Who is a pastry chef

Studying to be a pastry chef means getting a solid educational foundation and the opportunity to give yourself to creative impulses. Knowledge and experience will help you create amazing desserts that are as delicious as they are beautiful. So what is the inspiration? New solutions are sure to come if you regularly improve your skills at top pastry schools, browse specialized publications and get acquainted with the works of outstanding masters of their craft.

The ideal way to find a place in a professional environment is to take a professional training as a pastry chef at one of the world’s gastronomic institutes. Employers especially expect graduates of Le Cordon Bleu (representation on five continents), Swiss Culinary Arts Academy, French Ecole Ducasse and École Ritz Escoffier, Italian ALMA and Food Genius Academy. Pastry chef diploma holders of these schools have extensive knowledge and experience of real practice in the kitchen. Reputable professionals are responsible for teaching, and students work with quality products and on modern equipment, which is installed in Michelin Guide haute cuisine restaurants. The best pastry schools offer intensive, exciting internships that make graduates high-class pros.

Cherpumple Dessert

It’s actually a cake that combines three recipes for apple, pumpkin and cherry pies. They are stacked in layers on top of each other, with a frosting made of cream cheese in between. The dish is served in Los Angeles establishments, including many casino clubs, perhaps the reason why land-based casinos in Los Angeles are more popular than online casinos. The dessert was invented by culinary experts in 2009.

Layers are stacked and baked inside a spicy piece of dough. Once you try this dish, no visitor will not forget its incredible taste. But you should remember that such a dessert is considered very caloric, and after eating it, it can add up to 1,800 calories.

Chacotis Dessert

This dish was invented by Lithuanian culinary experts, and the name is translated as “branchy”. The dessert is very caloric because it contains a lot of eggs. Also, butter, sugar, cream and flour are added to it.

The dish appeared long ago, in the 15th century. Legend has it that the priests for Easter brought a lot of eggs from the parishioners, and they did not know what to do with them. For this reason, they came up with such a dish. To make it, you need to take up to 50 eggs per 1 kilogram of flour.

Croquembouche dessert

Croquembouche is an incredibly beautiful dessert, served on a dish, has the form of a tower. The dish originated around the eighteenth century in France, and it is still often served at weddings today. Croquembouche is a decoration for every occasion.

The delicacy is made of profiteroles, which are stacked on top of each other to form a tower. The elements are fastened together with caramel, and the top of the tower is decorated with exquisite strings, also made of caramel.

Moti balls

This is an unusual dessert, originally from Japan. The dough is made from just a few ingredients, flour, water, and sugar. You get a viscous mass, in which you can add food coloring, and make balls of different colors. The dough is prepared in the microwave oven.

From the finished dough you need to make a cake, in the middle of which a small amount of ice cream is placed. Then the edge should be pinched, the dish should be lightly sprinkled with flour and the balls should also be dusted with flour. You can store them in the freezer, or you can serve them immediately. Repeated freezing of the dessert is not recommended.

Deep-fried Chocolates

The dessert was invented long ago in Scotland, because that’s where the idea of creating deep-fried candy came from. It all started when one day someone decided to fry a Mars bar. Since then, fried candies have appeared in fast food establishments.

At home on their own, anyone can prepare a similar dessert. You just need to make a liquid batter, dip the candy bar in it and fry. It should be remembered that the delicacy is excessively caloric, and can significantly affect the figure.

Cupcakes in the form of a frog

Probably many people know that the symbol of Australia is exactly a frog. Therefore, local cooks have long been invented an unusual dessert – a cupcake in the shape of a frog. Since the first time the dish was invented by culinary experts, nothing has changed in the recipe. It is still being made to this day, following the recipe.

The inside of the cupcake consists of biscuit dough, and the top is drizzled with delicious fondant. Originally, chefs made only the standard green frog color, but today you can find cupcakes in the idea of red, brown, or pink frog.

All of the sweets have an unforgettable taste and flavor. Having tried them once, every tourist will want to return to try the unusual desserts again.

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The places to work for the bakers and pastry chefs

If you are a baker, then the first and obvious choice to look for a job would be at a bakery. The baker’s job often involves early mornings. We all love to come to our favourite bakeries early in the morning, just to buy that bread, baguette or bagel while it’s still warm and fresh. This means that a baker would have to come to work way earlier before the opening hours to turn on that oven and bake that fresh and warm bread. But not all bakers work in bakeries. Some work in wholesale bakeries, where they are preparing items that can longer stand on the shelf. Others work in restaurants or cafés, making bread for lunch or dinner if a restaurant has a demand for its own baker. And let’s not forget about those who open their own bakeries.

Now let’s see about the pastry department. We may notice that often the baking and pastry terms are grouped together. Yes, they do have a lot in common, but they are not the same thing. The pastry is not about baked goods like a bakery, but about a more wide range of desserts. So for the pastry chef, the more obvious choice is to work at a restaurant, or a café, where a pastry chef will be able to create a dessert menu and make plated desserts. And this territory is almost limitless. It is hard to imagine a restaurant without desserts and pastries. And there are also tons of big 4- and 5-star hotels, resorts, and casinos (those who play online casinos won’t be able to taste the magnificent deserts though) which have their own restaurants and branded pastry shops. And of course, there is always the option of opening your own business. Thanks to the internet, you can now cook and bake in your own apartment, make it on video, upload it on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, get thousands of followers and make decent money with that.

The places to work for the confectioners

Who is a confectioner? Confectioners mix and cook chocolates, shape sweets and lolly-pops etc. They have to follow strict rules and recipes to the letter, weigh and mix ingredients, and combine, dissolve, and coat confectionery in chocolate. They have to maintain the equipment, make sure it is clean, control the temperature of pressure cookers, check the consistency of products during the cooking process etc. They usually work for large manufacturers with big factories that produce tons of candies and sweets every day. They can also work for small, private companies or niche confectionary shops.

Confectioners mostly work with different types of machinery, especially at large factories.

But this industry is not limited only to the baker, pastry chef and confectionery professions. There are many other professions. Did you know that there are dough makers? It is a person, who is responsible for preparing dough for bread, pies, pastries, biscuits, cookies and other baked goods. How about a chocolatier? A chocolatier is a specialist who makes desserts and confections out of various types of chocolate. These could include truffles, fudge, bonbons, chocolate bars, and more. They may also make intricate centrepieces of chocolate moulded into animals, flowers, and fruits. The next one is a cake decorator. This special position includes icing, frosting, candy, fondant and other decorations to make visually appealing designs.

And there is an outstanding profession – wedding cake baker and designer. These professionals specialize in wedding cakes and this is a niche within bakery and pastry. Wedding cake bakers must not only know how to bake a perfect, layered cake, that should be soft, juicy, creamy and sweet but also design it and make it unique for every single wedding, which is always a special and unique occasion.

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Pressed flowers

Whenever you attend a wedding, you will notice how many flowers there are in the decorations, starting from the venue design and ending with the bride’s floral crown. Flowers have always been an unconditional part of any wedding as they bring lightness, simplicity, and elegance to the event. And wedding cakes were no exception, including flowers in the decorations. This year, however, many people have noticed a tendency of showing pressed flowers as a decoration for the cake, since it shows your unique style close to bohemian, and has a unique approach for floral decoration. You can find very elegantly and sleekly decorated wedding cakes with pressed flowers that can work perfectly with the theme of your wedding.

Deconstructed Cakes

Tiered cakes are the classic type for this occasion. And based on how many people you invited for your special day, the number of tiers can increase. However, in the latest years, many partners pay more attention to deconstructed cakes, which makes them much easier to cut, and you can have more creative ideas for their decorations. Since the deconstructed ones are single-tier, it is much more convenient to decorate them with various kinds of decorations that are similar to each other yet uniquely different.

Acrylic tiers

Those who want to keep the traditional multi-tier cake for their special day can have a unique approach to the tiers and make them with clear acrylic. This will bring more elegance to the cake, as you can decorate the clear acrylic tier with flowers, lights, fruits, and other decorations, making the cake more elegant and classy. This can be very unusual for the guests, and it can certainly be one of the main topics of the wedding.

Bold ideas

If you want something very unusual that will show your bold individuality, you can check for a similar cake. This way it can resemble your personality and individuality. You can choose from different kinds that many specialists offer, starting from bold colors, different types of tiers, nude cakes with fruits, or even metallic-colored cakes. Just like anything else at the wedding, the cake should also reflect the couple. And if the couple wants to show a bold statement, this kind of design is surely something to consider.

Sculptural cakes

Whenever you have reached the stage of choosing what type of cake to have at your wedding, the sky’s the limit. You can choose from hundreds of options. The sculptural wedding cakes have become one of the most demanded designs for this year’s wedding, as couples want to have something spectacular that will amaze every guest at the event.

Personalized Cookies

Many people who don’t want to have the traditional wedding cake opt for beautifully designed cookies or cupcakes that can be personalized for each guest of the wedding. This can add a personal touch to your event and each guest can not just have a piece of cake, but they can get a beautifully designed personalized cookie or cupcake. Most of the time, the cookies have the names of the guests with other simple decorations that match the theme of the wedding day.

Sugar Flowers

The last trending wedding type on our list includes sugar flowers. We have previously talked about the pressed flowers on a wedding cake. However, sugar flowers also have a lot of interest in wedding cake design ideas. This kind of design mimics natural and simple floral arrangements. However, instead of using real flowers, you can use sugar flowers that can have the same elegance and classiness.

The bottom line

We can speak about various wedding cake designs for days. However, it is important to keep in mind that regardless of the design of your wedding cake, everything on your special day should symbolize you and your partner. Starting with the venue you choose for this special event and ending with the decorations you want to have on the cake, everything should reflect your individualities. That is why it is considered one of the most special days of your life.

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Having a business plan is the first step to your goal

Of course, thinking about opening a bakery seems a pretty straightforward task. However, you will need to dig deeper into the topic and have your business plan and approach that will lead you to the opening of your business. To have a complete business plan, you need to have a summary of the business, your company’s overview, and what it will offer. Additionally, you will need to have market research to see what’s happening in the market of your area for similar businesses and have your management plan as well as marketing and financial strategy. Having all that information in your business plan, you can start thinking about the further steps that will take place once you understand how everything should go.

Get a funding

Starting any kind of business requires money and finances. And not everyone can afford to find something from scratch with cash. That is why most businesses start with loans or other capital. For you to understand what offers you can get from loan companies, you can compare them on various platforms.

One of them is called smalan-norge.com, which allows people to compare lending companies, their offers, and criteria. Keeping this in mind, you need to know that your business plan can also help you in getting the required loan. Many loan companies provide different offers, interest rates, minimum loan budgets, etc. One of the lending companies called Centumfinance has special business offers, which you can find here https://smalan-norge.com/centum-logg-inn.

Another one, called Arcadia Finans, offers lower interest rates. You may check this link https://smalan-norge.com/arcadia-finans-norge-logg-inn. This way, when you find the best loan company that meets your requirements and provides the most beneficial offer, you can apply for your loan with the business plan you created.

Get all the required licenses

Depending on the country you want to open your bakery, you need to follow the rules and have the licenses to start your business. Especially if you want to start a baking business that is related to food, you need to have your papers in order. Make sure to check all the required licenses and documents for you to be able to easily start your business and have your permits complete.

Buy baking equipment

Once you get your funding and are ready to start the business, you will need professional baking equipment that will help you bake all the delicious treats for your customers. Depending on what you’ll be selling to your customers, you will need various pastry supplies, mixers, scales, and many other things. It is important to make your calculations and have everything that is required to start your baking. Apart from the baking equipment, you will also need storing, displaying, and cleaning equipment. So everything counts, and you need to have all the essential things that are a priority.

Find a place and set the design

Finding the best place is always hard. Depending on your location, you need to check the most suitable place for your bakery. Make sure to check if there are any similar bakeries nearby or what other specific places can be in the area that would sell similar pastries or bread. When you find the right place for your bakery, you need to think about the design and the interior of the place as well. This is the most fun and enjoyable part when you can see that everything is almost ready and you need to make the final touches. It is important to have a specific theme or style for the bakery. You can have it to your choice and taste. However, looking for inspiration on the internet never harms. You can look for design and interior ideas that will perfectly match the bakery theme. Whether you want to have a simple and minimalistic bakery, or a modern and contemporary one, the design and style of the bakery will be the first impression of every customer.

The bottom line

Starting a business is a tough and competitive task. But if you are determined in your goals and want to have your dream job, there is nothing that can stop you. Having a baking business is a great start for something better and bigger. And if you are afraid of getting lost on the way, you can start with small steps and have everything done at home. And whenever you feel that you are ready, you can start expanding and growing your business into a bigger project.

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How to put nozzles on a pastry bag
Beginners often wonder whether it is necessary to use an adapter before putting on the nozzles on the pastry bag. It depends on the purpose of the application:

• if you’re using one color of cream, you can take the nozzles without a special adapter, putting them directly on the cornet cut;
• If you use several colors or nozzles (you create decorations of different shapes), you need to use an adapter.

Such adapters are usually included in the kit in such variations:

• standard – universal, for decor;
• large – for nozzles used in decorating cupcakes.

Install the nozzle and replace it on the fixed adapter is very easy.

How to use the nozzles
Figuring out how to properly use a pastry bag, you should first of all become familiar with the specialization of different nozzles. There are a number of techniques that allow you to create beautiful flowers, spectacular waves and other decorative elements. Let’s consider them in more detail:

Round tubes allow you to achieve the following results:

• dot patterns, a variety of ornaments and inscriptions are made from smooth round tubes with a minimum diameter;
• mushroom stems made of cream or meringue are deposited from nozzles with a medium diameter;
• the filling of profiteroles and eclairs, the creation of custard buns is done using products with a maximum diameter.

Carved tubes are used to create quite original and interesting decorations:

• fixtures with a small diameter allow you to create subtle, detailed patterns with the use of buttercream: so you get basket weaving, small flowers, elegant ornaments;
• Medium sizes are needed for decorating cakes with ornaments;
• The larger sizes are for whipped cream or whipped cream.

Here’s how to work with a pastry bag to form rosettes and beautiful waves with carved tubes:

• Rosettes are created by squeezing the cream in a circle; several of these rosettes make wavy ribbons;
• Waves are created by raising the tip of the nozzle directly while squeezing, after which, continuing to press, the tip is lowered to the same height again – such movements are repeated in a circle.

Floral decorations are created in several ways:

• using the nozzles “magnolia”, “rose”, “buds” you can create florets or openwork waves;
• it is possible to create a detailed flower with leaves, for which firstly the pre-created or purchased leaves are collected with a pastry clove, then the prepared petals or the whole flower from buttercream are put on top one by one. For the creation of the composition to be successful, it is better to hold the blanks for a while in the freezer. So they will not lose their shape when assembled.

Excellent decorations are obtained by combining the cream and marzipan decorations. You will need marzipan for this, the recipe for which you will also find on our blog.

How to use a disposable pastry bag when decorating baked goods:

Prepare the cream according to the recipe that works best for you. It can be protein or butter cream.

Choose a cornet of the desired volume, unfold the edges, holding it with your hand at the bottom and turning the edges outward. You can dip the bottom of the container into a tall glass, and turn the top outward around its walls.

It remains to place the nozzle and fill the bag with the cream mass. You need to close the edges, run your hand down the bag to remove the air bubbles and displace the mass to the spout. Secure the sealed edges with a special ring or a rubber band.

How to hold a pastry bag correctly: it depends on its size. Large cornets are held with two hands. Smaller models with one hand.

How to draw with a pastry bag: lead the tip smoothly, squeezing the cream evenly. When finished, stop pressing and sharply point the end away from you along the pattern. When creating a three-dimensional shape, swipe the tip slightly downward and immediately bring it up sharply. This is how you get an even, creamy ball.

Conclusions
Before proceeding to the responsible stages of decoration, it is better to practice on less important products. Having learned to perform rather simple operations, you will be able to realize your fantasies more boldly.

The materials of our blog help you to master the basics of pastry making, as well as learn how to make new dishes. For example, we tell you how to make macaroons, light French desserts, ice cream and a variety of pastries.

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What is chocolate velour, you can understand by looking at the finished product. This decorative coating on the structure resembles a soft, velvety fabric, because of which it is called velour. It is made from a mixture of melted chocolate, vegetable oil (often cocoa) and dyes, and applied with special equipment. Most often for this use paint sprayer – a tool that sprays paint under pressure. A confectionary airbrush has a similar working principle, but it gives a thinner and less textured coating. Important: the diameter of the nozzle for working with velour at the paint sprayer or airbrush should be 2,5-3 mm; the bigger the nozzle, the thicker the layer of velour will be.

Is it possible to create velour without a spray gun or airbrush? Yes. A good alternative can be confectionary spray velour. With its help, you can achieve almost the same effect as using special tools, and it is much easier to use the spray – the process is no different from painting products with regular spray paint. One can of velour spray is enough for about five cakes. This is ideal for amateur pastry chefs who need this kind of decor occasionally.

As we have already said, the work with velour does not require extremely high skill. However, there is no way it can be done “hollowly”, especially if you make the coating mixture yourself and apply it with a spray gun/aerograf, rather than using a spray with ready-made chocolate velour.

How do you make a coating of velour on a cake from scratch? The first thing to do is to prepare the chocolate mixture:

1. Prepare the ingredients. Take chocolate and cocoa butter in equal proportions (about 60 grams each for a medium-sized cake). It is desirable to use a special confectionery chocolate, with natural quality composition. For further coloring, take white chocolate, and for a natural color – black or milk. For dyeing in light colors, you can take gel dyes, in dark colors – only fat-soluble dyes.
2. Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in the microwave (on impulse) or in a water bath. Important: Melt the ingredients separately, since they melt at different temperatures.
3. 3. Mix the chocolate and cocoa butter, add the coloring agent, if needed, and mix everything with an immersion blender (you can do this directly in the flask of the blender).
4. Cool the mixture to a working temperature of 30-40 ° C and immediately begin spraying.

You can coat biscuits with and without cream, shortbread cakes, chocolate bars and sweets, and cakes with velour. But the velour covering looks especially effective on mousse cakes of unusual shapes, which are made using special silicone forms for baking.

Before covering a cake with velour at home, it is very important to pre-cool the dessert in the refrigerator, or even better – freeze. Prepare a tool, a chocolate mass for covering, a cardboard box or other place where you will spray chocolate (it will be difficult to wash greasy drops from an unprotected surface), and only then take the cake out of the fridge and immediately start covering it. If you hesitate, there will be condensation on the dessert and the velour will not be perfect.

Spray the composition at a distance of about 20 cm, gently scrolling the cake on the stand to distribute the chocolate evenly. If using spray velour, follow the same principles of preparing the workplace and the dessert and applying the composition. Don’t forget to shake the can before applying

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The modern range is characterized by its diversity. The main advantage of such products is the elementary cleaning, the food easily falls off the walls. And it is not difficult to extract the dessert, preserving its integrity. If in your arsenal appeared such a useful tool, you need to pay attention to the rules of application and care:

• Washing after each use. Otherwise, the remains of food will dry out and then it will be many times more difficult to remove them.
• Pour the dough into the container only if it stands on a solid surface (tray). This will avoid accidental spills.
• Only soft sponges are suitable for cleaning. Harder ones can ruin the integrity of the surface.
• To remove small cupcakes, you can turn the mold with the dainty side down and slightly press the bottom. To get a larger dish, use wooden spatulas. It is strongly recommended to avoid sharp metal objects for this purpose, as they will cause irreparable damage to the dishes.
• During storage, you can bend the product as you like, twist it into a tube, stick it in narrow cabinets. It will not be deformed and quickly take its original form.

The first thing to do after the purchase – give the equipment a good wash with a detergent. By doing this, you will remove the chemical coating that can be applied during the production of the product.

Lubricate or not
Figuring out how to use a silicone mold, it is important to know that this material is non-stick. Therefore, it is allowed to bake without the use of fats, which is especially relevant for people who sit on a diet.

Useful tip: before the first use, the container is greased with oil, to “start” the non-stick property. Later such a thing will not be needed, as the silicone “remembers” this state.
In cheap products can still stick the dough, because of which it will be necessary to lubricate the surface with oil every time. Keep in mind a few things:

• Every pastry chef strives to make their baked goods succeed in terms of aesthetics and taste. To do this, it is important to learn how to handle the mold properly. The cooking process involves a few simple steps:

• Focusing on the cooking recipe, you need to set the temperature in the range of 170-220 degrees. A higher temperature mode is not recommended, as the container may warp. Give the oven time to warm up well, and only then proceed to the actual baking.
• Before you start, rinse the silicone dish with warm running water, then dry it thoroughly. Pour the batter only after you have positioned the molds on the substrate.
• Then you can put the tray in the oven and start cooking. Do not open the oven door while cooking, as the cold air can negatively affect the dough’s ability to rise.
• When the time is up, take out the baking sheet, place it on a hard surface, and let it cool. After it has cooled completely, you can take out the finished dessert.

In a gas oven.
The main difference between a gas oven and a gas oven is the uneven heating. The heat is supplied at the bottom of the equipment, because of this, the bottom of the dish bakes faster. Therefore, it is worth placing the container on the very top. The key condition – the presence of a substrate or tray, as the action of the fire will directly lead to the melting of the material. Make sure that the mold does not touch the walls, the top and the heating elements.

In an electric oven
With this option, everything is easier because of the even distribution of heat. For best results, place the backing in the middle. If your oven has a “grill” mode with maximum heat, do not use it for silicone.

How to choose silicone molds for baking
If you approach the issue of selecting products competently, they will serve you for many years and will please you with their convenience. Important details that you should pay attention to:

• Information on the package: the manufacturer, care tips, the permissible temperature range.
• Absence of a specific smell.
• Maximum natural color. If the goods in front of you “screaming” or acid coloring, then they contain harmful chemical elements. Check that there are no streaks or stains on the surface. These kinds of defects indicate poor quality.
• Small thickness is also a reason to reject the proposed option.
• Considering different models, check them in a simple and quick way. Bend them in half and hold in this position for a few seconds.

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