Creme Brulee With Fresh Fruits, Baked Apples, Tarte Tatin

Clockwise From Top Left: Creme Brulee, Baked Apples, Tarte Tatin

Chef Karen

A lovely chef generous with her time and knowledge, she goes out of her way to teach us as much as she can in every demo. 

Today she brought along her genuine French tarte tatin copper pan to make an extra large tarte for us to try.

A Slice Of Simple Pleasures

Tarte tatin is a simple dessert with sublime flavors, built with the great pillar of cookery, butter. Think about it: butter in the puff pastry base, butter with the caramelised apple slices, you really can't go wrong. 

Moreover, the simpler the dish, the more rustic an appeal it has, a timeless charm, really.

Sauteed Calves Liver From Cuisine

Chocolate Truffles From Intermediate Patisserie

Gold Star Presentation! Below: Ally & Simon's Apples. Aww...

The creme brulee was particularly rich, as we used heavy cream instead of milk. All the more luscious a treat. And the baked apples? Delish! Cooking apple like Granny Smith stays firm when cooked and yields just enough to be a tender accompaniment to the crunchy raisin and spice filling.

Cookies Made With Leftover Apple Filling

Baked Apple To Go

A swan tribute to Simon's silver service days. :)

Croissant, Pate Sucree, Creme Patissiere, Dacquoise, Poached Pear Tart

Chef's Mosaic

This has got to be the highlight of the course, the piece de resistance: Poached pear tarts. A sweet pastry shell filled with a thin dacquoise sponge sandwiched between layers of pastry cream, artfully decorated with mahogany pears, this is by far the most impressive dessert we have made to date.

The Many Faces Of Chef Michael

Abstract - Student Life

Notes and photo taking are an integral part of our learning process. Above: my illegible scribbles of the  complex steps of constructing a sandwich. 

Chef Keith Pays A Visit

Photo Taking Session

Behold! What Beauty Lies Within!

My Little Masterpiece

Not only is this the most impressive, it is also the tastiest dessert I've made, ever. I came home today, served myself a small tart, and savoured every delicious bite. The shell was thin and crisp, the pastry cream rich but in just the right amount, and the pears, oh my, the grainy texture I like about pears paired with the subtle red wine flavor, this is one tart I may not be sharing after all. ;) 

Compoted Berry Soup, Poached Pears In Red Wine, Crostoli, Apple Jelly

Chef's Boozy Soup

We forgo the oven again today and cooked up some berry soup instead. Sounds good? It is. 

Simply take some wholesome berries of your choice (we used red, blue and raspberries), simmer them in a poaching liquid of red wine, apple juice, sugar to taste and more red wine, cook till the berries go soft, then chill, blitz and serve. Easy peasy.

Chef Gert At Demo

Here's a jolly chef who is truly full of passion and love for good food. My kind of guy.

Thinking Cap On

Hmm...What Happened There?

I can explain. My tea towel accidentally caught fire while I was cooking some pastry cream on the stove. And that was not the worst part. I then went a-walking around the kitchen blissfully unaware of the burning towel in my hand  till the chef came a-knocking, demanding to know where all that smoke was coming from! 

Boozy Pears For The Morrow 

Gently poached in a similar red wine solution as the berry soup, they will be used in tomorrow's pear tarts. 

My Plated Soup

With apply jelly, yogurt, fresh fruits, a bit of mint and crispy crostoli. 

Holy Crostoli!

If you like doughnut, you're gonna love these. Sweet dough deep fried till golden brown and crunchy, they're not too different from Spain's famous churros. I'm not a fan, though, so these were all packed up for Sun Hee.

Plates Up For Presentation

The soup was easy to prepare, and with the red wine and berries choke full of antioxidants, it may jolly well be the healthiest dessert you can make at home. 

D-Day

i.e. Theory and kitchen practical exams are upon us. Not thrilled. Not thrilled at all.