Dacquoise is a layered cake created from a mixture of nuts and meringue. It is layered in between with a GENEROUS amount of buttercream (in our case, it was the traditional french buttercream! Very very very rich and buttery) I actually loved the cake layer itself more than the cream, which i oddly enough thought was a tad bit too sweet for my liking.
The cake originates from feminine form of the french word "dacquois", which means "DAX" - a town in the south-west region of France.
SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH YOU:
you know you're a pro when you don't need a sugar thermometer to check
the consistency and stage of your boiling sugar syrup
Many little steps are made in order to create this beautiful cake. After watching and noting the recipe and methods required, I thought it was something quite simple to do.... but boy oh boy was I ever wrong in practical.
La Dacquoise
Practical 6: The Dacquoise
We had a new chef for our practical: Chef Patrick - a much older man who it turns out in the end is a very hard critique when it comes to judging our end cakes. Throughout the practical, he was a bit like Chef i-forgot-his-name in where he didn't really say much and simply just walked around class watching every students do their own thing.
Sometimes he'll help a student or as with my case, give me a reassuring pat on my shoulders as I "patiently" wait for my syrup to reach its right stage. However in general, he didn't really say much... unless a student messes-up then he becomes angry and very nag-y (which I think is a common trait for all the patisserie chefs here).
Sometimes he'll help a student or as with my case, give me a reassuring pat on my shoulders as I "patiently" wait for my syrup to reach its right stage. However in general, he didn't really say much... unless a student messes-up then he becomes angry and very nag-y (which I think is a common trait for all the patisserie chefs here).
As for making the dacquoise... well...
The steps may be simple in theory but in practice... that's another story!
Before I go on, allow me to say that in Le Cordon Bleu... there is no such thing as using a machine UNLESS you are catering to a HUGE group. Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in practical is done manually (and by manually, i mean by HAND). It's a tiring but worthy practice.
There are a few students who complain about this but I personally don't have any problems with it. Actually I can see the logic behind this evil-necessity: it is only by hand will we know the proper texture, consistency, feel and look of each mixture. A machine may help you do things faster, but you won't know if your mixture is at the right consistency unless you feel it.
As for the dacquoise, we were required to whip 8 egg whites into stiff peak... and this was all to be done by... hand... (some students actually believed Chef Cotte's joke about how we would be whipping egg whites with the Kitchen Aids in our practical... very cruel joke to play on innocent students!)
So... yes, I did whip the egg whites into stiff peak...
yes... I did it all by hand...
and yes... my arm felt like it was going to fall off...
I have a theory that by the time I graduate Le Cordon Bleu I think my right biceps are going to be bigger than my left! GAHHHH!!!
By the end of the practical session, my arm was in PAIN from all the whisking: we had to whisk 8 egg whites into stiff peak BY HAND without ANY help from the chef (the only help you get from the chef is him telling you to whip faster and faster!) AND after that we had to whip hot egg-sugar mixture UNTIL it was COLD (because if we left it, the egg would simply cook!) - do you know how LONG that takes???
By the end of the night, i couldn't even wash the dishes without pain jabbing through my arms...
but alas, as they always say: no pain, no gain!
but alas, as they always say: no pain, no gain!
Towards the end of the practical we were also given time to learn to design (by hand naturally) marzipan roses - a daunting task - to decorate our cakes. Delicate process but interesting, none the less! My rose ended up being HUGE which I thought was fine because it covered my wonky top icing decorations! hahaha...
the marzipan rose made by Chef Cotte during demo class
Sadly though chef thought my dacquoise was "just ok..." because unwittingly I had pipped too much buttercream in the centre layer that it started droop out of the layers, it pushed out after being sandwiched between the two meringue-based cake layers. Damn... that was disappointing.
this was how my dacquoise was supposed to look like with the buttercream piping...
but it didn't!
But it's ok... I'll try to be better next class. Pay attention and work hard.
*Fingers crossed*
Unfortunately I didn't get to take a photo of my beloved cake... because... i had locked both my keys and cameras in my locker! Yeah, that blows.... In the end, I had to have someone cut my lock and waste 8euros for another lock (provided by the school... what a rip-off!!). I could've gotten a much better quality lock for less than 8 euros! But alas, I couldn't complain... i was in need of a lock very badly :(
2 lessons learnt from the day:
- Do push ups at home to develope strong arm muscles for baking
- Always check your keys before you lock the locker door
In demo: making meringue mushrooms as well!
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