Demonstration 12: Le Gateau Moka
Le Gateau Moka: a double or sometimes triple (depending how generous your baker feels) layered cake of tongue-tingling delight – in other words (to be a tad bit crude) an oral orgasm of another, purely non-sexual sort.
Le Gateau Moka: a double or sometimes triple (depending how generous your baker feels) layered cake of tongue-tingling delight – in other words (to be a tad bit crude) an oral orgasm of another, purely non-sexual sort.
Le Gateau Moka: Coffee Cake.
The better kind: light and velvety coffee-infused French butter cream sandwiched and slathered all over layers of thick, soft, air-like genoise sponge-cakes that are, in turn, steeped in deep aromatically seductive coffee syrup and finally sprinkled with fine roasted nuts.
I envy how the piping designs come naturally to the chef as he works
The genoise-sponge cakes out of the oven and piping hot!
Oh yeah, for all you coffee-aficionados out there…
This baby is the REAL. DEAL.
A slice of this darling here is what makes coffee time a tea-time paradise. Sitting down to enjoy a nice cup of GOOD brewed coffee, completed with a soft delicate sponge coffee cake that is neither too sweet nor strong.
In fact, it is just right.
For me, at least, my coffee world just became brighter.
Mind you, this cake is definitely not something I’ll have with my coffee ALL the time, EVERY time.
That’ll be like death by overkill - some things are meant to be enjoyed through rarity. This is one of many other things I’ve learnt from the French. And trust the French to know one or two things about the etiquette of dining...
Actually about food. Period.
The art of dining - something I think the French have mastered generations ago. It’s not something they learnt but rather, and I envy them for this, something that’s become second nature to them that it runs through their blood!
This art is the very thing that makes a French person eating their boeuf bourginon or cafe-ing with their friends, even eating their tarte tatin look so chic, so classy, so sophisticated... so FRENCH!
Dining in France is a luxurious experience - something that is meant to be relished...
In the case of Le Gateau Moka: it goes like this...
It’s the time where the moment you slice into the heavenly cake with your shiny fork, the world and time evidently stops. You carry your piece of cake and lift it to your lips.
This baby is the REAL. DEAL.
A slice of this darling here is what makes coffee time a tea-time paradise. Sitting down to enjoy a nice cup of GOOD brewed coffee, completed with a soft delicate sponge coffee cake that is neither too sweet nor strong.
In fact, it is just right.
For me, at least, my coffee world just became brighter.
Mind you, this cake is definitely not something I’ll have with my coffee ALL the time, EVERY time.
That’ll be like death by overkill - some things are meant to be enjoyed through rarity. This is one of many other things I’ve learnt from the French. And trust the French to know one or two things about the etiquette of dining...
Actually about food. Period.
The art of dining - something I think the French have mastered generations ago. It’s not something they learnt but rather, and I envy them for this, something that’s become second nature to them that it runs through their blood!
This art is the very thing that makes a French person eating their boeuf bourginon or cafe-ing with their friends, even eating their tarte tatin look so chic, so classy, so sophisticated... so FRENCH!
Dining in France is a luxurious experience - something that is meant to be relished...
In the case of Le Gateau Moka: it goes like this...
It’s the time where the moment you slice into the heavenly cake with your shiny fork, the world and time evidently stops. You carry your piece of cake and lift it to your lips.
You pause: the slight whiff of dark tantalising coffee syrup oozing into the air and eventually breathed in. The visual seduction of soft spongy layers, buttered with rich delicate buttercream and coatings of brown fine-roasted almonds.
The world is at a pause. Sounds are drowned out. And then, ever so slowly, you place it in your mouth...
Immediately textures and tastes explode onto your palate: soft sponge cakes against crunchy roasted nuts, thick smooth buttercream against infused flavours of coffee...
The world is at a pause. Sounds are drowned out. And then, ever so slowly, you place it in your mouth...
Immediately textures and tastes explode onto your palate: soft sponge cakes against crunchy roasted nuts, thick smooth buttercream against infused flavours of coffee...
Oh yeah, trust a pastry student to describe how the experience of food-tasting is like...
Unfortunately for us students, along with this concoction of delightful textures and flavours comes the complications of preparing the cake itself: fragile, temperamental and extremely difficult (PLUS TIRING) to work with. The hand-whipping action was double than previous practicals - it was worse than hand-whipping the egg whites to stiff peak...
But as Chef Cotte says: “It is all about confidence”
Chef Cotte telling (and depicting) to us students about the importance of confidence when dealing with fragile cakes.
Which I think is true for most parts of the practical, until it came to piping designs on to our cake. This was the moment that I believe my confidence faltered... and I hestitated... half way through decorations... which is not good.
But at least, it came out ok in the end... if not a disaster.
But at least, it came out ok in the end... if not a disaster.
My gateau moka
As Chef Walter says: “C’est pas mal...”
Chef Walter and evaluation of cakes at the end of class
Oh and best part? The end of the day: we finished our practical early and most of us had produced "well-made" cakes, much to the pleasure of Chef Walter. To my happy delight, we also started making these:
DOUGH??
I know: you're probably thinking WTF is that?? Well, it's dough... we prepared dough for our next practical where we will be making these:
uh huh, oh yeah baby. We're going to be making Croissants!! :)
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