Phanatic 2.0

You may recall that I made the Philly Phanatic for my "dead dough" project in my Artisan Breads class earlier in the semester. About a week after the project, the Phanatic could no longer support his own weight and he fell to the ground. Luckily, he broke in such a way that his body and head remained in tact. His legs broke and part of the field he was standing on cracked, so I spent some time over the past few days repairing him. I also made some adjustments.

After I recreated the playing field base, I decided I would display the Phanatic facing the outfield instead of facing home plate. I also decided he needed a sturdier base in order to support himself, so I made a giant baseball - it's actually pretty close to real size - that he could sit on. I reconstructed his legs in a more suitable fashion. I also made a bat and a pennant. Since he is still holding his bread plate, I chose to keep his bread peel and I made some additional bread pieces like pretzels to scatter on the field. All in all, I am really pleased with the upgrade. Here's a few photos so you can see the new and improved project.







I'll be taking the project on the drive home to PA so he can enjoy his new home at my parents house. My mom is anxious to see him in person and to put him on display. Let's just hope he survives the drive in one piece because I'm not quite sure I'd have the patience for a third reconstruction!

Country Biscuits and Muffins

In Thursday's laminated doughs class, we took a step back from the laminated products and worked on some other breakfast items. We also prepared our croissant dough for our final exam, which is on Tuesday. We made country biscuits and muffins. Our muffins had chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans.

Cream Puffs and Eclairs

In Tuesday's afternoon bakeshop class, we had our final exam. It had four components, which included making pate a choux, pastry cream, chocolate ganache, and chantilly cream. We then had to assemble two eclairs and two cream puffs. The chocolate for my eclairs thickened a bit too much, so that photo doesn't look great, but my cream puffs were spot on. It was another successful final practical exam.

Brioche Dough

In Tuesday's laminated doughs class, we made brioche dough which is an enriched bread with generous amounts of eggs and butter. We learned a specific process for mixing the dough appropriately, which results in a final product that is soft and tender.



Our first application of the brioche dough was to make French Toast. We took pieces of the dough, rounded them, dipped them in egg, covered them in cinnamon and sugar, and placed them side by side by side in a loaf pan. After proofing and baking, they puffed up to be pieces of French Toast. Absolutely delicious.



Our second application was to make lattice style brioche. We did this by using a circle cutter for the bottom piece of dough. We filled it with chocolate chips and vanilla pastry cream. To make the lattice, we used a lattice tool and then placed those pieces of dough on top. After an egg wash, these were baked. This is also delicious.



Finally, we used the dough to make Brioche a Tete which is a traditional shape for brioche dough. These were made in individual pans. Before baking, some were covered in cinnamon and sugar while others were covered in garlic salt and oregano. Some we left plain to fill after baking; these were filled with nutella or raspberry marmalade and dusted with powered sugar.

Pumpkin Sponge Cake

In today's cakes class, we had our final practical exam. Earlier in the semester, we had to submit a recipe for a three-layer cake with a filling and an icing. Chef challenged us to be creative while drawing on what we learned throughout the semester.

Over the past two months, I have been working on my recipe. My cake (which I previewed in my Thanksgiving post) is a Pumpkin Sponge Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling, Gingersnaps and Chantilly Cream. On top of each cake layer is the cinnamon cream cheese filling. I then sprinkle on top the crushed gingersnap cookies. And I am pleased to announce that I did not overwhip my chantilly cream. The sides of my cake, the top of my cake, and my rosettes looked great. And let me tell you, it is seriously delicious.

No, seriously, it's not just my opinion. My friends Sarah and Gilly from class both liked it the first time they tasted it earlier in the semester. My friends Coleman and Brit liked it when they visited in October. My friend Bridget liked it when I took her a piece in October. My landlord and her family called it the best cake they ever ate. And my family - Joe, Jen, and Mark - gobbled it up over the Thanksgiving weekend. Not to mention, Chef and my classmates liked it as well.

I am really proud of myself today. I worked really hard on this cake, and I've worked really hard all semester to improve my cake decorating skills. It was definitely worth the time (and money, seriously, lots of money) that I spent working on this recipe. Who knows - maybe it could become my signature fall cake!

Thanksgiving

I'm so fortunate to have my brother, Joe, and my cousins, Jen and Mark, in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. So yesterday, we celebrated by honoring the tradition of a turkey dinner with all of the usual sides.

First, we put out some easy appetizers - a simple cheese and cracker tray, some veggies and fruit dip, and pumpkin dip with gingersnaps and apples (which is my Aunt Cimmie's recipe).



Next, Jen and I prepared the main meal. We dined on turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (which Mark only refers to as dressing because it wasn't actually stuffed into the turkey and which is my Aunt Donna's recipe), corn, green bean casserole, and my homemade croissants.



And finally, I put out a dessert spread: german chocolate cake (from my class), pumpkin nut roll, apple pie, and my pumpkin sponge cake with cinnamon cream cheese filling and crushed gingersnaps.



All in all, it was a delicious meal. We also honored the tradition of watching football and lounging around, but we also played some really great trivia games. It was a great holiday celebration.

Jersey Style Sticky Buns & Giant Cinnamon Rolls

In Tuesday's laminated doughs class, we made Jersey Style Sticky Buns and Giant Cinnamon Rolls. These are by far the best sticky buns and cinnamon rolls I have ever made. The sticky buns have a top smear that contains bourbon, raisins and pecans. The cinnamon rolls have an icing that is white chocolate and cream cheese. Both amazingly delicious.