Progress in the form of cake

It's already Week 5 of my cake decorating class - time to start practicing on a real cake instead of parchment paper. My roses are getting better; a week ago they were a runny mess. Decorating is so precise and requires a lot of patience - and I none to speak of prior to taking this class, so it's helped me with that.

After class, someone on the elevator asked me what class I was taking and when I told him he said: "Cooking is an art, but baking is a science! You have to follow the rules." I think that's why I like it.

Another big butter tart

Chocolate Pecan Pie involved the same chocolate pastry as for the Maple Walnut..Pie and also the same filling - with the exception being that pecans were used instead of walnuts and raisins. The top was drizzled with melted chocolate...prettier than the previous pie, but I preferred the taste of the other one. I think walnuts and raisins worked better with the filling than the pecans. Also, the drizzled chocolate made it even sweeter than it already was - maybe a bit too much. I would love to use this filling along with the first pie dough I learned, to make butter tarts.

Longest pie name ever

Maple Walnut Raisin Lattice Pie is like a big butter tart with a chocolate crust. This was the first time I made a chocolate pastry dough; it's soft and sticky and needs to be handled carefully. The recipe is simple: butter, sugar, salt (these 3 creamed together); eggs, vanilla (added into mixture); flour and baking and cocoa powder (sifted together and added to mixture) are combined and then refrigerated for half an hour. The filling is SO good: brown sugar, cornstarch (blended); plus, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Graham crumbs are sprinkled on the crust once it has been rolled out and placed into pan - they help absorb some of the filling so it doesn't soak through the bottom of the pie. The walnuts and raisins are then placed on top and the filling poured over and baked at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

In other news, I think I've put on a few pounds.

I need to go to Boston

They make a good pie and the shopping is tax-free. Boston Cream Pie is one of those recipes that I'm glad I had someone to show me how to make it as it's a bit daunting: sponge cake, pastry cream, chocolate icing and the assembly make it pretty time-consuming. First, sponge cake (eggs, sugar, bread flour, plus a bit of salt, vanilla and lemon emulsion) is baked and set aside to cool. I've made pastry cream before (for fruit flan); milk is brought to a boil and then a mixture of sugar + cornstarch and eggs + milk is added to it until it boils again. Once removed from the heat, butter and vanilla are added and this is set aside to cool. Whipped cream is then folded into the mixture. The chocolate icing is made with white fondant, pure chocolate and water over a double boiler.

To assemble, the sponge cake is cut into two layers and filled with the pastry cream. The chocolate icing is poured over the top and vanilla icing (white fondant, water) is piped over the top and a paring knife is used to make the design you see in the top photo. Finally, the edges of the pie are covered with piped whipped cream. Yummy - I especially loved the icing...reminds me of Chocolate Dip donuts from Tim Horton's.

Breakfast pie

I love quiche: it's breakfast and dessert all in one. The dough for this Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche included the same ingredients as the previous pies: pastry flour, water and salt - but with the addition of bread flour, an egg, and butter instead of shortening. This dough was rolled out slightly thicker than a standard pie and pre-baked until lightly browned.

The filling was a simple mixture of eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg poured on top of the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and chives spread over the pre-baked crust. Baking time is 40 minutes at 350 degrees. I will definitely be making this again...maybe spinach and cheddar next time...mmm...