Cutting and Piping and Arithmetic

It was a pleasant surprise going into day 3 of pastry school to find out not only were we going to practice piping chocolate, but we were also going to start baking. But, like the science that pastry arts is, some math had to be done before we could start getting our hands dirty. Our class started off by learning how to fold and cut parchment paper to then assemble cornets, or paper cones in French (say it with me, cor-nays). You may be reading this thinking, “why would anyone spend valuable time learning how to cut parchment paper?” Well, pastry chefs use parchment paper every single day. They use cornets to pipe finer icings and melted chocolate, to get that teeeeeny tiny tip just right. And no, it’s just as easy as cutting a piece of paper. Scissors are not always handy to a pastry chef, but wanna know what is? A sharp paring knife and an offset spatula. So that’s what we did– we sliced parchment paper in half, then in half again, and then diagonally to create that classic “a squared plus b squared equals c squared” triangular-shaped piece of parchment.

Lesson 1: I’m not very good at cutting parchment.

We then learned how to properly fold and form them into these adorable little cones.

Lesson 2: I’m semi-okay at making cornets. You have to wrap them tight enough so that you cannot see out of the tip. NO teensy little hole is to be apparent until your cornet is filled with chocolate and ready to be piped. Speaking of which…

Lesson 3: I’m pretty good at piping chocolate, eh?

We then went into a brief exercise converting: grams to cups, quarts to gallons, tablespoons to teaspoons, you name it. This is all essential information to know as a pastry chef. My brain is just going to have to get used to using mental math again.

Lesson 4: A large egg weighs about 50 grams!

Our Chef instructor (Jenny McCoy, she is legit) demonstrated how to make ginger snaps and then put us to the test. This was probably one of the simplest cookie recipes I’ve come across, but they were damn delicious. When 10:00 rolled around, we were each sent home with a box of cookies, a container of chocolate and parchment paper to practice making cornets and piping. I can’t wait to play pastry chef at home!

Sugar, Spice and Everything ICE

Tomorrow, I embark on a yearlong journey as a pastry student at ICE, the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. I’m looking forward to so much, like how to make sourdough bread and puff pastry; how to temper chocolate and sculpt a wedding cake; how to craft a perfectly risen souffle and the creamiest pudding.

       Excited to have my name on chefs’ whites

It’s going to be a big change for me, queen of the 9:30 bedtime, to be leaving work and heading straight to school from 6 to 10 pm, but a change that should be well worth it. I’m hoping for new friends, a good network of professors, a well-deserved appreciation for the pastry arts and that my pants will still fit by the end. I think I can guarantee all the above… except maybe the last one. Stay tuned!