Hot hot hot~~~

Hey my lil sweet things... its been awhile! Been busy having exams and then exploring the city with new found friends :) Its been a crazy week as we wrapped up our tarts and cookies module. I got to meet Jacques Torres, we had a fire evacuation at school, our very first written and practical exam, not to mention the tons of tarts and cookies baked since I last updated, so lets get started shall we?

 Let begin with the Chocolate Bavarian Cream Tart, light smooth creamy Bavarian cream finished off with rosettes of whipped cream and Gianduja (hazelnut) chocolate curls

 Here we have my first attempt at latticework on a pie! We had to work extra fast as the spiced Linzer dough is very tender and the intense heat of late doesn't help

 Out of the oven: Bubbly freshly made all natural raspberry jam filling

 Realised that I never take a sliced shot so I took one when tasting the pie when I got home... yum.

 Here are the makings of quick apple tartlets with the first use of caramel~ We poured caramel into the base of tartlet molds and then placed sliced apples on top along with a sucree dough hat to cover the apples

 Hint: Be very careful when unmolding molten caramel.

 You have been warned.

 I must admit, these were not my favourite somehow, but I hear the large ones are better so we shall see...

 Our second caramel of the day went into the making of this wonderful caramel walnut tart

 A very light crumb with a crunchy toffee nut centre... I was surprised at how the tart did not come out as sweet as expected! It was delicious.

 Yes, you saw right, its BACON BABY!

 Chunky thick cut bacon fried up to perfection... oh the smells that afternoon...

 Topped off with freshly grated Gruyère cheese

 Yes. It was good.

 Here we have some dried cherries soaking in a bath of warm orange juice. What are they for you ask?

 Well fudgy brownies of course~ Silly~~~

 Unfortunately we did not get to try these brownies as we had to evacuate the building due to a fire alarm. The 5th floor keeps smoking badly for some reason...

 Its not everyday you see this many chefs on Broadway!

Here's a couple of my classmates posing for the camera as we waited for the danger to clear~

Oh yes. The dreaded written and practical exam. I may have passed but I wasn't pleased. Here is my tray for the practical exam. Ganache tartlets, Bourbon-Pecan cookies and nut tart

Right now I'm coming to you from the furnace that is NYC... spending the day walking for hours in the hot sun may not been the best strategy afterall... waiting for the day to cool off.. please cool down. *pants*

xoxo