MY CROISSANT PRESENTATION

Yesterday was quite an exciting & busy day ... Croissants Galore! We used dough prepared from 2 days earlier as they need refrigeration to make the lamination ie pastry layers more mangeable. We made one for plain croissants, the other for croissants with fillings. The difference is in the eggs, the former without, the latter with eggs and BOTH dough have 500g butter in the recipe. Now you know why they taste so yummy! I was worried as one of my dough has 'crocodile back' ie butter fragments formed in between the layers because they were too cold when rolled. If the dough fails one might as well kiss everything else that follows goodbye. Luckily that did not happen, after I let it sit at room temperature per advice from Chef Michael. I was relieved. Hey, you may laugh but you just do not know how a single piece of badly rolled pastry dough can cause distress in a bakery, until you have one in your hands. Ask my classmates about that worried look on my face yesterday. Encouraged, I went out of my way and ended the practical session with a big tray.

Plain classic ones at the top, ham & cheese on the left, dark chocolate ones that look like Danish pastries on the right, those heavenly savories down the middle are delish, especially the oozing cheesy crusts that stick to the pan, and lastly the mini-versions with marzipan, an old style sweet almond paste filling, at the bottom. It was a fun mix and a real feast for a Saturday afternoon. To my novice-in-training palate they all tasted alright, if one does not scrutinize the lamination too closely which, we were told, the examiners will look for at Assessment in the Vol-au-Vent & Bouchees cases.

BTW the beneficiaries of this buffet (Metro staff, the Kim family who handles my laundry, my friends at the neighborhood cafe) had nothing but praises. I need their encouragement to face my destiny next week.