Dany's Cooking Diary: Week 5 - Baking and Pastry Class

As usual we had a quiz at the beginning of the class and I guess I did well this time.

We had a long presentation about milk and milk products , which was a lot of information to absorb.

Chef made a demo of yellow butter cake and angel food cake which was really good, we had a slice at the end of the class, it was platter with blueberries and raspberries sauce on top with a spoon of soft peak whipping heavy cream, it was really delicious but like chef had said the cake was very sweet, it made a perfect combination with the berries and cream. Today me and my partner of the day, whom was pretty nice, we made 1/2 recipe of pastry cream and 1/2 recipe of yellow butter cake, we made them all very fast and without problems, they turned out really good for my taste.

We started with the pastry cream, milk, salt, vanilla bean and 1/2 of the sugar in a pot heat it up until before boiling, in other bowl we whisk the eggs, egg yolk, other 1/2 of sugar and sifted corn starch. Then we started tempering the milk into the egg mixture little at a time, back to the heat whisking vigorously until thicker and desirable consistency when started bubbling we kept for a extra minute to remove the cornstarch flavor, when done we put the cream in a prepared sheet pan wrapped with plastic and cover with plastic on top of the cream to not form a crust and let cool in the refrigerator.

Then we started with the yellow butter cake, creaming method. In a mixer bowl with paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth add the sugar scrapping the bowl to make sure you get all mixed in the fat and beat until pale, light and fluffy , then add the eggs with vanilla a little at a time scrap the bowl after each addition, sift the cake flour with baking powder and salt, add the dry and liquid ingredients in parts beginning and ending with dry ingredients, should be 4 times flour and 3 times milk until finish, do not over mix when starting adding the flour to not develop gluten and make a though heavy cake, we want a lighter cake. We divider the batter in two equal parts in two 6" pan lined with parchment paper and butter and flour tap the excess of flour before adding the batter, as the batter is in the pan tap on the table to remove the bubbles. Bake at 325F oven, our cakes took about 30 minutes to get done, we started looking after 18 minutes, to test if it was ready we used a wood pick inserted in the middle if it comes out clean means the cake is ready. We should wait at least two hours before start cutting the cake since we didn't have the time we left for a short time in the refrigerator, it wasn't enough when we started cutting with a serrated knife in 1/3s turning the cake ,the top to make even and in have horizontally to add the filling it break a little it was still warm.

We used the pastry bag without tip to add the pastry cream in between layers in a swirl movement starting from the middle to the edges, the top layer we turned the top part down to make it even and flat to add the icing, we used a chocolate sauce made of heavy cream, chocolate, corn syrup and butter, the cake name is Boston Cream Pie, we all took our cakes home, the icing got hard and make the cake very stead, it looked good even after a bike ride back home, it was delicious!!

Class notes

Presentation Milk and Milk Products

Raw Milk- Vat Pasteurization 145F for 30 minutes, cooled 34F expensive method because it takes more time.

Pasteurized ( High temperature, short time HTST method) 161F for 16 seconds

Ultra pasteurized or (UHT ultra high temperature) 275F 1-3 seconds

Why milk boil? Milk solids, the fat goes up forms a layer on top, water steam goes up can't hold all the water steam.

1. keep stirring to avoid boiling

2.lower the heat down

Whole Milk 3.5% fat, 8.5 milk solids, 88% water, fat, milk fat or butter fat

Skim or non fat Milk 0.5% or less

Low fat milk 5% to 2% fat

Fortified nonfat or low fat milk, vitamin A+D

Homogenizing- process so the cream doesn't separate, same consistency, force the milk from microscopic screen, particles fat

Fresh Cream products

Whipping Cream- light, heavy and extra heavy

Butter cream- you can make it with 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of acid let stand for about 5 minutes

Pasteurization- kill the bacteria ( industrial revolution) squeeze in lots of animal in small space

You can find raw milk in black market

Objectives of creaming method Cakes

1. keep emulsion (uniform batter)

2. Form air cell structure

3. Limit gluten development

Creaming Method for cakes

1. Mise in place ingredients, prepare pans, sift dry ingredients

2. Cream fat alone with paddle attachment until smooth

3. Add the sugar and cream until pale, light, fluffy (PLF)

4.Add eggs, little at a time, scrapping down the bowl between additions, add extract

5. Alternate adding dry ingredients with liquids, 4 parts dry,3 parts liquid , scraping down the bowl between additions

Each group 1/2 pastry cream, 1/2 yellow butter cake (two 6" cake pan) Boston Cream Pie ( Me and Stephanie)

Demo - Yellow Butter Cake

In the mixer bowl with paddle attachment beat the butter on high speed until get smooth, most important build air structure, add sugar( crystallization with fat)

Scrap down the bowl

Add the extract to the eggs, before add the eggs to the batter, or after the eggs, add the egg little at the time, scrap down between addition (3 additions) keep emotion, things get together even

Alternate dry and liquid, always start and finish with dry ingredients, mix until just combine ( allows gluten slowly absorb the liquid) finish by hand.

Divide the batter in 2 pans, give a tap on table to release excess of bubbles, bout 18 minutes at 325-350F oven test with wood pick.

Demo - Angel Food Cake

Oil free cake ( make sure the equipment is oil free)

Beat egg white with whisk attachment alone until foam, after a little add salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks

Cake flour and 1/2 sugar sifted

Use pan with role, do no grease.

Add 1/2 of the sugar and beat until medium peaks (high speed) soft enough to add the flour and other 1/2 of sugar fold with spatula with small movements in 3 parts them add the liquid vanilla

No taping on table to keep the air bubbles

Bake it at 350F oven for about 40 minutes and let it cool upside down

-Egg white freeze beautifully.

Assemble Angel Food Cake with cream and berries sauce

Heavy cream, whisk it back and forth using hand whisk. Whipped Cream soft.

Sauce- blueberries + raspberry + sugar and lemon juice in the heat, for thicker sauce use cornstarch or let it reduce

Other option, in a shallow bowl fill with cream anglese one slice of angel food cake some berries around and more crème anglese on top of cake.

Assemble the yellow cake

To cut it straight the top, spin every 1/3 using serrate knife until finish use the same tecnique to cut the cake in half in the middle. Pastry cream in a bag without tip pipe a swirl starting from the center out to the edge, turn the top layer upside down to have a even straight finish and place on top of the cream. With ladle add the chocolate sauce in one motion fast.

Glassage Sauce- heavy cream, chocolate, corn syrup and butter