My Life As A Pastry Student: Finals-DONE!

Hello ya'll!! Well, I made it through my second lab class! It was a such a great experience, and I got the A-!! Chef told me it's the highest grade any of his students have earned in long time. Totally awesome feeling!!

Here are the pictures of my final baked goods...

Bear claws (puff pastry dough filled with almond cream)

Croissants

Side note: For both of the recipes above I used Plugra butter. Regular butter has 80% butterfat, about 16% water and the rest milk solids. Plugra butter has 82% butterfat, which doesn't sound that much different, but it is!! First of all, it is twice the cost of regular butter (so the school only got a case of it to use) and because it has less water, it results in more flavorful and flaky product (like with puff pastry and danish or croissant dough). I don't know if it is available in the regular stores, but if you find it, try it out for a pastry recipe and see if you can tell a difference!

Gluten-free cheese bread (I had a little too much of a crust on the bottom, but the chef was happy with the flavor and the adjustments I made to the recipe)

Pumpkin quick bread (didn't have as much flavor as past times I made it, might have been the pumpkin I used that was about 6-7 days old after opened from the original can, which is about the limit)

Rustic bread (mix of bread, whole rye and whole wheat flours). I tried to make clovers as my design since it was close to St. Patty's Day =)

So, now I am on Spring Break for two weeks (I know, I'm totally spoiled!!). I have been working at the hospital at the end of the week, but otherwise been hanging out and enjoying my time off.

Went out on St. Patrick's Day and had a few of these bad boys!

Had some sushi over the weekend at this really good restaurant in Grand Haven called The Harbor (about 10 minutes south of Muskegon). They have a great menu (check it out!)