, Stephanie had contacted me saying that her and her fiancé, Steven, were dying to try some cupcakes from the bakery I am working at. We came up with a time to meet up and I put together some mini cupcakes for them. To be honest, Stephanie probably doesn't know this, but I thought they just wanted to try the cupcakes from where I work. I thought that they had already found a person to do their wedding cake. When Stephanie and Steven walked into the Starbucks where we met up, we sat down, chatted and Steven pointed out their Wedding Binder. Then they "popped" the question. "Would you be able to do 220 cupcakes?". I was so surprised but kept my cool. Haha! I was so flattered that they trusted me to do their wedding cupcakes and I even did a small 6-inch Red Velvet cake for them to cut into on their big day. 

Needless to say, I was very happy with the outcome of my work. I was very nervous because I was attending the wedding and thought I'd have a panic attack sitting in a room full of 200+ people consuming something that I had made with my own  two hands. Luckily, I have this really great boyfriend who calmed me down constantly and kept reassuring me that everything would be a hit. Not to mention a really great "pep talk" from my dad before he left for work early the morning of the wedding. 

I couldn't be happier for Stephanie and Steven. They make a beautiful couple and I am so happy that Stephanie has found her lifelong happiness. 

I was so nervous transporting the cupcakes to the venue. I had the help of a van that we borrowed from my boyfriends dad. We spread them out on a bed that is in the back of the van. 

I'm really sad that with all my frenzie the morning of the wedding that I forget to take a good picture of the cupcakes individually. I had some left over cupcakes and decorations and was able to take this shot:

Since I had taken Stephanie and Steven cupcakes from my place of employment, the flavors they chose for their wedding were inspired from the cupcakes they ate. The flavors they choose were Red Velvet, Punpkin Spice, Carrot Cake, Banana with Caramel Filling and Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate. In the photo above are Red Velvet, Pumpkin Spice and Carrot Cake. 

The wedding was so beautiful. The bridesmaids where in gorgeous chocolate brown gowns and there were autumn leaves lining the aisle. It was so crisp and fresh looking. Stephanie told me that she'd like leaves incorporated into the cupcakes. As you see in the photo above, I was able to achieve that with fondant. I used mint leaves to imprint veins onto the leaves and gold luster dust to add some dimension to the leaves. Each cupcake flavor had a different style leaf. I figured that it would be a great way to distinguish between the different cupcakes so I came up with this menu below for guests to choose the cupcake they wanted. 

I was really bad at taking photos. I really don't know why I hesitated to take photos. I've learned my lesson! Next time, take more photos Adriana! Here is a photo of my completed "creation". They rented the cupcake stand from a nearby cupcake bakery in town.

Their cupcake topper is adorable. Steven had ordered one but it didn't come in on time for the wedding. i was so bummed for them. I told my mom of the situation. My mom volunteers at a Cat Adoption with a friend of Stephanie's mom. Kris was at cat adoptions the day of the wedding, when my mom got there she told Kris the situation and Kris drove to a Christian Store and got this beautiful cake topper. I was so thankful for her that she was able to do that for Stephanie and Steven. The cake topper is called "The Promise". They'll be able to display it in their home to cherish and remember their special day. 

I couldn't manuever through the crowd to get a good photo of the couple slicing into the cake but here's one. It's a great photo of Steph's gorgeous dress though! :) 

Here's a photo of the couple feeding each other some cake. 

So, aside from the cupcakes, my boyfriend and I finally had our official first slow dance! Aside from him "serenading" me in the kitchen, this was our first slow dance and se dance to "My Girl". I loved it! We've been together almost 6 years and we've been to a handful of weddings and events that have music and dancing and we waited this long. I'm sure we will have many more slow dances. :) 

And lastly, here is a great shot of my brother dancing with the beautiful bride during the "Money Dance". I know that he is so happy for her and who wouldn't be? Look at how happy she looks! 

The couple is enjoying a honeymoon is Antigua right now. Hopefully they will have a chance to check this out when they wind down. I hope they know how thankful I am for the opportunity they gave me to my first wedding. This event gave me the confidence to take on orders in the future. Thanks guys for trusting me and I hope that I was able to make your night memorable. 

With Love,

Adriana 

I'm Done!!!

I am finally done with classes at Le Cordon Bleu! Well... we are on a six week externship class right now, but for the most part... I'M DONE! I am so ecstatic! 

Let me update you with my last cakes. 

First is my wedding cake. So, originally (I'm going to laugh if Chef reads this!) my classmate, Cindy, and I wanted to make wedding cakes for each other. Cindy wanted a beach themed wedding cake with Beach Chairs on top and Sea Shells around the cake. Well, when we had our "consultation" with Chef Adrian, she went with my idea but she had me add waves and fish. Flowers on the cake somewhere were a requirement. I wanted a simple cake so I wasn't too excited about the waves and the fish, but I had to please my client. Here is what the finished cake looked like: 

Wedding Cake 

I'm happy with the way it turned out. Simple and clean is what I am all about and I was pleased to be complimented on how simple and clean it looked. It lets me know that people see what I am aiming for. I had fun playing engineer with the beach chairs. Here is a close up of them: 

Beach Chairs

It was funny, Chef Adriana told me that the groom's initial was a "J" because my boyfriend's initial is "J" as well.  Everyone thought I was doing it for me and him. It was funny :) Also, we had a cake decorator from a Bakery in Sacramento observing our class the day we put our Wedding Cakes together, and she advised me to add the Brown Sugar Sand. I thought it was a nice touch. Without the sand, I think that chairs would have looked a little out of place. I decided to add the flip flops last minute.

Carving a cake was something I was very nervous about. Turned out, it's not so bad! I was really looking forward to the Pumpkin Cake because I adore Autumn and Halloween! Here is my pumpkin cake that we covered with modeling chocolate: 

I feel like our class really did a great job with this cake. It was great to see the diversity in the pumpkins. Some looked so incredibly real and some looked so whimsical and enchanting. I just loved seeing everyone's work! Here is a look our classes pumpkin patch:

FINALLY...

The purse cake. I have been looking forward to this cake since the first term of culinary school. I was always thinking about what purse I was going to attempt. In term three I came across this adorable Minnie Mousse inspired Seatbelt Purse. I knew I had to do because I am such a huge Disney fan and I knew that I could easily use this design to pay tribute to two people who really inspired and encouraged me through my Culinary Journey. 

Here is my final cake! 

Purse Cake 

My mom and I love Disneyland just the same. We dream of Disneyland, we desire to go to Disneyland even when we've just been there and are hearts leap from our chests when we ARE there. Let's face it, my mom taught me how to bake. If it weren't for her making those delicious sugar cookies every Christmas I would have never grown to love baking. If it weren't for her love of baking, I wouldn't be where I am today. Therefore, the entire theme of the cake is dedicated to her. 

The Mickey Bar you see on the side is dedicated to my boyfriend, Jeff. As I have said before, Jeff is a true support to me. He never doubts me or asks questions of dreams. He supports everything I want to do and is so proud of everything I accomplish. He supports me when I fail and congratulates me when I succeed. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend so the Mickey Bar (which is his absolute favorite Disneyland treat) is dedicated to him. 

The Minnie Mouse Cupcake is dedicated to ME! haha! I replicated this Cupcake from a very cute antenna topper that I purchased in Disneyland when I was there with, you guessed it, my mom in May. It looks exactly like the cupcake you see next to my purse. I purchased the antenna topper because I felt like it was a great representation of things that I love- cupcakes/desserts and Disney! So I put it on my cake because not only does it represent my self, but it also marks my first career in the industry- making cupcakes at Kara's Cupcakes. 

And that's all folks! Now to focus on my career and see where it leads me. 

This is not the end of my blog posts, you will continue to see updates on my culinary journey's and what not.

Ta ta for now!

-Adriana 

Cake Class

Cake Class was a class that I had mixed feelings about. I was excited for the challenge yet nervous for the challenge at the same time. 

The class is definately a challenge for me. I am learning what I am good at and what I need improvement on. I have still remained that I am a very simplistic and clean cut "artist".

Here are the cakes that I have done so far! 

This is my Children's Birthday Cake. I don't really like my figurine. It was supposed to be Arielle from "The Little Mermaid". It was our first cake and I think I spent too much time on the figurine. I should have put more detail elsewhere on the cake. 

Children's Birthday Cake 

Marzipan Figurine 

Swags and Shell Border 

I am really proud of my Baby Shower cake. We were given a mock scenario that our couple did not want to know the sex of their baby and they wanted pastel colors. I feel like I incorporated their wishes pretty accurately. I am in love with my baby blocks on top. I took the time to make sure they came out clean looking and I am proud of the way they came out. 

Baby Shower Cake 

Our Sweet Sixteen Sheet Cake was a lot of fun and it went by really quick! We only had two days to complete it. We were given the them of "Glee" which is perfectly suiting for me. I had a lot of fun doing this with my partners Martina and Buck. Go team "No Names"!

Sweet Sixteen Sheet Cake 

The Cupcake Buffet in class was so fun! We had the required cupcake flavor that we had to make which was the Brown Spice with Praline Buttercream but we also had a creative flavor we got to do. I did Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne frosting. It was delicious. I made gum paste strawberries to adorn the tops and sprinkled them with edible silver glitter. 

Brown Spice Cupcakes with Praline Buttercream 

Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream 

Will update next week after I finish my LAST week of school! It's been a long but quick journey! I'm so excited! Until then, working on a Pumpkin Cake and a Purse Cake. We finished our Wedding Cake in class today! Photos to come on the next bloggy blog!

With love,

Adriana 

Last Weeks of Plated Desserts

I haven't updated my blog in so long! 

So it's going to be short and simple :) 

These are my products from my last few weeks of Plated Desserts class. 

Trio of Doghnuts

This doughnuts were a lot of fun to make. I chose to plate them family style so that I could vary a few flavors. On the left are plain doughnuts drizzled with Chocolate Sauce. In the middle are Doughnuts rolled in powdered sugar and almonds and laid on top of blueberry sauce. On the right are cinnamon sugar donuts drizzled with a flat icing. 

Chocolate Mousse Cup 

I love this dessert! I was a little weary with it because I am not a fan of tempering chocolate. I wanted to chose something that would be easy to do but could be played up with nice flavors. I used a silicone mold to mold the chocolate cup. The cup is filled with chocolate mousse, drizzled with Raspberry sauce and topped with candied hazelnuts. 

Chocolate Box

This is my chocolate box filled with Fleur De Sel Caramels, Espresso Truffles and Peanut Butter Cups. 

Coconut Cream Tapioca Pudding Cup with Mango Curd 

We had a day in class where we didn't have anything on the syllabus. Well, we got off track, I think, so Chef had us make either Tapioca Pudding or rice Pudding and plate them. Just for fun! The above photo is Coconut Cream Tapioca with a Mango Curd that my partner made and topped with toasted coconut. The photo below is Coconut Cream Tapioca with Passion Fruit Caramel, toasted Macadamia Nuts and the rim is Toasted Cocunut. This day was a lot of fun and I have always wanted to make tapioca pudding. 

Coconut Cream Tapioca Pudding with Passion Fruit Caramel Sauce

The following photos are my products from my final practical which I scored 100% on! Woo hoo!!!

Chocolate Box

Espresso Creme Brulee with Chocolate Almond Biscotti and Chocolate Sauce 

"Taron" with Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse

Lemon Bombe on Graham Cracker Crust served with Raspberry Sauce 

I had a really good time in Plated Desserts Class. I didn't think I was going to but I ended up really liking it. I was sad to see it go but I was also excited to start our Cakes Class! 

With Love, 

Adriana 

A Cupcake Story!

So... it was probably about the end of April of 2010.  I was having a craving for some cupcakes after a full day of work. So I asked Jeff if we could go get some cupcakes at Kara's Cupcakes in Napa after we both got off work. Of course he agreed! :) When I walked into Kara's Cupcakes at Oxbow Market I was like a kid in a candy store. I'm pretty sure I had the hugest grin on my face and my mind was soaring, thinking of so many things.

Which cupcake should I get? 

How cool would it be to work here? 

How cool would it be to just ring up customers here? 

How cool would it be to be back there making those cupcakes? 

How cool would it be to own a place like this? 

How cool would it be to do this for a living? 

I think the girl working there even sensed that I wanted to be a part of their team and told me that they were hiring a baker but they needed to be in Culinary School. 

We chose our "poison" and moved on. Ironically, we chose dessert before dinner. We went to Sonic's on our way home and got a bite to eat. The entire time, I was talking to Jeff about how much I loved that bakery. How everything was perfect in there and how the Cupcakes were to die for. I was even pondering the idea of trying to work there part time. But then I remembered the condition that in order to be a baker that you needed to be in Culinary School. I asked him what he thought of me going to Culinary School and he told me, "go for it!".

Well, I have always told Jeff that I would go to Culinary School at some point in my life. Whether I was old or young it was something I had to do. I was supposed to go to Culinary School after High School. I even toured Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco. I chickened out in fear of being unsuccessful. 

Going to Kara's Cupcakes sparked something in me. I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of going to Culinary School. I knew I was only about a year away from graduating Community College (well, soon after I found out I only had one more semester to go).  So, within the next few days I explored the idea even more and called the Art Institute. Took a tour and even applied. I toured Le Cordon Bleu in mid May and enrolled that day. 

Culinary School was a dream come true for me. I had explored the idea of working for Disney. But unfortunately that didn't work out. They were never hiring for the positions I needed to apply for. During my "Summer Break" I started calling everywhere looking for a job or an externship in the Baking Industry. I stumbled upon the idea of working for Kara's. I called the store and was delighted to discover they were looking for a baker! I immediately applied, sent resume, cover letter and portfolio. 

I'm proud to say that I have landed a position as a baker at Kara's Cupcake at Napa's Oxbow Market. I am so thrilled and excited to start this new journey.

My initial experience last April at Kara's Cupcakes jump started my forever internal desire to go to Culinary School. If I had never gone that night to pick up a cupcake who knew if I would be at this stage right now. I am really grateful for this "Full Circle" opportunity and opportunity to work for the best Cupcake Bakery in the Bay Area. I love what the company stands for- Organic, natural, local, sustainable ingredients and materials that are low impact on the environment.  

I couldn't be any happier right now and I hope that everyone is happy for me as well! Thank you for everyone who as always stood by me and believed in me. I truly appreciate it. 

With Love,

Adriana

Getting Comfortable With My Style

So this week was pretty fun. I started thinking outside the box a little bit but I still keep my style simple and to the point. I like to look at a plate and to be able to guess or know what the flavors are. I don't like it to be a secret. I want it to look appetizing. 

In the beginning of the week we plated Baked Alaska's. I wasn't too excited about this because I didn't know how to get creative with it nor did I think it was going to taste good. I was wrong. It was so delicious. We made an Italian Meringue to cover our chocolate cake and homemade Vanilla Ice Cream then lightly torched the the Italian Meringue. Mine looked like little cupcakes; I couldn't resist! 

Here is my first plate. The plate is garnished with dots of Raspberry Caramel Sauce and the Baked Alaska is topped with a tuft of sugar hair. 

Baked Alaska 

Here is my second plate, which Chef liked the best. The plate is garnished with one stroke of Chocolate Sauce and one stroke of Raspberry Caramel Sauce. 

Baked Alaska 

The next plate is our Lemon Bombe. If you've never had one, they are delicious. Light and airy and very   "lemon-y". On the left there is a fanned Strawberry brushed with Simple Syrup followed by a row of crushed Fortune Cookies that leads to the Lemon Bombe that is garnished with Candied Lemon Peel. 

Lemon Bombe 

I wasn't very inspired by the next plates. Phyllo kind of bores me. It doesn't taste that great to me, even though it's loaded with butter and sugar. This first plate is a Phyllo Napoleon that is filled with Vanilla Diplomat Cream and Peach Compote topped with Sugar Hair. The plate is dusted with Cinnamon. 

Peach Compote Napoleon (with Phyllo Dough)

 This was Chef's favorite plate for my phyllo assignment. Here is a trio of phyllo triangles. On the left is an Apple Phyllo Triangle on top of Blueberry Sauce. In the middle is a Peach Compote Phyllo Triangle on top of Cinnamon Streusel. Lastly, on the right is a Pear Phyllo Triangle on top of Cinnamon Pastry Cream. 

Phyllo Triangles

So, we were supposed to do phyllo plates again on Friday but Chef said he was bored of phyllo and had us do deconstructed S'mores instead! Here is what I came up with. A S'more Parfait. Chocolate pudding layered with Crushed Graham Crackers and topped with a toasted marshmallow and served with a shot of Chocolate Milk. Everything was handmade even the Chocolate Sauce for the Chocolate Milk!

S'more Parfait with Chocolate Milk 

With Love, 

Adriana 

Week 2 of Advanced Patisserie Techniques

During this week I started to get better at my plates. My grades were beginning to get better so it was a really great week for me. Here are my plates. 

This is my plated Mascarpone Cheesecake. It's on a Graham Cracker Crust and topped with Blueberry Coulis and a Sugar Sphere. Chef suggested that I should have put two of the Cheesecake mounds together to make a ball of Cheesecake. He also advised me that my ration of crust to cheesecake was a little too much. 

Cheesecake

Panna cotta. O.M.G!!! This plate started off as a disaster. I was very rushed this week because I was taking on a lot of the responsibilities of making the products between my baking buddy and I. With the Panna Cotta I had confirmed how much gelatin to use with the associate Chef and apparently he quoted me the incorrect amount because our original Panna Cotta would NOT hold it's shape. There was not enough gelatin! Luckily, my awesome classmate, Cindy, gave me an extra one of hers. Thank God! This ended up being my first perfect score. This is probably my favorite plate so far. I love the simplicity of it. Limoncello Panna Cotta topped with Blood Orange Compote and garnished with Passion Fruit Caramel Sauce and bits of Nougatine. Chef said that the color scheme was nice (monochromatic) and that all the flavors paired perfectly together. 

Limoncello Panna Cotta

Now, even though I got a good grade on this plate, I am not a big fan of it. Maybe it's the photo that I took. I need to start bringing my digital and stop relying on my iPhone. HA! Well, this is a Napoleon made with a Reversed Puff Pastry. With Reverse Puff Pastry, you encase the dough inside a butter block. Normally, it's the other way around. Butter inside the dough. This napoleon is made is filled with Vanilla Bean Diplomat Cream and Sauteed Pears and the plate is garnished with Caramel Sauce. It was extremely delicious! I ate the entire plate! 

Sauteed Pears Napoleon 

Now, I got more comfortable towards the end of the week and tried incorporating more components with my plates. Here we have Bread Pudding topped with Creme Anglaise, Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Cinnamon/Cayenne Pepper Candied Pecans. The plate is garnished with Caramel Sauce. 

Bread Pudding 

This next plate is exactly the same as the last except the plate is garnished with a Raspberry Caramel Sauce instead. I received a perfect score for these plates. 

Bread Pudding 

With Love, 

Adriana 

Advanced Patisserie Techniques

Hello, my name is Adriana Magallon and I want to be YOUR next Pastry Chef! haha. I finally took a headshot of myself.

This week was the start of our 4th class! Wow! We are almost done! This is our Advanced Patisserie Techniques Class. We are doing plated desserts. If ever you felt like you have no creativity, this is the class where it will really show. It's so difficult for me to come up with a concept to plate a dessert. I am a very simplistic "artist". I like a little sauce, a whipped cream quenelle perhaps, and that's about all. So thinking of some amazing, breath-taking concept is extremely difficult for me. We plated a creme brulee and a creme caramel this week. 

Also, I might note that it has been brought to my attention that someone has been downloading my baking photos. I do take this as a compliment, however, I hope that this person doesn't decide to use my work and claim that it's their own. Therefore, with the help of my amazing boyfriend, he has added a simple watermark to my photos.

First plate: Creme Brulee.

Creme Brulee

My concept for this plate was supposed to be a lot less "juvenile" than it looks. The Blueberry Coulis used to make the flower was too loose and didn't hold the shape that I wanted. I made a mistake by placing my pretty flower, that I so carefully made by piping scorching hot sugar, on top of the whipped cream quenelle. On top of that, why did I put whipped cream on top of my beautifully brulee'ed top?

So, Chef gave me this idea to try. He suggested I make a triangular shaped tuile and have it wrap around my ramekin and end with the peak facing down into the creme brulee and attach a butterfly there. Well, I got what he was saying but didn't exactly know how to execute it properly. So I looked at some of my tuile cookies I made the day before and I came up with this:

Creme Brulee

The product sitting on the ramekin is a tuile cookie made by piping squiggles of vanilla and chocolate tuile on a baking sheet then wrapping it around a wooden spoon to shape it. I put some pieces of sugar work down the middle and added some chocolate sauce garnish on the side. At first, the tuile cookie was sitting on the plate but Chef moved it up to add some height. I think I like it. 

Next plated dessert was our creme caramel. 

Creme Caramel

This is the plate that I presented for my grade. I improved by .5 from my last grade. Hey, I'll take it! 

I presented my concept sketch to chef and he liked my idea. I wanted to do something simple so I am glad that it worked out. On the left is an Orange Compound encased by a sugar cage and the Creme Caramel on the right.  Chef liked the fact that it was monochromatic. I really like this plate. The only complaint I have is that there is WAY too much syrup around the Creme Caramel.

After being graded I realized I forgot to add our candied orange zest to my creme caramel. Here is what it looked like (I didn't get graded for this). 

Creme Caramel

Tomorrow we plate cheesecakes, this should be interesting. 

With Love,

Adriana 

Final week of International Pastries

Here are my cakes from the last week of International Pastry Class. 

Genoise a la Framboise

Brasilia Cake 

These next two were my final productions for my final practical.

Chocolate Mousse Cake 

Opera Cake

It's been a nice week long vacationthat went by way too quick. Back to school tomorrow to start Plated desserts. 

With Love, 

Adriana