fanny_the_fairy

Do you mean canelle as in cinnamon or canelés (small custrady pastries from Bordeaux)? cannelle: ca-neh-le canelé: ca-nəh-leh (ə being like euh) And btw, the last syllabe of macaron= ron, is pronunced like r-on (ON as in ONtario not turn ON the music).

Sometimes (and I mean once or twice a year, at max), I actually feel happy to be French. It makes the whole pronunciation matter a lot easier. If you need any help with French words, I should be able to answer your questions. Love xxx

I also noticed a flavour transfer when using the black silicon moulds. However, you don't get it with the orange ones. So ditch all the old black one and get yourself some new shiny bright orange moulds - I really like them for everything; from baking to freezing. xxx

Wow. At the laboratoire we only make 4 a day! Always wonder why because I just love cannelés and could eat tons of them. But then, maybe it's just me? Well thank you a lot Michael. That is very sweet of you. Seems we share the same favourites! Merci

Hi there, sorry for not showing up lately. I've been so busy (moving back to the south of france bc the shop is closing for a month and reading harry potter). Thanks for all the amazing info. This is why I just love egullet - so many passionate people at the same place sharing awesome thoughts. Love xxx - fanny PS somehow the quotes don't show properly; im sorry for that... did i do anything wrong? EDIT: thanks gfron for solving ths problem. Hi Abra, my pastry background is pretty... empty. I've never worked in a pastry shop, never took classes. I'm just passionate about pastry. As a second year student of a french ingenieur school I have to do a 10 week intership. Most students work for chambres d'agriculture or do research in labs... Being the stubborn person I am I decided I didn't want to do something I don't like so when Pierre Hermé sent me an email in response to one of the articles i had posted on my blog i jumped on the occasion and asked if i could be an intern at in pastry shop. And he said yes Thanks. I'll be posting the one about macarons soon. Thanks. Im blushing! Hi Jeanne, so it's already been said but my blog is foodbeam.com and I'm really happy because it's turning 2 today! Thanks (for the comment on foodbeam too). Thank you. I think it's an oven temperature problem - if the temp is too low at the beginning the cannelés will overflow. Though I need to check that. So I asked Anna about what she coats the mould with and apparently it's a sort of spray - which is a mix of oil and beeswax. Cant remember the name though. It might start with an A. I really have to check on that. Will keep you posted. Thanks John!

Im arriving home on Monday at 5pm. I can tell you that by 6pm these will be in the oven. They look fantastic. Soooo looking forward to monday! - fanny

Wow I decided to post over here in eGullet because I'm not aware so many people read my blog. Hope this thread will be useful though! Love - fanny April - I will have a look so I can tell you!

So I'm not sure whether you remember it or not but a few month ago I posted a new thread here because I was slightly scared with an upcoming internship. Now I am actually an intern at Pierre Hermé and I thought you'd like to have some update. Thanks for all the amazing feedback you guys provided!!! Love - fanny First week: Ispahan, Emotions, Sensations & baked treats Just one week after I arrived from New Zealand I'm already off to Paris for the long awaited internship at Pierre Hermé. After waking up at 4.30, I head towards the 15° arrondissement shop, enter the apparently empty shop sur la pointe des pieds. Where is everyone? Luckily I quickly stumble onto Sebastien, the morning team head chef, who gives me the locker keys. I can finally go downstairs and get changed. Hmmmmm the pâtissier outfit! While I was over-excited when I bought it because it represented the first step towards my dream, this outfit is anything but dreamy. Think oversized jacket, high-waist pied-de-poule pants and Pierre Hermé baseball cap; the most fashionable item being the shoes – white sabots. Honestly, who could look good wearing that? Well ok, some girls do but I don’t. And just in case I still had some hopes, one of the guys said 'oh mais fanny vous etes beaucoup plus belle comme ca, vraiment' [fanny you look way better with these clothes on] when he saw me leaving the building wearing my normal everyday clothes. He looked shocked, trust me! Once this first step is checked and I've understood how pointless it is to look at myself in the mirror, I can actually go upstairs and meet the chefs. Before that, I have to put an apron – well two actually: a cotton one and a plastic one; but this is only an anticipatory action as I know I tend to get quite dirty (and this is a total euphemism) when I cook. Then I arrive in the laboratoire, wash my hands and shake everyone's hands. At this point, I am completely lost. Who is who? Hmmm names, so many different names. Luckily, I'm quite good with names so after a few minutes I am familiar with everyone just like we've known each others for years. That's totally not true though, and the use of vous is here to remind it. Indeed saying vous instead of tu is like the first basic rule in the pastry shop survival guide. The second one being to say chaud [litteraly: hot] whenever you're carrying something (usually really heavy) and not necessarily hot, as the term suggests, and you don't want anyone to get in the way. Basically, chefs say chaud not to be gross and say 'dégage' although the meanings of both words are really close. Once this rule is mastered, you have to start applying it. And believe me it feels quite weird to yell chaud every other minute. Though, it appears to be quite useful because you don't want to spill 118°C sugar syrup on your boss, do you? Well some of you might - sometimes, but please before doing so you should strongly consider a career change and/or an escape from your country, a face makeover and a name change. By now it's just after 6am and I am awake (holly jetlag). Like not just awake – I am widely concentrated on everyone's moves and there are many many moves. In the morning team, everyone is here to produce all the cakes, entremets, emotions, yeasty treats... with the most dedicated passion. The variety of tasks makes for the most interesting job. While every member of the team is responsible of a specific area, I wander from poste to poste to help the chef do the tasks they can't do because of their super-extra-busy schedules. Thus in one week I got to do many different things: from sorting almonds to prepare candied lemon peels. I started by weighing the ingredients for the crème onctueuse au chocolat. This was straightforward and was the perfect task to give me confidence on the first day. However, I was quite – and happily – surprised when the manager told me to go with Simon to decorate the Ispahan entremets. The Ispahan entremets are definitely one of the it-pastries at Pierre Hermé, so I was really excited to know that I was about to decorate them. This part was overwhelming – first I had to arrange raspberries on the rose-flavoured buttercream, fill with chopped and fragrant litchis, and then decorate the top macaron by piping a drop of glucose on rose petals and then sticking them, along with some raspberries, on the macaron. Assembling the Emotions was also a great job. Emotions are Pierre Hermé's signature desserts presented in glasses and eaten with a spoon - well unless you like to lick your fingers! I had the chance to make both Emotions Mosaic (griotte jelly, pistachio jelly, pistachio mascarpone cream) and Celeste (rhubarb compote, fresh strawberries, passion fruit and mascarpone mousse, passion fruit marshmallows). These are entertaining to make (basically I piped a fixed quantity of jelly with a piston into glasses - see Sensations below for more details) and are really yummy. I must say I have a weak spot for the passion fruit guimauves, even though it was a really-teeny (don't want to sound like I'm complaining because I am not) pain when I had to separate hundreds of them and roll them in icing sugar. As you might imagine I was happy to get to make so many different things and I was really proud when they actually let me make a whole batch of Sensation Celeste. Sensations are glasses filled with different jellies and generally topped with a macaron. First, I had to make the rhubarb compote: gelatine, rhubarb purée, lemon juice and sugar, pour a fixed quantity of it into small glasses with a piston, and allow to set before doing the same with both strawberry and passion fruit jellies. On the same note, I also piped some banana and strawberry jelly into small round shapes for the entremet Désiré, which is totally delicious by the say. However, I couldn't do just what I had to and couldn't restrain myself from peeking here and there. Anna, who I didn't really get to work with, is responsible for all the treats that have to go through the oven step. Hence, she makes all the brioches, croissants and other yeasty treats. But she also makes the cannelés and millefeuilles. The cannelés are probably the best ones I've ever had: fresh, soft and fragrant. As for the millefeuille I picked a Mosaic millefeuille because I love the pistachio-cherry combination. This was a real winner: the slight tanginess of the griottes nicely balances the creaminess of the pistachio cream. I can't wait to work in the dough team because their feuilletage is excellent! Hopefully in two weeks... Next week: c'est la folie des macarons [it's all about macarons].

These breads look SO yummy. Definitely my inspiration for today.

Not that good actually. I don't know how the cake was supposed to be but it turned out too moist and moussy - at least in my opinion. I must try again - it might be the oven or ingredients I'm not familiar with as I'm studying abroad. Love - fanny

Hi thanks for the useful tips. I'm making it right now and will let you know how it turns out. Love - fanny

I'm planning on making Neil Perry's chocolate cake (recipe to be found here) and wanted to know if anyone has already made it before? If so, how did it turn out? Thanks... PS urgent response needed!

Hi there, i'm currently studying in nz and wanted to know if you guys know good places to eat or enjoy food. Thanks - fanny

Hi Robert, just to let you know i'm completely in love with this part of your website; it's so interesting and well explained. - fanny

I've just made a few things from or adapted from this book and they both turned out wonderful. The first thing is Pierre Hermé's chocolate and fleur de sel cookies otherwise known as world peace cookies. These were SO good and highly addictive. I've made them twice since then and ate them all in one row (well i tried to resist, but who could?) I've also made riz au lait. Didn't use Dorie recipe though. But her technique (= parboiling the rice for 10 minutes) gives such an outstanding result: not too starchy yet creamy. It's a real winner. (Recipe *here*) So thanks Dorie for the lovely recipes and great tips. - fanny

Hi Truffle Guy, thanks for your advice. I couldn't dream of something better. Thank you thank you thank you. - fanny

Hi there, thank you SO much for all the feeback. I really appreciate it. Truc - i will do my stage in France (Paris to be accurate) and will work there for 10 weeks. Mark is cooking - I will keep you posted for sure. As for the extra pounds, i already have to take care because of my foodblog. Desiderio - thanks for the sweet words. They really help me. K8memphis - thanks for the thread. It's very interesting indeed. Artisan baker - will start praticing the OUI CHEF from tomorrow! Love, - fanny

Hi Shane, thank you so much for your answer. That's pretty much what i needed to hear (well, read actually). - fanny

I will do a 10-week training period in a top-rated french patisserie next summer and i'm starting to feel a little worried about it. Pastry is a real passion for me but i have no professional experience so i'm getting scared i will only do the washing and other 'non interesting' things. I'm actually ready and aware i WILL have to go through this phase but i wish, on the other hand, learn from this practical. Has anyone of you ever done a training period in a patisserie without having experience? What should i expect? - fanny

I've never came across strongly flavoured tahitian beans. It's true that they have robust flower smell but definitely not a strong vanilla flavour. It's funny to see how two species from one genus can be so different. - fanny

Hi there, it seems i'm fond of vanilla at the moment. And I am willing to discover more about this spice (first question - is it a spice?). What are your favourite vanilla species? Why? And what's your favourite use for each type of vanilla? Here are my answers: La vanille du Mexique – Vanilla planifolia It seems logical to start with mexican vanilla as it’s considered to be the ‘mother of all vanillas’. Indeed, the first vanilla crops were found in Mexico where the Aztec would call it tlixochtitl - black flower. Back to the kitchen, Mexican vanilla is creamy and sweet with woody undertones and has lots of seeds; which makes it perfect for uncooked puddings: from blanc-manger to ice creams. La vanille de Madagascar – Vanilla bourbon (though, scientifically Vanilla bourbon is the same specie as Vanilla planifolia) This one is perhaps the most sold over the world. I guess its strong and rich vanilla flavour and its fat pod are the reasons for this success. I am myself a self-proclaimed addict of bourbon vanilla – I throw it in nearly everything and the results are always lovely. Especially with baked goods; while with other vanillas the flavours can be altered by high temperatures, the strength of bourbon beans makes for a beautifully perfumed cake/bread... La vanille de Tahiti - Vanilla tahitensis I have a strange relationship with Tahitian vanilla – although it’s very different from the two species mentioned above I really like it. Do you think the fact that my mother was born in Papeete has got something to do with it? The pods are short and very plump (due to high water content – almost 35%) and have a pleasing floral and fruity fragrance. In few words: perfect with fruits – as part of a glaze brushed over the juicy berries of a tart or in syrup poured over a freshly-baked baba to serve with a dollop of whipped cream and caramelised pineapple slices. To round up this, I thought it would be nice to add a little picture of my favourites bourbon beans from madagascar: Thanks to all of you who will take some time to answer all my questions. - fanny

That's funny because i'm just writing a post about vanilla for my blog. I will include: - descriptions of my favourites vanilla beans: mexican, bourbon and tahitian - a recipe for Pierre Hermé's Emotion infiniment vanille. Here is a little tease: It's basically (from top to bottom): - vanilla chiboust (well, i know that the original Emotion calls for creme de mascarpone, but i forgot to buy mascarpone and thought a chisboust would work well, adding creaminess to the whole thing) - baba infused with vanilla syrup - light vanilla 'gelée' With this 'entremet' you really get what it's all about: VANILLA. Simply perfect to allow vanilla to develop a full and satisfying flavour. - fanny

Pretty normal you haven't seen it before as it's typically British!!! - fanny

Today I had a delicious Corsica entremet from my favourite patisserie in Toulouse: La Bonbonnière. - mousse aux marrons avec des éclats de marron confits [chestnut mousse with candied chestnut chunks] - bavaroise au whisky [whisky bavaroise] - dacquoise aux amandes [almond dacquoise] It was delicate and perfect for the holidays. ((Read more about La Bonbonnière on my blog or on eGullet France)) - fanny

Hi Robert, sorry for the lack of info. Golden syrup is thick inverted sugar and is sold under the Lyle brand. - fanny