Pasteten

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........

That was me being relaxed.  This time last week I was studying, studying, studying... and now?  I'm enjoying the time where I don't have anything to do until it starts all over again.

Here is my "relaxed" baking...

These are called Pasteten.  This kind of pastry is incredibly delicious and really flexible.  The hole in the middle provides for endless possibilities!... and I'm not just talking about sweet fillings.  Need a fancy appetizer?  Whip up a savory filling with mushrooms, onions and a nice cream sauce and you're good to go!

The filling I used was a lemon cream.  That may or may have to do with the fact that I had leftover lemon flavoring already made...

This type of pastry is made with what is called Blätterteig.  Blätterteig is the equivalence of puff pastry.  It does not have a physical leavening agent, ie. yeast.  The rise in the dough comes from the release of the water in the dough when it is baked.  You know what makes this kind of dough really, really great??? It doesn't need to rise because of the lack of yeast.

Now I'm not telling you to run to the store and buy the frozen dough... But really... that's what I did.  It would absolutely fantastic if you made the dough yourself... I know, though, that it can be time consuming.  But, if you're up for the challenge, I would really love to hear about it!

Cut out equal sized circles.  I didn't have a large enough cookie cutter to do so, so I used the lid to a jar.  Then, take half of the circles and cut out the center.

Brush the rim of the full circles with a little bit of water, and place the ring on top.

DO NOT forget to brush with an egg wash!  This will give the pastry that beautiful golden brown look.

Then stick those babies in the oven at 210 C, or 410 F.

Whatever filling you decide to choose, it will be delicious... I'm sure of it!  Get creative!

The Practical

I did it!

After working intensly all day long.  I finished my practical exam.  The weight is lifted.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results.  I was lucky enough not to have anything go terribly wrong.  The only part that I would like to have done differently is the piping.  It's amazing that I've practiced the piping around the cake plate 100 times, and never once did I have so many issues until today.  It ended up coming out well, but it's a little frustrating to think that I could have done better.

I was able to finish about 15 minutes before the time was up.  If you ask me, a perfect amount of time!  I was rushed, but not crazy-hectic, running around like a nut job.  Though that is really fun at times, I worked fast, but relaxed (as much as I could have been).

Once we were finished with the cake part, we had to "showcase" our cakes and piping.  A slice had to be cut out, and we had to give an explanation of our cake, ie. Are you happy with the cake? How was your timing?  What do you like the best?  What went wrong? Where could you improve?  All this had to be done in front of the panel of judges.  

Uhhh....

There's nothing that could possibly make me more nervous.  I don't even remember what I said.  Have you ever spoken in public, and then thought back about 5 minutes later about what you said... and not remembered anything because you were so nervous?  Yep.  I could have said, "The sky is blue," and not have known later.

Now the cooking part of the exam.  We had to make a crepe and a salad.  Here's where I felt like I was on Chopped.  

Ready, and GO!

Chop, chop, cop

Saute, saute, saute

Run and get the plates

Look at the clock nervously

Plate

Garnish

Done!

Both my crepe and salad were Asian inspired.  The salad is a shrimp lettuce wrap with peanuts and mango, and my crepe is a spicy shrimp stir fry.

To be perfectly honest, I never really got to taste the dish.  Gasp!  I know, I broke the number one rule.  Chef Ramsay would not be happy with me, but I was just a little bit too stressed.

Here are some other pictures from the others in my class!  Enjoy!

Food network Challenge and Chopped

Ironed chef jacket... check!

Box of materials/ ingredient/ everything that I need tomorrow... check!

Nervous, stressed out feeling... check!

In my head I'm thinking tomorrow will be like a mix between Food Network Cake Challenge, and Chopped.  

I'm nervous... excited... and just hoping nothing goes terribly wrong...

I Can't Believe It's Over

I can't believe it's over.

The written test is officially completed!  After two and a half hours of some seriously intensive writing in German, I am exhausted... both mentally and physically.  I think my brain turned to mush afterwards.

It's not that the test was extremely difficult.  I certainly made sure that I was prepared, and after it's all said and done... I felt prepared... I even answered all the questions (let's be honest, that's a challenge in and of it's own). I have been dreading this test since the day I arrived in Germany.  I knew the mid-term exam was coming... I just couldn't have imagined learning all that information in German.  Now that I have... I have to say, I feel pretty confident.

Now, there's nothing I can do but sit back and wait...

Hold on.

What do you mean I can't just sit back?!

Right... the practical exam is on Thursday.

Monday: Written Exam

It is officially time to burn that midnight oil and get that last bit of cramming in this weekend for the test on Monday!

Here are our topics we are covering on the exam:

Hygiene- of course it's number 1... the most important... we all need to know this

Muerbeteig- this is a short crust dough... the most basic recipe is 1:2:3 sugar: fat: flour + salt and aroma.

Layering dough- The two are Blaetterteig and Plunderteig... translated they are both called puff pastry. However, Pluderteig has yeast in it and can be described as more like a danish pastry, and Blaetterteig does not.

Massen- A.K.A batters.  The two main ones for the exam are Wienermasse and Biskuitmasse.  They are both considered a sponge cake, but Wienermasse has butter in it making it fresher longer, while Biskuitmasse is a lighter cake.

Obsterzeugnisse- basically jellies, marmalades and konfitures.

Schlagsahne- cream... yuuuuuum...  whipped creams, ganache, the production, the hygiene, the optimal temperatures, the fat content... everything...

Eier- Eggs... the basic facts, how to tell if they are fresh and what not.

All in all, now that I lay it out like this is doesn't seem like that much, and the teachers did a great job of being pretty specific about what they wanted, but we need to know the inner-workings of each topic:  the possible outcomes, the make-up, the production, the qualities... you name it... we need to know it... and be able to tell you why... oh yea... and in German.

Any now, I just gave myself stress... so I'm gonna hit the books again...

Practice Cake and Small Mishaps

Do you want to know what happens when you try to ride home on a bike with a cake you just made...?

I'm pretty skilled at bike riding while carry random items.  I started building up my skills when I moved to Arizona for college and had to carry all my grocery items on my bike.  That was a challenge at first, then it sort of became a game... then, of course, a competition.  

Riding a bike with a cake is a different story... and I have yet to conquer this one, but think it's an important skill that I really need to acquire.  Give me some time...

This was a practice cake that I did today after school.  Like I said, the cake will be strawberry-lemon cream.  

It's interesting making the same cake more than one time.  You learn a lot each time you make a cake, because whipped cream is really unpredictable.  Each time I've made this cake, something has happened that went wrong.  Nothing big.  Just something little, where I could then look at and say, "Hmm, okay now I know that this can happen, and I'll look out for it next time."  And that's how it is... I assume once you make the cake 1000 times, you assume a technique (like riding a bike with groceries) and are able to avoid and/or fix the small mishaps.

Piping Practice for Exam

Here is another section of our exam coming up next Thursday...

We have to decorate the rim of a cake plate, and write the words "Herzlichen Gluckwunsch."

Not sure what I'm talking out?

Check out my practice piece...

We will be graded on the thickness of the chocolate, our consistency, our penmanship, and so on.

There are a few places where I made some errors... For example, on the L in "Herzlichen," and my loops in the rim are not all completely the same.  In the end, its just doing this over and over and over again that makes you better, but I am pretty happy about where I'm at so far.

School and Exam

School starts tomorrow.  Written exam, next Thursday.  Practical exam, next next Thursday.

Did that make your palms as sweaty as mine?!

Exhale...

I was given today off to test some things out in the bakery and to study.  Thank God.  I really needed that.  I made my cake once again, but this time I didn't use the real flowers and made a chocolate decoration that looks like a lattice.

It actually looks a lot more modern, and better than the flowers did.  I loved the idea of the flowers, but I guess I'll have to keep that idea in the back of my head for a later date!

Also, remember the raspberries on the cake?  As it turns out, they will leak red into the cream.  To be on the safe side, I won't be using them and will have to use strawberries.  Which also means that I can't use the raspberry cream inside the cake anymore.  No prob.  The cake is now strawberry-lemon.  The color of the strawberries looks great with the yellow from the lemon-fruchtspiegel on top, and let's face it... who doesn't like strawberry-lemonade?  I think the flavors will work well for the springtime.

And as for the written exam next week... Well, it gives me chest pain and makes my hands all clammy.  I know the material... I have a good grasp on the lessons and what we need to know for the test... the problem?  In my head, I know the material in my crazy German-English language.  That won't fly when it comes time to write it on paper.  No one can understand the combination of words that are shoved around in my brain at the moment.  My issue is trying to sort it all out and find a way to be able to coherently get this information out of my brain and onto paper.  

That's my stress for the moment...

Oh and by the way, this post is doing a really great job of helping my procrastinate... Thanks!!!

Happy Easter and Frohe Ostern!

Happy Easter and Frohe Ostern to everyone!

As a special treat to myself... I baked some good 'ole American brownies!

When I went to Ireland, I gave my mom a list of certain things that I was missing from the U.S. that I couldn't really get in Germany... That list included:

Jello Cheesecake (only the best around... I don't care what anyone says)
Brownie mix
Milky Ways
Sweedish Fish
Sour Gummy Worms
Oreos (double stuffed... duh)
Jeans
Rice Krispy treats with green sprinkles

Let's chat about these Rice Krispy treats for a sec.  I first rattled off this list to my BFF who was going to give it to my mom.  When we got to talking about all these delicious treats, we of course stumbled upon Rice Krispy treats, because let's face it.. they're amazing.  Since we were headed to Ireland for St. Paddy's Day, we were obsessed with the idea of making everything green for the whole week (hence, the green sprinkles).  So my BFF was supposed to make the Rice Krispy treats with green sprinkled to bring on the trip.

Said BFF took a picture of "thee list" and sent it to my mom.  A few days before the trip, my mom asked me why I wanted a box of Rice Krispies and (separately) green sprinkles.

I almost died of laughter.  She had bought the cereal, and a bottle of green sprinkles to bring to me.  God bless her, no questions asked she went out and got everything on the list... even if she didn't understand why I would want these things...

In the end, Kelli (BFF) didn't make the treats, and the cereal and sprinkles were left in the U.S. to be made into treats for when I get home in July...

The moral of this story is... It's Easter... And I made the brownies from "the list."

What?! All the corners are cut off my brownies?!

Oh yea, that was me... it's because they are without a doubt the best part...

Easter Time!

Easter is just about here!... and my energy is slowly draining from my body.

Let's take a look at this weeks schedule

Monday- off thank god! I needed that
Tuesday- 4am
Wednesday- 3am
Thursday- 1am
Friday- 12am
Saturday 11pm

It's tough starting off at 4am in the beginning of the week and then finishing off the week beginning work at 11pm.  But, the good part is, it's only 2 more days left until I can sleep-in... and let's just say I'm really really excited...

Let's chat about what's going down in the bakery...

The customers are loving the rabbits made from a yeast dough and decorated with chocolate.  These cute little treats are being made by the hundreds!

Easter in Germany is generally celebrated similar to Easter in the U.S.  In my opinion, Easter has never really been one of my favorite holidays.  Yea, I loved the Easter egg hunt and all the glory in finding the golden egg, but Easter was always kind of blah.  I know Easter is a religious holiday, and I certainly have nothing against that (I am, after all, Catholic), but I am not too disappointed about not being home for the holiday.

Want to know what else has come back into season?  Strawberries!

I love this cake... It's made by us fresh, daily (with fresh strawberries).  The inside is filled with a delicious vanilla cream!

You should think about doing something like this for your Easter function!