Culinary School - Weeks 1 and 2 (Cake class only)

My new classes are in full swing! I am currently taking 3 classes: Advanced Cakes and Classical Tortes, Chocolate & Confectionary, and Sugar Works. My previous classes were 100 level courses but I have began the 200 level courses so most everything is individual work now. The classes are more intense and the Advanced Cakes and Classical Tortes class in particular mimics a real working environment.

During week one of Advanced Cakes and Classical Tortes we made Yellow Chiffon cakes, Chocolate Chiffon cakes, Dobos cake layers, Dobos Buttercream, Sacher Biscuit, Cherry Filling, and Chocolate Ganache. We ran out of time so all the cakes were frozen and we were able to assemble some of them during week two.

I finally got smart and took my camera to class with me. (I should have done that in all my previous classes!) So now I will be able to show you what I make in class. It will really add to these posts. So for week 2 we made German Chocolate cakes, Chocolate Flourless cakes, Pastry Cream, German Chocolate Icing, and Chocolate Glaze. Even though this class is 7 hours long we are always strapped for time. We only had time to assemble 3 cakes.

Here is my black forest cake. Three layers of chocolate chiffon cake, layers of cherry filling, iced with chantilly cream, and decorated with maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings.




This is my Fresh Fruit Gateau. Two layers of yellow chiffon cake, with a layer of pastry cream and sliced fruit inside, iced with chantilly cream with lady fingers pressed on the sides and garnished with additional chantilly cream and fresh fruit.


Here's a picture of the inside before the top layer of cake was added on.


This is my Dobos cake. Seven thin layers of Dobos cake with chocolate buttercream on each layer, then the top layer is covered in caramelized sugar and cut into eight slices that are gently resting on more chocolate buttercream so they'll stand up. It also has toasted sliced almonds on the side. (I really wish I could have taken a picture of a slice of this cake to show you all the layers but I ran out of time. :(


So that's Week 1 and 2 of Advanced Cakes and Classical Tortes. I'll talk about my Chocolate and Sugar classes later this week. I have only completed one class of them so far.