These are definitely the dog days right up in here. I woke up at 8 am -- LATE, given I usually LEAVE by 8am. It's been hard to sleep. Even with the AC on, the nights are restless. There are officially only a couple of classes left.
I rushed to get ready -- ironed my uniform, packed my bag, decided against bringing a carrying case for the cake we were about to make since it probably wouldn't fit anyway (better to try a make-shift one there). I made sure to bring the two drawings I had done for my final celebration cake project.
I ended up taking a cab down...which would have been fine except that because of the heat today I also took a cab home! It was just one of those days.
The heat was seriously unbelievable, both outside, and inside....because it figured, our freaking classroom AC was broken! On the 4th floor in 100 degree heat is always good times. Of all of the classes we've had -- fast-paced, multi-task-involved, etc. -- this was by far the most challenging for everyone.
We were making the Marjolaine.
Don't let the beautiful name fool you. She's a tireless chore of a cake. The fact that she tastes so lovely is only a testament to the hard-won efforts to get her to where she is today.
To shorthand, the Marjolaine is a classic, in fact famous, multi-layered cake. She puts all layered cakes I've ever eaten to shame with just one bite of her nutty, crunchy, chewy, chocolate-ness. "The marjolaine cake was created by Chef Fernand Point, one of the great creative geniuses of French gastronomy. His restaurant, La Pyramide in Vienne, was famous for a special cake named Marjolaine, apparently named for a special lady, but who she was remains a mystery. The cake was considered one of Chef Point's masterpieces. Years of trial-and-error experimentation went into its creation, not to mention pounds of ingredients, before he was satisfied that he had achieved just the right combination of tastes and textures and could serve it proudly to his guests. Marjolaine is a time-consuming cake to make, as there are many steps involved; good mise-en-place, advance planning, and organization are all extremely important." -- Essentials of Pastry Handbook, The French Culinary Institute
It is comprised of (in order from top to bottom):
1 layer nut meringue crisp
1 layer stabilized whipped cream
1 layer nut meringue crisp
1 layer praline flavored buttercream
1 layer nut meringue crisp
1 layer creme d'or (like a chocolate mousse)
1 layer nut meringue crisp
1 layer chocolate ganache
1 layer chocolate genoise, soaked with a hazelnut liquor
Mind you, we had to make each component. This cake literally took 7 hours to make and we could have used more time.
The rectangular cake was chilled then coated with a thin layer of the praline buttercream. Over that we glazed the cake with a chocolate glaze, scored the top with hash marks, then added toasted hazelnuts as a border, lengthwise.
Luckily for me, I've gotten quite good at construction of the "box" to bring these things home -- nary a mark to be found! Jedd thinks this (next to the chocolate mousse, also a top fave) has been his favorite creation from my class thus far. He better enjoy it while it lasts, because there is no way I'm making this thing anytime soon. It will take a far larger kitchen and proper AC ventilation before I try it again. (Imagine dripping with sweat yet trying to keep composure while layering this thing. Again, thank goodness for my brief but meaningful time in hot yoga class!)
Another bit of fun news -- my fearless partner in crime, the lovely Miss Red, has decided she is going to Pastry School full up at ICE, the same place I'll be going! She's also going on the weekends starting just a couple of weeks after I do in the Culinary program. Go team! Hopefully I'll be running into her once in awhile even though we'll be on different floors.
We have off next week for Labor Day, and Jedd and I will finally be taking a vacation together through the Smoky Mountains and down around the South -- our annual roadtrip! I'm missing the 3rd-to-last class as well, in which we're supposed to be doing a nut cake and practicing with fondant. The last two classes are all about the BIG FINAL CELEBRATION CAKE PRODUCTION! I have a final (or near final) design, but you'll have to wait and see!
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