Summer Baking: International Night {Class 8}

This summer I completed the Culinary Lab: Baking course as part of my graduate program - the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University. For six weeks I spent two nights a week in the professional kitchen learning all about baking. The course required students to keep a journal of the experience and I decided to record my adventures here on the blog. I hope you enjoy! You'll get the calorie-free version of my decadent baking experience.
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The first of our dedicated international nights crisscrossed the globe with lamingtons, tres leches cake and Irish shortbread. Three distinctively different desserts.

The Tres Leches cake can be summed up in a word = Milky! Milk in the cake, milk, milk and cream poured over the cake, and whipped cream on top. Not for the lactose intolerant! The cake is made in a unique way – by whipping egg whites until frothy and then beating in the yolks. The result is an airy cake perfect for absorbing the tres leches. This was not my favorite, but I could see how others would enjoy the cake. While making the cake we learned a valuable trick. If not serving whipped cream right away, place it into a colander set over a bowl. Top with a layer of plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator. Any excess moisture will drip out and keep the cream light and fluffy until you need it.

Our Irish shortbread suffered from poorly calibrated ovens. It never quite browned or cooked all the way through. Have you ever tried to make shortbread and ended up with fingerprints all over the top? We learned a great way to erase them. After patting the shortbread dough into the tart pan, lay a piece of plastic wrap across the top. Using a small spatula smooth all the fingerprints away. Peel off the plastic and you are left with a perfectly smooth top. The shortbread get scored and poked pre-baking to prevent them from puffing up from the steam of the melting butter. An important note when making shortbread – the flavor will only be as good as your ingredients. Here we used Kerrygold salted butter which resulted in a rich and delicious flavor.

The lamingtons were the most fun. The texture of this coconut and chocolate coated sponge cake was amazing. The chocolate icing stays on the outside and the cake stays fully and pristine on the inside. We achieved this by sticking our cake in the freezer for a few minutes before icing.

One important takeaway here. The recipe called for lemon extract and initially we felt it smelled strong, almost medicinal. We followed the recipe and added it in anyway. We probably should have skipped it. The lemon extract is stored in a plastic bottle and either had gone bad or the plastic bottle was leaching. It is very important to check all ingredients before adding them in. If you get to the last item in your ingredient list and then realize it is no good the whole batch will be ruined! Another important task is to have your mise en place before starting – every ingredient measured and lined up ready to go. Read the recipe thoroughly and then dive in. You never want to find out you are out of cream when everything else is already mixed in the bowl!

International night takeaways:

• Tres leches cake is a serious overload of dairy
• Always crack and separate eggs individually so you don’t ruin the whole batter
• Know your oven: have a thermometer to double check the temperature
• Electric mixers make quick work of whipping egg whites and cream (save your elbows!)

What is your favorite dessert from international travel? Local international bakery? Favorite food destination?

Summer Baking: American Night {Class 7}

This summer I completed the Culinary Lab: Baking course as part of my graduate program - the Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University. For six weeks I spent two nights a week in the professional kitchen learning all about baking. The course required students to keep a journal of the experience and I decided to record my adventures here on the blog. I hope you enjoy! You'll get the calorie-free version of my decadent baking experience.
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If the theme of previous classes have been butter, the theme for American night was SUGAR! Our menu for class took us from New England maple syrup pie and old-fashioned donuts down to Texas for a Texas sheet cake.

Along with the hands-on part of class we are also reading a few books. The book, Invention of Sweet, is giving us an overview of desserts and sweets in history and across cultures, where some cultures like French and Italian treat desserts and pastries as a professional art. In America desert tended to b more of a homemade item.

The Texas sheet cake is a casual serve from the sheet pan type of cake. The fudgy cake, made with buttermilk, is baked and then topped with chocolate frosting. The combination of the cake and frosting was over-the-top sweet. Whether it is so big to feed the state of Texas or it is as big is the state of Texas it was too sweet for me when it was frosted. Interestingly, after making this cake in class I saw it make the rounds on various food blogs and cooking sights. Texas sheet cake revival?

Pouring a full pan full of warm frosting right onto the cake to let it really soak in.

The maple syrup pie was probably equal in terms of sweetness. But the rich maple filling paired with the buttery pie crust made it irresistible to me. My partner and I had a mishap with our pie. After boiling and reducing our syrup we were too quick to add the batter the milk and eggs. Scrambled eggs! Straightening them out would throw off the ratio and the filling wouldn't set. It was back to the range for another boil - and then tempering the eggs. An important lesson! Look beyond the recipe and trust your instincts and pie knowledge.

While this was a little bit of an expensive mistake it was well worth it for a final result. Each night or two teams each produce a version of the recipe. Here the result was noticeably different. Ours was reduced a little more and took on an almost smoky flavor. The other teams with a little lighter in color and texture. Both were delicious, but I really enjoyed the deeper maple flavor of ours.

Have you had an old-fashioned doughnut? This was a recipe test for our instructor's upcoming class on brunch.

One recipe had more sour cream and nutmeg. We opted for doughnut holes to our frying skills. These get a crackly top, crunchy on the outside but soft and pillowy on the inside. Surprisingly, these did not puff up as much as we had expected. They were good - but not great.  But the takeaway was that frying at home isn't too challenging. It takes preparation, concentration, and a big pot of oil. Potentially messy, but not impossible.

Takeaways from the American night class:
• Wow! Americans really like sugary sweet desserts without sugar glaze on top!
• Don't stick to the recipe technique if you know better.
• Have a big glass of milk on hand if you make that sheet cake!

What is your favorite "American "dessert?