His Emperor - Napoleon!

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make napoleons. I didn't include recipes with this because it's a lot to type right now. I used pre-made puff pastry, but I did make the diplomat cream and glazes from scratch. I made two half-sheet pans of pastry which gave me two napoleon logs.

Start with one sheet of puff pastry, thawed and unfolded. Use flour or parchment paper to roll out to the size of the sheet pan. I cut a piece of parchment the size of the pan and used it as a guide to roll out the pastry. Silpats can be used instead. Dock the pastry generously.

Cover pastry with another piece of parchment, then put another sheet pan that is the same size over top of the pastry. This will prevent the pastry from rising too high in the oven and promote even baking.
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees, then take pan and parchment off the top and return to oven for 7-10 minutes to allow the pastry to brown. It should look dry and flaky. Yum!
Trim the edges of each pastry and cut into three even rectangles.
Place one rectangle on a piece of cardboard. Avoid using a plate if it has any curve to the edges as the pastry is very fragile and will break off if not placed carefully on a very flat surface.
Pipe a dam of diplomat cream around the edges of the first layer of pastry. I piped it twice to make sure it would be tall enough to hold all of the delicious cream.
Fill in the dam with diplomat cream and smooth.
Repeat with second layer of pastry and place last on top. The cream will more like ooze out around the edges even with use of a dam.
Use a spatula or flat knife to scrape the sides. Try to get the extra cream off without breaking the edges of the pastry.
Wrap both logs tightly in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. I put the logs in the freezer unwrapped for about 10 minutes to get it to firm up so that I could wrap it without making a mess. You can use a spatula to transport it to the plastic wrap.
After freezing overnight, take logs out to thaw for about a half hour. You shouldn't try to glaze them if they are too cold because it will cause the glaze to harden too quickly and make it difficult to get a smooth top. I used scissors to cut away the plastic wrap to prevent damage to the logs.
Get your glaze ready. I used the same glaze for this as I do my cream puffs so I didn't show how to make this. Just refer to my cream puff tutorial. I put the white glaze in a piping bag and cut a small tip.
Use a spatula to spread the chocolate glaze over the napoleon. Try to get it as smooth as you can. My napoleons were still a little too cold and made this hard for me. Then pipe lines with the white glaze and use a paring knife or toothpick to drag through the lines, alternating directions, to get a nice design.
Here is what it should look similar to. You could always pipe the lines smaller and closer to get a finer tuned design.
Place the napoleon back into the fridge or freezer to firm it up, then cut into slices.

“If you feel you have no faults, that makes another one.”

-Unknown

Cake Cruise 2009

My mother and I just returned from Cake Cruise 2009, Mexican Riviera cruise with Holland America. We saw presentations from Colette Peters, Susan Carberry, Norman Davis and Zane Beg. I took classes with each of them. We visited Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was great to get together with other cake decorators and talk about cake!

The cruise ship above and my mother and me in Mazatlan below.

Me with Colette Peters.

Me with Norman Davis and Zane Beg.

Me with Susan Carberry.

“Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.”

-Unknown

Whipped Cream & Chocolate Glaze

I know I said in the Cream Puff Tutorial that I would post the whipped cream and chocolate glaze instructions, too, so here they are:

Chocolate Glaze:

First melt about 1 cup of chocolate chips. I used semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.

Next whisk together:

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

5 tbsp butter (I used salted)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp water (add more if you need it)

You should get a nice glaze

Next pour glaze into melted chocolate and whisk.

Depending on how cold your chocolate has gotten, it might have clumps, which is okay, because you will be putting it over a double boiler and it will remelt.

Place bowl over double boiler (pot of simmering water) to keep warm while dipping.

Whipped Cream

Before hand, put bowl and whisk in fridge or freezer to get cold. Make sure the bowl and whisk are spotless and grease-free.

Pour heavy cream (or manufacturer's cream) into mixer, start mixing on low and gradually turn up to high to prevent splattering.

Whip cream until stiff peaks. We use stiff peaks because we want the cream to hold it's shape inside the cream puffs.

Add 1 tsp vanilla and granulated sugar to taste (I used 1/2 Cup because I like it sweet.)When it's finished, cover with plastic wrap or foil and place in fridge until you need to use it. When you're ready to use it, you can pipe it out of a piping bag with pastry tip or use a handy little contraption like the Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro, shown here.

Note: Unless you use a stabilizer in your whipped cream, which I didn't, anything with the cream in it will have to be refrigerated until ready to eat.

“A deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple.”

-Unknown

Here Cookie Cookie..

So in light of my future Flash class assignment, I had to make a variety of decorated cookies. I made a baby bottle, wedding cake, princess crown and snowflake. I also baked a birthday cake shaped cookie but haven't decorated it yet because it won't be used on the assignment so it can wait. I did very simple decorations because these cookies are being used in a tutorial assignment and I wanted them to be easy. I did do a little piping work on the wedding cake cookie but I couldn't help myself. Well, here they are..

“When you find a job you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life.”

-Unknown

Cream Puffs

Cream puffs with whipped cream filling and dusted with confectioners sugar.

Cream puffs with whipped cream filling and chocolate glaze.

“Some pursue happiness — others create it.”

-Unknown

Cream Puff - The Magic Dragon

Here is a tutorial of how to make Cream Puffs, shown above.

For the pate a choux (pat-a-shoe), or the cream puff dough, you will need:

1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp salt (I used salted butter and therefore omitted the salt)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 Cup Water
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour (sifting not necessary)
4 Large Eggs

Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine butter, salt, water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to rolling boil over medium heat.

As soon as the rolling boil begins, dump in all of the flour, all at once.

Stir vigorously.

The batter will begin to pull away from the sides and clump into a ball.

Put into stand mixer. You can use a hand mixer if you choose.

Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding another.

When the batter is fully mixed, it should have a shine or gloss to it.

Prepare your piping bag and large round tip. You can also spoon the batter onto the pan.

Place parchment paper onto the sheet pan/cookie sheet.

Pipe round mounds of batter onto sheet pan. I swirl it before pulling bag away to prevent large points from forming.

Fill sheet pan with evenly spaced mounds. I made mine 1 1/2 inches wide.

Place in preheated oven. Bake 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, DO NOT TAKE OUT. Turn temperature down to 375F and leave in for additional 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your cream puffs. You are trying to dry out the insides and create a hollow shell.

Once they are baked, cut them open. The inside will still be a little "doughy". Take a fork and scrape it out.

Now you are done with the baking process. I will post the chocolate glaze and whipped cream tutorials soon.

“There is only one rule to become a good talker, learn how to listen.”

-Unknown

Fall Is In The Air..

Today was a crisp cool day, which means Fall is finally here (in San Diego, that is). The scent if the wind reminded me of my favorite holiday - Halloween!

My girls and I have a playdate tomorrow, and since it is a potluck, I volunteered to bring cupcakes, of course! I used a fabulous recipe from the Cake Bible for an All-American Chocolate Cake, and my cupcakes baked beautifully and fairly even. I tried a new buttercream recipe from the Cake Bible as well tonight and I am happy with the results even though this particular buttercream would never work for a white wedding cake, because it's not even close to white in color. Since I was planning on coloring it orange anyway, it didn't matter much and it is delicious. It tastes more like a cream anglais than a buttercream, which I like. I topped them off with mini chocolate chips. I hope tomorrow is another cool day!

"May the best from your past be the worst of your future.”

-Unknown