Today marks a few special occasions. First, last day of cakes!!! That is, until Wedding cakes...But I won't think about that too much. We finished by making a cheesecake (sort of). Made with ricotta, which I was really excited about, but also soaked raisins and a flour addition. It was alright, but given that I don't really like cheesecake, I wasn't a huge fan of this one in particular. The flour made it taste grainer, and the raisins were just strange. More of a baked custard-quiche thing...but oh well...
We spent the rest of the day prepping for our cake exam tomorrow. We made the layers and fillings, which went fine. I ended up making two cakes worth since my first go wasn't as perfect as I wanted. I'm set for tomorrow, and not nervous, but anxious to get it done with. I realize that part of the reason I dislike cakes is my lack of natural ability with them. Anything else, I usually only need a demo and one or two tries before I'm nearing mastering, but not so with cakes. It's difficult to explain, but they are so unlike all other baked goods, and as odd as it sounds, I don't feel as "connected" to cakes, as say, bread. With bread, and many other deserts I can sort of feel my way through, know what to do instinctively. Subtle cues can direct me, such pull of the spatula against the batter, smells, texture changes, noises... But with cakes, I feel, hear, sense nothing. I rely solely on the recipe, and the results are clear. I don't know why this is exactly, though I'm not terribly concerned. I can still make a great cake, it just isn't the perfection I would hope for, and I don't get a feeling of satisfaction after completing. Mostly, I feel relief.
Second, and more importantly, today was the first day in the second half of the program. 12 weeks done, 12 to go! I do enjoy class quite a bit, so I'm not anxious to finish except to be done being a "student." I still can't believe I'll have the title of professional pastry chef, believe me, I never saw this coming until about 6 months ago...So I'm quite excited to see where this all takes me!
No comments:
Post a Comment