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I had good intentions, let's start there. I felt like I heard angels sing when I put it together in my head that I love Mexican Hot Chocolate and I love pudding (and making it!). Voilà - I'm going to make Mexican Hot Chocolate Pudding! It's so obvious.
Well, my first attempt wasn't so great. First, I was using a new recipe, that I had to make several ingredient substitutions on because I didn't have enough of a few of them. Also, my Mexican chocolate's use-by date had run out. And I wasn't exactly sure what substitutions to make when swapping out regular chocolate to make it Mexican.
Well, it was a start. And I have the feeling I'm going to obsess until I've figured it out. So look for future posts!
This is my Final (plated dessert with all kinds of marks I had to hit: sugar work, custard needed to be involved, at least three textures, at least 2 temperatures, etc.). Here it is: Butterscotch pudding with pine nut rosemary shortbread cookies, caramel sauce and whipped topping.
I got my first gig! That is, my neighbor friend asked me to make a couple of banana cream pies for a shower she was having at her house. I was so honored and excited!! I made two banana cream pies, one traditional with a graham cracker crust, the other with butterscotch pudding and a traditional pie crust. I think they turned out great! I could use a little practice on decorating and finishing, so that will be a fun task for the future!
This week was custards, bread pudding and ice cream. I made creme brulée, chocolate pudding and bread pudding. It's funny, I have made all of these desserts before, which sort of made me wonder if taking a class on these is really worth it. But then I realized, it is because I have made these before, that I'm going to get so much more out of this. I always question what I'm doing during preparation, or during cooking (how fast should this be coming to a boil? when is it ready for the next step? what is the best technique? what are some of the tricks?). So, being in class, I was able to ask those questions in real time. Super helpful.
The creme brulée and bread pudding were great. But the big surprise was the chocolate pudding. Oh my! I would never have chosen to make it on my own, nor would I be likely to order it on a menu, but WOW! Done right, it is so decadent and delicious. Forget that Jello stuff. It had a depth of flavor that made me think there was liquor in it, even though I knew there wasn't. I know we used good chocolate, but I don't think it was anything terribly extravagant. It must have been the technique! The pudding was so dense with flavor, a little went a long way. Thankfully, there were leftovers to take home. Every night, a heaping spoonful was a great sweet treat after dinner.
A couple days later, I was sifting through my recipe cutouts, and I found the recipe for Butterscotch Budino from Mozza. One of the best things I've ever eaten in my life!! I remember reading over the recipe a year or so ago, thinking it sounded so difficult. After Baking 2 Class though, I reread this recipe and the technique was the same as what I had just done. Easy, really. I can't wait to make Budino at home!
