So… It's back to the days of sucky internet.
Hence why the updates have been too little too few.
Everyone (well.. MOST) are in full-speed study mode and much has happened since last update. After the written exams, we have give or take 2-3 more weeks before our finals on which we discover the fate our food-related dreams: whether the Gods look down on us and bless us with a Pass or a shattering Fail.
Up until then, I bury (attempt to, mostly) my nose deep in the depths of my pâtisserie notes…
Enough of misery!
Lets move on to… far more sweeter things in life, such as Demonstration 11.
Demonstration 11: Tartelettes.
Trust the French to come up with something more chic and gourmand than a cupcake – and they’ve been making this far longer than cupcakes have been around!
Tartelettes: a sweet pastry bowl of soft sandy and buttery texture shelling a wondrous assortment of filling within its cavity (chocolate, orange, strawberry, lemons and plenty more!). In my personal opinion, these are one of the most prettiest and versatile desserts on the pâtisserie block!
Made in smaller sizes, they are heartier and more refined than the best of cupcakes: petite enough so each person has their own to eat but slightly big enough that it can be satisfyingly-shared between two person.
Tartelettes: a sweet pastry bowl of soft sandy and buttery texture shelling a wondrous assortment of filling within its cavity (chocolate, orange, strawberry, lemons and plenty more!). In my personal opinion, these are one of the most prettiest and versatile desserts on the pâtisserie block!
Made in smaller sizes, they are heartier and more refined than the best of cupcakes: petite enough so each person has their own to eat but slightly big enough that it can be satisfyingly-shared between two person.
The Raspberry Tartelettes
I especially love them when they come garnished with berries of sorts and when you take a bite into it, it's like experiencing "happiness" go crazy over your palate: the aroma and soft crunch of buttery-sandy shell, followed by the onslaught of silky smooth, light crème patisserie countered by the tart flavours of summer berries or acidic flavours of a sharp lemon.
I, for one, was certainly happy that we got the chance to learn and make these desserts!
Garnishing the Strawberry Tartelettes with powdered sugar
Our demonstration moved in a rapid pace, Chef Cotte worked fast and efficient (with the aid of two Chef assistants, of course!). As we entered the demonstration room, it was already clear that he had already started his work early because there were already a LOT of pre-baked tart shells!
Looking at our recipes for demo, I think he was aware that he had a big variety of tartelettes to show us - and this was true!
PLUS, knowing Chef Cotte and how he likes to present us with a surprise for the day (an additional pastry dessert you can make with the same ingredients), all in all there were 10 different varieties of tartelettes:
PLUS, knowing Chef Cotte and how he likes to present us with a surprise for the day (an additional pastry dessert you can make with the same ingredients), all in all there were 10 different varieties of tartelettes:
- Amandine Tartelettes
- Bourdeloue Tartelettes
- Raspberry Tartelettes
- Chocolate Tatelettes
- Orange Tartelettes
- Apple Tartelettes
- Apricot Tartelettes
- Strawberry tartelettes
and finally:
- two varieties of Lemon tartelettes.
The trio, starting from front:
Apple Tartelette, Amandine Tartelette and Lemon Tartelette with Caramelised Meringue
The Orange Tartelettes with Caramelised Topping
Chocolate Tartelette with Gold Leaf Garnish & Amandine Tartelettes
That is a LOT, right?? The fact that he made these for 30+ students in under 3 hours is an accomplishment! I guess that’s why he has the right to yell at us to hurry in practicals.
All the tartelettes made were all a delight! Out of the whole selection, my favourite had to be: the raspberry tartelettes... and the strawberry... actually i loved the lemon tartelettes with the caramelised Meringue topping just as well (it was divine!)!
And yes, we got to play with the professional blow torch in practical as well :)
Everyone was in pure concentration as Chef went about his work. Enjoying the focused attention he was getting, to add icing to the cake (so to speak), Chef Cotte decorated the chocolate tartelettes with a nice touch of real gold leaf!
Yup, REAL. GOLD. LEAF - being pâtisserie noobs that we are, of course came en suite the sound of gasping echoes and girls squealing in demo! *eye rolls*
One would’ve thought we’ve never seen gold leaf before!
Practical 11: Making the Tartelettes.
Out of the 10 varieties, we made 2 in practical:
One would’ve thought we’ve never seen gold leaf before!
Practical 11: Making the Tartelettes.
Out of the 10 varieties, we made 2 in practical:
- the chocolate tartelettes - sweet pastry dough encasing a deep, seductive aromatising dark chocolate ganache tart layered on top of a soft-baked light chocolate moelleux (mousse)
- the orange tartelettes - sweet pastry dough encasing a tart refreshing orange-cream pastry custard with caramelised brown-sugar topping.
Now, after having survived the practical, I have to tip my hat to Chef Cotte for managing 10 varieties of tarts in less than 3 hours because for our practical, just having to make 4 of each was already a challenge.
Loud clanging of whisk against steel bowls, random screamings of "CHAUD" (HOT!), students scuttling back and forth from the work stations to the sinks… yeah, it wasn’t an easy practical with plenty of things to do.
Loud clanging of whisk against steel bowls, random screamings of "CHAUD" (HOT!), students scuttling back and forth from the work stations to the sinks… yeah, it wasn’t an easy practical with plenty of things to do.
Thankfully, because everyone worked out at helping each other – something I really love about our group - things went quite smoothly and most of us ended the session with finely made tartelettes!
For practical, we had Chef Christian Faure, MOF who (in a good mood thanks to the pretty Brazilian girls in our class ;) ) – was singing throughout practical . Due to his relaxed nature, i think we were all less stressed and this made it easier for us to properly concentrate on our dough: Sweet Pastry Dough.
This would be the second time we’ve worked with Sweet Pastry Dough (Pate Sucree) and in a way I was sort of eager to practice more with this dough– mainly because this was something I couldn’t do in my last pate sucree practical. Chef Cotte (despite his constant overbearing yellings) was kind enough to do most of the work for me.
This would be the second time we’ve worked with Sweet Pastry Dough (Pate Sucree) and in a way I was sort of eager to practice more with this dough– mainly because this was something I couldn’t do in my last pate sucree practical. Chef Cotte (despite his constant overbearing yellings) was kind enough to do most of the work for me.
However, I soon discovered why.
This dough is difficult to work with: it's tricky, extremely fragile and delicate. Anything besides a light, delicate roll would have torn holes everywhere (which happened to me often in this practical).
But thankfully I was able to fix it and my tart shell baked fine (except one which grew a big mound in the centre while baking – I had forgotten to place some holes in them!)
Aside from that, my tartelettes (after filling and garnishing) came out fine and chef commented on my well-accomplished work which really meant a lot to me. Sadly though, we weren’t given real gold leaves to garnish our chocolate tarts. Boo!
But thankfully I was able to fix it and my tart shell baked fine (except one which grew a big mound in the centre while baking – I had forgotten to place some holes in them!)
Aside from that, my tartelettes (after filling and garnishing) came out fine and chef commented on my well-accomplished work which really meant a lot to me. Sadly though, we weren’t given real gold leaves to garnish our chocolate tarts. Boo!
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