gibfalc

There are some seminars coming up in August in Atlanta called Pastry Live. The web site is pastrylive.com

There are some photos of the National Championship posted at http://www.pastryprofiles.com

I recently had the opportunity to help organize the Sugar Art Casting Challenge . It is a Sugar casting competition for students on 1 day and professionals the next. The nice part is that the students get to assist the professionals in the professional division. I was wondering if there was any interest from e-gullet members to participate in an event like this in the future?

Hi You need to find out exactly what category you are competing in. Then go to acfchefs.org and download the rules for that category. In general if this is a normal ACF competition i would say that taste will be close to 50% of your score. there will also be alot of your score devoted to how you work and your workspace. You need to work cleanly. Your finished cake will only be part of your score. good luck

Try brushing on some mycryo while the shell is still warm this way you get a thin but very protective layer that is almost flavorless. This works very well

Fluid Flex is a brand name for a emulsified shortening used mainly for hi ratio cakes

I DO NOT recommend doing it but magnets run the safeties. If you stick a magnet in the very back where the middle of the 3 plastic tabs would be if it was in place the mixer will work without the cage. Please remember the safety is on there for a reason.

I thought the seminars were excellent. I did not expect to learn much but I learned lots. Not only were they informative but the level of professionalism exhibited by the chefs and their willingness to share techniques and ideas was awesome I came back really charged up. As for the competition I had some problems being so far away from the competitors it is hard to see what they are doing despite the best efforts by the carymax people trying to describe what is going on. Maybe they could have more screens and instead of all the screens showing the same thing they could possibly show different kitchens on each screen. The showpieces were absolutely awesome. I have seen or been involved with competitions since the mid 80's and I cannot believe how far the pastry field has come in this area. The photos just don't do the work justice. I was taking photos with a chef who has competed in the coupe du Monde and he was completely blown away. We both couldn’t stop taking photos. As for the Belgium team returning their medals, I am not surprised. At one point at the awards ceremony when the announcer said let’s hear it one more time or team USA. Someone standing about ten feet away from me with the Belgium flag on their jacket screamed out --- holes, and stormed out of the room. It was really an awkward and not to mention embarrassing moment. The Belgium Teams pieces were awesome and they did do a great job but I can't imagine with all those judges scoring on all those categories that it wasn't legit. Taste is still the most important score and the USA team apparently won that decisively. Their showpieces were awesome as well. There were at least 4 or 5 chocolate and sugar pieces that were great. I thought the entire forum was outstanding and I will go out of my way to be there again. Sorry I didnot get to meet with some of you but I had the family there and I wanted to spend some time with them. PS I thought the french team really took some chances with there plated dessert and the style of their centerpieces. I thought it was a departure for them. any comments?

I would also like to ask if you are refrigerating the cake. The humidity could soften the fondant and cause it to sag.

I just wanted to chime in on the cocoa powder discussion. I believe that Dutch process (alkalized) or (regular) non-alkalized will affect the leavening power if you are using baking soda in the recipe. You should use the type that the recipe calls for. I would also comment that I do think the brand of cocoa powder will also affect the taste.

Thanks for the reply. The class sounds very interesting and I’m sure invaluable for any baking and Pastry students. If you don’t mind telling me, how long was the class and how far into your Baking and Pastry program did you take it? Was this a mandatory class or was it an elective? I would love to get a class like that going at my school.

I would love to know where you had this class and what specific topics you covered.

I actually am not that sure what the CIA teaching style is. I have taught in 2 Culinary Schools at different times during my career and CIA was not one of them. You should know that I was really comparing the book to what I have used in the past before. When getting an associates degree in Culinary Baking and Pastry is just one small part of what you study. I was relating the book to an introductory Baking and Pastry Course. Pastry is just a small part of getting a culinary degree. Many of the students go on to other specific areas of culinary arts. Unfortunately most students do not specialize in pastry. If you go on to be a line cook or a hot food chef for example what you will learn about pastry in school is enough to give you a solid basic skill set. There is no real specialization. We do have an advanced Baking and Pastry program that is much more in depth. This book would not be good for that class. Because of the accreditation needed to grant a degree most schools have to follow the same criteria. When I went to culinary school I remember sharing notes with a friend who had just graduated from CIA. We might as well been in the same class, our notes were almost identical. As for specific recipe reviews I’ll wait until I find one that is special. As for the technical aspect of this book it is somewhat limited but does cover the topics it must. Usually the chef will elaborate on the rest. There is a fairly new book out called How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science that is probably worth a look. As for the sorbet and ice cream recipes they are pretty much straight forward. Not a lot of balancing going on.

I teach Culinary School and I think the new CIA book is quite refreshing. The book is layed out in a way that is easy to follow and contains enough good recipes to amply cover each area of study. I have tried 5 or 6 of the recipes and they seemed to be right on. The fact that there are no variations of the recipe is part of what I like about it. Too many students get confused when they have to go back to the original recipe and change 2 or 3 items.I know some of the items might be outdated but compared to Professional Baking this book is miles ahead. I particularly like the Chapter on Chocolates and Confections. It covers a variety of recipes and contains much more information than any book in its category. The chapter on Décor, basically sugar, chocolate and wedding cakes all rolled into one, although somewhat limited, does cover more than enough information than is needed in an introductory pastry class. Remember this is a school textbook. Is this a book that I might buy if I were a Restaurant Pastry Chef? No. But when compared to other textbooks it is by far my favorite. I have been teaching from Professional Baking for over two years and I wish I could switch to this book tomorrow.

Just wanted to post a few things that I know about mycryo. Mycryo is cocoa butter that is frozen while it is being sprayed.The freezing process sets certain crystals first and leaves you with the desirable Beta crystals. By adding the beta crystals at the correct temperature they form the proper chains and leave the chocolate in temper. To use mycryo you should 1. melt the chocolate to 104 - 113 2. Let the chocolate cool to 94. 3. Add mycryo at 1% of the weight of the chocolate. 4. Stir in well 5. Hold at the proper temperature 89-90 for dark 85-86 for milk etc... A few more uses for mycryo . It can be brushed on warm tart shells to create a protective barrier. Unlike gelatin it is not affected by enzymes therefore making it another choice when working with certain fruits. As mentioned in another post it can be used as a vegetarian substitute for gelatin. I have also seen it added to chocolate and cocoa butter to make the mixture more stable when spraying showpieces.