Pastry Pains

Blueberry Cheesecake

I don't know if it is because I am just back from my wonderful vacation in Paris, but this week has been challenging. I was actually looking forward to getting back to school, getting into the kitchen and learning more. Despite my enthusiasm, it was tough. Probably the toughest so far. I am glad to say I made it through, I learned and I am by no means giving up. I am ready for a challenge and now actively searching for my first industry job, no matter how small or insignificant.

Monday's class was focused on Butter Cakes. Feeling refreshed, I decided to take on one of the most challenging recipes for the evening: the Gateau Basque. The Gateau Basque was raved about by our instructor for the evening, and I, myself am a lover of all things almond cream. This cake is actually more like a pastry we made a few weeks ago called a "Tourte". It is made with dough similar to Pate Sucree but also has almond flour and Rum in the mixture. It is then molded into a cake ring, filled with Almond Cream and topped with a round of the dough. Then it is egg washed and a fork criss-cross pattern is applied to the top. Sounds simple, right?

The dough is the trick. It has a very high butter content and practically melts in your hands, making it difficult to work with. After a very laborious hour (at least) I managed to turn out 9 rings, with the help of my instructor. I filled them with the Almond Cream, topped them, egg washed them, traced the fork pattern, and placed them into the over. Looking back now, it doesn't seem so horrible....but then they started to over flow. I was a little ill advised on how full to fill them, and should have gone with my gut instinct. After they had finished oozing and they turned golden and crusty, I removed them from the oven.

The Gateaus turned out alright, just a few looked as if they had developed tumors. I left school feeling a little frustrated at barely completing 2 recipes, while my classmates accomplished 3 or 4 each, and also felt I had nothing pretty to show for my frustration. I still haven't tried one yet, but I've been told they were good. I'm thinking it may be my breakfast tomorrow morning.

Gateau Basque

Tuesday was another story. After a long day at work, and still feeling the lingering frustration of Monday night, I hoped for better results with my cheesecakes. I started with the Alsace cheesecake recipe. This recipe is more of a souffle like cheesecake. It is made with Fromage Blanc and has whipped egg whites folded in at the end to produce a much lighter cheesecake. I was looking forward to it. My batter was beautiful, my Pate Sucree crust was nice, soft and buttery. The rings went into the top oven to cook for 15 mins at a high heat and then would be moved to the lower oven to finish baking at a cool 200 degrees.

Then disaster struck. Chef pointed out that my cakes were cracking and turning brown; two things you want to avoid when making cheesecake. My heart sunk; not this again. We adjusted the temperature, but they continued to brown even more. The oven was too hot. Finally we just pulled them from the oven and watched their little cracked and browned tops collapse sadly into themselves. I moved on to my next recipe, feeling a little deflated myself.

My other recipes of the evening included a Strawberry Sundae cheesecake and a Blueberry Cheesecake. Both turned out much better than the sad little Alsaces. I took one of the Alsaces and drizzled it with Raspberry glaze. It may not have looked pretty, but it sure tasted good. I hate to throw anything away, so chef and I started pushing the tops of the cracked cakes down into the rings, compacting them into little disks. A nice layer of Blueberry glaze and some fresh fruit later, you couldn't have guessed they were not perfect to begin with. This cheered me up quite a bit.

Alsace Cheesecake with Strawberry Glaze

I felt slightly better when it was discovered that someone, who will remain nameless, had been turning the oven up, instead of down in an effort to save my cheesecakes from destruction. It's just nice to know that we are all human, we all make mistakes, and they are not always mine. And sometimes good things come from mistakes, that is how we got Tarte Tatin.