Jan 18 - Jan 21

The first thing we did this week was finish off the caramelized orange gateau which we had started off just before we left for christmas. All I had to do was slap on some apricot glaze (all over, including the sides so that the biscuit didn't dry out,) and make a marzipan rose.
I brought this gateau home (I don't bring home much,) so I got to see how it worked out and what I would change the next time. My biscuit layers were too thick, so I should have either spread the batter thinner, or cut the layers in half. I also should have taken more attention to the composition, because the bottom layer of mousse was thicker than the rest of the layers. It still looked nice, and customers still would appreciate it, but technically, it wasn't as good as it should have been. Oh well; all things to remember...


Next, we had a lemon meringue pie to do. The pastry had to be blind bakes, and then filled with a cooked custard-type filling, topped with meringue, and then put back in the oven just to colour. Not everyone read the recipe properly, which was pretty obvious when you looked at how long some people were blind baking their pastry for (mmm, raw pastry!) I hadn't made this in a long time, so it was good to do it again. I still messed up a bit though, overwhipping my meringue. But it still got good reviews: I had to bring this home for my flatmate to bring to his brother's house, and I was relieved to hear that everyone liked it.