Josey Gregg CAS Blogs

There’s nothing quite like cutting into a beautiful cake only to be delighted by the elegant and perfected layers inside. That is the experience I attempted to replicate with my Opera Cake today. Also known as a Gâteau Opèra, this sponge cake alternates layers of joconde, French buttercream, and dark chocolate ganache. Then to top it all off it is covered in a chocolate glaze to give it a beautiful smooth finish. The first element that needed to be completed was baking the sponge cake. After whipping the egg whites, and combining them with the flour and other ingredients I had a single layer that went in the oven. The cake is quick to bake because the layer is relatively thin, but it’s probably for the best so that with so many layers people don’t go into a food coma after eating too much. While the cake cooled I prepared the coffee French buttercream and the chocolate ganache and let them also come to room temperature. Both of these needed to be spread very evenly on the cake, so havi...

Each week at our school, a 2 week interum term is offered giving students the chance to do an in depth focus on any of the many unique courses offered. They also have the opportunity to design their own courses and pursue their interests, whether by doing this individually or as a group course. Desiging a course requires finding resources to use to delve into a topic, finding experts to connect with, and planning what will take place each day. This year I decided to pursue my own individual a-term, where I would study the history and evolution of French patisserie, and also learn the skills and techniques required to master these culinary confections. To begin, I found an advisor to oversee the course, and I had meetings to plan and make sure I would meet all the standards required for a project like this. I spent several days researching peer reviewed sources, scouring amazon for the best book, and also finding complex recipes and helpful tips for mastering them. Eventually I had soli...