BPA Basic Cakes and Tarts Summation

Going into the baking and pastry program, I was extremely excited to expand and go more in depth with the knowledge that I had just brushed the surface of in Baking and Pastry Fundamentals and the Ad anced Baking and Pastry classes in the two year Associates in !ulinary Arts program"

In the first half of this class I learned about how to make, torte, crumb#coat and ice torted cakes properly" I learned about the three basic types of cake preparation$ creaming for cakes, %#stage cakes and sponge cakes" I also learned about the different types buttercream icing$ American, &wiss, French and Italian and how to make them" 'hat surprised me the most was the different textures and mouth feel of each indi idual buttercream" For example, the American buttercream was ery gritty and o erly rich in fla or, but the &wiss buttercream was much smoother and lighter in fla or" I also learned about the different finishing techni(ues such as piping rosettes, clam shell borders and how to properly cut a torted cake depending on the amount of people you are ser ing" In the second half of the class we learned about tart construction and the different components of each" )he different dough*s +pate sucree, chocolate tart dough or sin,er dough-, fillings +chocolate ganache, lemon curd, frangipane or pastry cream- and the finishing ingredient +cro(uant, meringue or almond gla,e-" I also learned about the different accompanying sauces and was introduced to the idea of plate painting and designs" I really learned a lot about torting, icing and decorating cakes in this class" I think these are ery important skills for a pastry chef to ha e" I know I still need to impro e upon my

piping skills and that it is an ongoing process to impro e myself" )he tarts part of the class was more of a refresher course, but I find that I enjoy making the tarts much more than making, torting, icing and finishing the cakes"