After nearly two months off, I was excited to be back at Le Cordon Bleu and start Superior. I felt good and a little bit rusty being back in the kitchen, but luckily the first two lessons were an overview of what we learned from Basic and Intermediate. Thus far, the hardest part about Superior has been working with new practical groups. During the first two terms, our practical groups more or less stayed the same. For six months we worked with and next to the same people which allowed each group to find its own dynamic and rhythm. The shuffling kind of threw me into a loop, but I’m sure it’ll just be a temporary challenge.
Lesson 1: Baba au Vieux Rhum
I’m not a big fan as soaked bread and rum aren’t really my thing, but I had fun making it. The baba is a type of brioche and the syrup, in our recipe, was flavored with grapefruit and orange. Most often, baba au rum is served with whipped cream or chantilly, but we served ours with vanilla pastry cream.
Lesson 2: Tarte Créole
I loved this tart for its mild but tropical flavors. Inside the tart shell is a coconut mousse and a thin layer of a savoie sponge cake. On top is a piped layer of Italian meringue and Malibu macerated pineapples.
Stella says
Oh, wow. This brings back memories! Not, of course, of living in Paris, but of culinary school and learning all these new and wonderful desserts! I’ll relive vicariously with you now! 🙂 Cheers!
Michelle says
The tart looks really delicious! Now that I’m following you on bloglovin, I get immediate updates!
Vivienne says
the tarte creole looks incredible! yay your last term!
guess what, i’m thinking of enrolling in LCB myself now…this year..but in sydney of course! 🙂 i could only dream about paris lol.
how have you found the whole experience? im still deciding atm…thinking i could prob use the money to buy expensive kitchen gadgets and a library full of cookbooks to teach me stuff…haha instead of paying the expensive tuition for that certificate. do you think the experience there is worth the price tag? hehe
Jessica says
Vivienne- That’s great! I think going to school is definitely worth it with you can spare the extra cash. Learning hands on from experienced and good chefs is invaluable and something books can’t offer. It also gives you the opportunity to work with restaurant style, industrial equipment that is too expensive or inappropriate for a home setting. There’s something really different about working in a professional kitchen vs your own home. The setting, space, and as I mentioned the equipment, are designed for baking only, so it is definitely the ideal situation to learn in. Hope this helps! Let me know the ongoing status of your decision!
Vivienne says
hey thanks so much for your quick reply and helpful advice :))
i guess now then ill need to figure out ‘why’ i want to do this…do i want to work in commercial kitchen one day/pursue this as a career? or is it just a hobby/something i’ve always wanted to do? what/where is this gonna lead to etc…
thanks again – will def let you know the decision 😀 its a huge one…coz it means quitting a ‘new’ job and moving back home! 😉
A Little Yumminess says
Good luck! Looking forward to your mouth watering creations!
babycakes says
holy cow. tropical fruit, mousse, meringue…. i die. you know i never really liked meringue until i tasted the little piece they gave along with my coffee….of course… French meringue is completely out of this world. oh and inside the mont blanc- WOW. haha im not a fan of soaked breads rhum cognac etc either. that baba cake looks so funny and cute hahaha cant explain but it makes me laugh. and i like the name.
Crazy Sweet Life says
Wow. These desserts look absolutely fabulous!
hungry dog says
Lovely as always. I’m not a big fan of alcohol-soaked cake either but that does look very pretty. But the tart is the scene stealer! YOu had me at “malibu macerated pineapples.”
Information Resource says
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just
wanted to say superb blog!