I don’t exactly love creme brulee but Bob does, so I decided to learn how to make that today. My partner was Martha, which got confusing because I answer when someone calls me Martha. I owe it to my aunts that gave me the name “Mini Martha Stewart” over 10 years ago. This means I don’t hesistate to answer to Jen, Amanda, Hailey or Martha. That must be some kind of identity crisis record.
First we added eggs and sugar to a bowl and I whisked away until the mixture was a very pale yellow. Have you any idea how long that takes? My arm was very sore and I don’t even think I could lift a skittle as soon as I finished whisking.
While I whisked for approximately 20 minutes, Martha was busy simmering the heavy cream and vanilla bean seeds. When both mixtures were ready, we combined them and put them through a strainer to make it as smooth as possible. It looked very silky.
We poured the mixture into small roulade dishes and baked it for about 50 minutes until the creme barely shimmied when shaken.
After they cooled off, we got to play with fire. We didn’t use any dainty kitchen torches. Oh no, our head chef brought torches from Home Depot. I sprinkled the tops of the creme with sugar and torched them until the sugar melted and browned into a hard crust.
I also made puff pastry dough. Most people buy this pre-made dough in the frozen food section but it is very easy to make. It is only water, flour, butter and salt. I combined all ingredients until it formed a very shaggy pile in my bowl. “Shaggy” is an official term the head chef uses. It looks like this.
I rolled the dough into a rectangular shape and folded it. Then I rolled it out again, and folded it. I did this four times. This dough is called the “pastry with 1,000 layers”. I think 1,000 layers is a bit much, but re-rolling and folding the dough does create several flaky layers when it is cooked. We were using the dough to make fruit chaussons but let’s just call them apple turnovers.
I cut the dough into circles and filled them with an apple mixture which was just cooked apples and cinnamon. I left some of them open and folded some into the shape of pierogies. Then I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled the tops with sugar.
The end result was a fluffy, flaky breakfast pastry.
Other classmates made Chocolate Pot De Creme. This was almost like pudding/ uncooked brownie mix/ custard. It was rich and amazing and worth every calorie.
Sweet. Soft. Nutty. No, I’m not describing Bob. The sticky buns from class would put Pillsbury to shame. In fact, Chef Deb had a plumbing issue at her house and was quoted $1,900 for repairs. The plumber showed up when she was making these sticky buns so she gave him one. The plumber said he wouldn’t charge a dime for repairs if he could take the entire tray of sticky buns home. According to my calculations, if a tray of sticky buns is worth $1,900 then I could sell these and be rolling in dough (get it?).
There was also Pumpkin Caramel Custard which was like flan. I’m not a huge fan of flan, but tried it anyways. It was ok, but not my cup of tea.
Lastly, there was bread pudding with raspberries and apricots soaked in brandy. I’m not a fan of bread pudding either. This was ok, too. I think it would be good if I liked bread pudding to begin with.
Tomorrow is chocolate truffle and souffle day so I am fully prepared to get diabetes and slip into a food coma.
