Think of the Waiter Who Will Carry The Plate

This week is free-form, with requirements. By Thursday, we have to submit for tasting: 1) a baked custard, 2) a gelatin-set dessert, 3) a churned frozen dessert, and 4) a made-to-order (warm) dessert. All must be plated and decorated. In addition, we have to submit a "fantasy dessert menu" on Thursday, and on Friday we have to contribute something baked to the Last Day Buffet. We also have a written final on Friday.

Chef Judy talked today about dessert sauces, and we made a bunch of them: creme anglaise, chocolate, caramel, sour cream and lemon sauces, and a variety of coulis (raw fruit sauces): kiwi, mango, guava, cassis, and the like. She demonstrated the making and use of a paper piping cone, and we practiced writing "Happy Birthday" with melted coating chocolate. We also had to make five similar filigrees of chocolate: little decorative shapes that can be placed on a dessert. Mine were leaves.

We made tuile dough and caramel dough to use for stenciled formed cookies. Chef showed us how to form dessert cups and little cookie curls for garnish. We have lots of "stuff" to use when putting together our desserts, so we used most of the morning today to begin strategizing and preparing. Very much like the last week of Garde Manger.

After I wrote Happy Birthday David, Happy Birthday Adam, and Happy Birthday Joseph a whole bunch of times in chocolate, (the "D" is definitely the biggest challenge), I made the base for my ice cream (cinnamon). Then I ruined it by setting the bowl of warm spiced sugar and cream into a bowl of ice water to cool it down, per directions — but the ice bath was too big and deep to hold my bowl. I thought to myself, "Oh, it'll just balance in there," seconds before the top bowl tipped and filled up with ice and water. Had to throw the whole thing out. And there wasn't enough time to remake it today, so I'll have to do it tomorrow. Stupid. I did manage to make a couple of dozen crepes, which I'll use later in the week for my "made to order" dessert. I'm thinking of something with caramelized bananas in an orange sauce. Flaming, maybe.