Baking Class – Weeks 3 & 4

Things have been a little hectic around here between work, Project Sunshine volunteering and baking class. I’ve had such a blast the past couple weeks and here’s a little catch up summary:

Week 3 of baking class was so far one of my favorites! We made éclairs, profiteroles and swans.

For all of these fabulous pastries we used Cream Puff Dough or Pâte à Choux. Pâte à Choux is one of the basic French pastry doughs. It can be baked, deep-fried or poached and is most commonly see in éclairs, fritters, cheese puffs and many more. I was able to share these wonderful pastries with great friends watching the sunset on a NYC rooftop during a 75 degree October night.

The week following was a whirlwind! My dad was in the City for business and we were able to have a wonderful dinner at Locanda Verde in TriBeCa which I would definitely recommend. The meatball sliders were amazing! I volunteered as a Book Buddy for Project Sunshine where I spent time with children in a hospital around Union Square and read with them for a couple of hours. I went to CT to walk along the beach, have some lunch and catch up with friends. Also, once of my oldest friends moved back into the city and we were able to celebrate with a house-warming party! That finally brings me to the 4th week of baking class…

During this past weeks class we made puff pastry, finished our quiche lorraine and started a Reine de Saba cake. So far throughout the weeks of baking class, there is nothing we’ve made in the class that I had tried before on my own. All of it was new, interesting and I was very intrigued. This was the first class where I’ve made something several times before coming to class and that’s the Puff Pastry. If you recall, I’ve used puff pastry to make my Rugelach so I was very interested to learn about any tips and tricks. There were several tips I learned for incorporating the butter, the correct texture of the dough before the butter is incorporated and how to know when it is just right. Puff Pastry is tricky because the butter and the dough must have the same level of strength. If the butter is too hard it will break through the dough and if it is too soft it won’t form the layers throughout the dough. So this was a great way for me to test out what I already know with the tips of a professional and I was very happy with the result!

Now I’m off to an enjoyable afternoon in the sunshine with great friends and some Shake Shack ice cream!

Check back soon! I might be surprising a coworker with one of her favorite desserts soon, and next week in class we’ll be finishing out the Reine de Saba cake which you won’t want to miss!

Enjoy!