Japonaise Gateau Meringue Production

We are getting closer to the final exams and we now have made each of the products that make up your assessment tasks.

As the Japonaise is part of your assessment I have included as many pictures as possible to show you how to build the gateaux. Remember planning is a key component to your success in an exam, ask me if you are having problems or are unsure what the expectations are prior to week 18!!




Ensure when you start the Japonaise you have all your ingredeints ready to go, remember the egg white will need to be reconstituted with the recommended amount of water. Take care not to overwhip the egg whites. Be careful not to fold the dry ingredients too much or you will lose a lot of the aeration in your product.

Carefully pipe the meringue discs for the Gateaux, remembering to allow space between the discs. Pipe the remaining meringue onto a baking tray as this will be used for masking.

Your assessor will be looking at not only that you have used the correct method of production for the meringue but also correct piping techniques and work practices.

Meringue based products.

Already this semester we have made several different meringue. These included a cold or French meringue and an Italian Merinue. In todays lesson we made the Pavlova, the great debate continues as to whether it oringated in New Zealand or Australia but they certainly looked appetising.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlova_(food)

What did we learn? We discussed in class they following points:

• Preconditioning the egg whites to 27 degrees celcius is ideal for aeration of the eggs.
• Egg whites that are whisked to long will seperate, this results in the protein coagulating and the water content escaping, the whites will have a grainy texture. In a batter this will result in the egg whites losing their ability to aerate adequately.
• A French or cold meringue as it is sometimes referred to is unstable, this means it will collapse quickly once it has been aerated.
• Swiss meringues are more stable then a French meringue due to the partial coagulation of the protein in the egg when heat is applied and enables the sugar to dissolve more readily.
• An Italian Meringue uses a sugar syrup where the syrup is heated to 118 degrees celcius and then added to the whisked egg whites. It is the most stable of all the meringues.

Click on the following link to learn more about Meringues:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meringue

Orange Competition

Hi All, wanted to say well done to all those students who entered the BRI Baking Show, your enthusiasm should be commended. The next show is in Sydney in November, I would like you all to think about what you would like to do for the next competitions. This is a great opportunity for you all to get support and assistance from your teachers here so I hope you all will rise to the challenge.