BAKING AND PASTRY TECHNIQUES

May 2, 2013

 

Even though yesterday's pies were incomplete, we moved on to cakes first thing.  Just like yesterday, today was an extremely stressful and busy day in the kitchen.  

We started by making a high ratio yellow cake.  This is mixed using the two-stage method, which is named because the liquid is added in two stages.  It is high ratio due to the high ratio of sugar and liquid compared to flour.  It also requires that an emulsified shortening be used so that it will hold more sugar and liquid without curdling. I tasted the batter before we placed in the oven.  This is usually an indicator for me whether the cake will taste good when it is finished baking.  It was not flavorful but had a smooth texture.  After the cake were baked and cooled, we placed them in the freezer for decorating next week.



After putting the yellow cake in the oven we moved on to Orange Chiffon Cake.  This cake is made using the egg foam/chiffon mixing method, where egg whites are folded into the batter.  We baked this on sheet pans for rolling the cake after it is baked and cooled. 


While the Orange Chiffon was in the oven, we made the Orange Italian Buttercream.

After the Orange Chiffon Cake was cooled, we spread the Buttercream on the cake and rolled it into a tight log.  We covered them with parchment and placed in the freezer for completion next week. 

As we didn't complete yesterday's pies, we also made the meringue to complete the Lemon Meringue Pies and completed making the Fruit Tarts from the sweet dough and pastry cream. 

Lemon Meringue

Fruit Tart

Apple Pie and Lemon Meringue Window Display