Advanced Restaurant Desserts Week 6 & 7

Advanced Restaurant Desserts Week 6 & 7


Oh Boy...where to begin?

The last few weeks went by in a blur! The Weeks 6 & 7 were the Midterm period, where we made the desserts in Week 6 and plated them on Week 7. The desserts in the pics here were actually made in Week 5, however... We were out of stock on a lot of the ingredients in Week 6, so we postponed the plating.

In Week 5, Chef taught us about incorporating savory elements into desserts. Some of the savory that can be used are:

1. Cheeses


2. Herbs & Spice


3. Meats (i.e. bacon)


4. Vegetables (beets, squash, carrots)

Our projects:

1. Mimic Cheese Plate: Brioche, wine gelee, Blue cheesecake


2. Veggie Dessert (my group): Acorn Squash panna cotta, orange almond cake, candied pecans, candied seeds and poached squash


3. Breakfast Dessert: Brioche French Toast, Peanut butter Mousse, Bacon-Chocolate Ice Cream, Bacon-Maple syrup


4. Herbs & Spices: Olive oil cake with orange zest, Lemon-thyme gelee, Lime-basil sorbet
   

Since we made our Midterm projects on Week 6, there are no pics to post from then...but here are the pics from Week 7.

Breakfast Dessert: Brioche French Toast, Bacon-Chocolate Ice Cream, Peanutbutter Mousse, Bacon and Brioche Crumbles. The ice cream tasted better than the one Barry made in Intro to Pastry last quarter.

Mimic Cheese Plate: Blue Cheesecake, Brioche Croutons, wine gelee, caramel sauce. Blue Cheesecake was... interesting. I think I like the goat cheesecake I made better...

The Veggie Dessert: Acorn Squash Panna Cotta, Orange Almond Cake, Acorn Squash seed brittle, candied squash, Marshmallow Ice cream, candied pecans. I'm not sure about the panna cotta. The recipe that Chef gave us is too spicy, with the flavor of star anise borderline overpowering.

Then we plated our Midterm. I mentioned in my last post that I got assigned s'mores for my midterm. This is what I came up with:

Japanese S'mores: Graham Cracker Semifreddo, Green Tea and Black Sesame Marshmallows, White Chocolate Ganache, Graham Cracker Crumble, Chocolate Sauce, Sesame seed brittle, and Orange-Honey Sauce

I had way too many components. The chocolate-covered cracker was unnecessary, as with the Orange-Honey sauce and there was an unnecessary disk of ganache under the semifreddo. Other than that, the marshmallows turned out really well, and Chef liked the presentation and the concept of incorporating Asian-theme into a very American dessert. I got a pretty good score, and I'm happy about it.
And I also can't forget about my stroke anniversary. Yep, it's been two years since I had a stroke on February 16. Last year, I made Brain Hemorrhage Cupcakes to celebrate. This year, I made Mont Brain--a spinoff of Mont Blanc. Japanese sweet yam paste encased with whipped cream and yam cream, all on flaky tart crust.

The past two years have been such a blessing. I'm thankful for everyone's prayers, love and support, and especially for my parents.