Slacking, Somewhat

I know I have been slacking on updating my blog, but I like to think this is with good reason.

If life was not already hectic enough, between work, my externship and still trying to have some semblance of a normal, 20-something year old life in Manhattan - I've launched my own website.

Why did I do this, you might ask? Well, as soon as I finished the classroom portion of the ICE pastry program, I was asked to design and produce several custom cakes by co-workers. I loved designing and making cakes during the program - and I was more than happy to fulfill these requests.

But I decided I wanted a place where I could start showcasing my work and direct to-be customers towards in the future.

Thus was born "Dolcetto Confections". "Dolcetto" is my favorite Italian word, which is actually a type of grape, meaning "little sweet one".

It is still very much under construction, but I wanted to introduce you:

http://www.dolcettoconfections.com

Prosciutto & Cheddar Biscuits

Arriving home much earlier than anticipated, due to the date mix-up at Gramercy, I faced a question I had avoided for the last half year - what's for dinner?

I was feeling pretty worn-out from my cold and a little homesick. So it was time for some serious comfort food. I picked-up the ingredients for chicken noodle soup and biscuits on my way home.

As I opened up the refrigerator, I discovered a bit of cheddar cheese and prosciutto left over from dinners the previous week. Hmmmmm.

I shredded up the remainder of the cheese and chopped the prosciutto, adding them to the biscuits just before adding the milk.

They were a yummy variation on an already solid recipe. Cheesy, salty deliciousness.

Assembling the Wedding Cake

I was very pleased with how my wedding cake turned out for the ICE Pastry graduation reception. When I began thinking about this final project, way back in July, I decided I wanted to create a cake fit for a sophisticated October (my absolute favorite month) wedding.

This time, I remembered to take photos throughout the assembly process, so you could all see how the components came together.

This was a two-tier wedding cake, one 10" tier and one 6" tier. After the cakes were filled with buttercream spackled and, I covered each tier with rolling fondant I had colored to the perfect shade of ivory. Five dowels were placed in the bottom tier, to support the weight of the top tier.

After centering the top tier, I added the a beautiful fall, brown ribbon around the bottom of each tier.

Then it was time to add the piping, which I did in an ivory royal icing.

Finally, to bring the whole piece together, I completed luster dusting my foliage and assembled two bouquets of oak leaves, acorns, mimosas, five-pedal flowers and calla lilies.

For me, the bouquets really took the cake from pretty, but plain to something really special and unique. I was pleased to have achieved the colors I desired on each of the elements.

I very much enjoyed the entire process of this cake, from the initial research and design, to shopping for the perfect elements and finally putting it all together. It really was a rewarding experience to take a vision and see it become something tangible - and tasty!

Pastry School Graduation

After six months of long nights, hard work and lack of sleep, school came to a close last Thursday night. While I still must complete my externship before I receive my diploma, ICE hosted a small reception to celebrate the end of classes.

The biggest draw of the evening was the presentation of our wedding cakes. We each created our own design and assembled our creations over the previous few evenings.

After munching on the hors d'oeuvres and sipping the champagne, we received our chef hats as well as Nick Malgieri's newest book, "The Modern Baker".

I shared the evening with Mike and we enjoyed each other's company while breathing a sigh of relief - the end of this crazy schedule was finally within reach.

The next morning we began a four-day weekend, which we spent relaxing in Virginia.

Final Countdown

The last week of pastry school is here. My calendar is crammed with things not to forget to do in between all the due dates and exams this week offers.

I am excited. Unlike graduating from high school or college, my excitement for what the future holds is not at all bittersweet.

I have been looking forward to beginning my externship at Gramercy Tavern since August. It has the promise of something new and exciting. A tangible piece of evidence that perhaps my somewhat crazy dream to turn a passion for baking into an actual career was not in vain.

I am stressed and my body is trying really hard to fight off being sick. But as I packed up my bag (a daily adventure of packing gym clothes, sneakers, school uniform, makeup bag, lunch, dinner, snacks, coffee and wallet) and looked desperately at the clock telling me I was running late, Mike held up two fingers.

I stopped and smiled. Just two more days of class.