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