CACS Day 2: Meringues and Ice Cream

Sans Rival

Day 2 of our classes was more interesting and exciting. A few of us can already cook, a handful already knows how to bake. But none of us has certainly made ice cream. And it was ice cream day in class. YUM! We were supposed to make meringues and ice cream.

Our group was assigned to make:

• Coffee Ice Cream
• Kiwi Sorbet
• Sans Rival
• Pavlova

We started with the mise en place, of course. By then, we already know our way around the kitchen. To make things easier, Rose prepared some sticky notes of the ingredients of the different recipes which we placed on different trays. This really helped us in dividing out kitchen space and organizing our containers and ingredients.

Coffee Ice Cream

Since there was a rush to use the ice cream churner first, I hurriedly made the Coffee Ice Cream with Earl. My group decided to add extra kick to our ice cream since we all love coffee and alcohol. We put in a few more tablespoons of coffee powder and a couple of tablespoons of Kahlua. Mmm… We were able to use the churner right away and our Coffee Ice Cream turned out grrreat. Everybody loved it. Ice cream is not that hard to make, but you have to have a churner.

Earl with the Pavlova

After the ice cream was done and the Kiwi Sorbet ingredients were prepped, we proceeded to making the Pavlova. All the while, I thought Pavlova was a soft, airy pastry. Turned out the thing I thought to be Pavlova is actually Canonigo. FAIL! Our Pavlova was a sweet, crunchy base that was topped with tarty and sour fruits. We gave Earl the opportunity of decorating it since it’s his dream to be a food stylist. YEY! GO EARL!

Making a Meringue

All the while, Rose and Kristoffer prepared our meringue wafers made of egg whites, sugar, and cashew nuts for our Sans Rival. All groups were tasked with making Sans Rival, but we were the first one to have it baked. After the wafers have been baked, we let it cool. While it was cooling, Chef Agnes helped us prepare the buttercream icing. It was a heavenly but very much calorie-filled combination of sugar, egg yolks, and butter. Since we have had too much sweets for one day, we decided to divide it up and bring it home. My cousin says it’s very, very gooood.

Things to remember when making sans rival or meringues…

• Be careful when folding so that the meringue won’t break down.
• Prepare the buttercream icing only after the wafer is cooled down so you can bring it all together right away. If the buttercream stays out too long without being use, it breaks down.
• Use fresh eggs. Make sure the egg whites doesn’t have any yolks on them.
• Store properly. Freeze, do not refrigerate.

And when eating them, don’t think of the calories, enjoy it wholly. But don’t eat too much.

Canonigo also known as Floating Island

Kuya Bong also prepared a Kiwi Sorbet but it was too late to wait for it to churn so we’ll know the verdict on that one this Saturday. Hope it’s another good one, coz our group hasn’t produced a bad product yet.

CACS Davao Batch 9 with Chef Agnes

It was an easy and fast session. I think it will be the easiest one ever. It was also probably our class’s last day with Chef Agnes. She handled the class well and didn’t really give us a shock while introducing the basics. We will definitely miss her.

Up next… more pastries: quiches, pate brisees, and more.