Dark Chocolate, Gotham City

I am swiftly approaching the end of my time in culinary school, and as the classes wind down we are taking on some very exciting projects. Dedicated to chocolates and cake decorating, mod 4 is all about you, dear student. Gone are the days of being terrified which partner you will be paired with, as this decision set the tone for the whole day. now we are working on individual projects, letting the creative juices flow, relying only on oneself to git 'er done. The first major project of mod 4 was a chocolate sculpture. Our class decided on the theme "cities" broad enough so that if someone really wanted to do a pirate theme, it could be arranged. and it was!
This little robot chose the most bad ass city of them all....GOTHAM.
The first step was to make a sketch, to show the chef you had a vague idea, and for him to be able to scale the ambition down a notch or two. ("the Batmobile might be a bit trickier than you think, Michelle") Once we got a practical sketch drawn, we had to make stencils for the buildings. The idea being, after you have tempered your chocolate, pour the chocolate onto an acetate covered surface, let it set, lay the stencils on the chocolate, and cut around.
I will now take you on a step by step journey, through time & space, chocolate stains, and a lot of fun:
my work station. ANTM and a glass of wine provided true inspiration.

laying down the tempered chocolate:

the buildings: Wayne Tower, the clocktower, and Arkham Asylum

the makeshift sugar mold for the Batman sign:

all the little details (thanks Nissa for help with the bat!)

it stands! everything you see here is held together by chocolate. an amazing thing. this stood 25" tall. It was the second tallest sculpture, because of course Sam had to one up me. (I'll get you, girl)

proud mama,


xo-TSR

it's been over a month since my last post. rats! i thought I had reached a solid writing/updating schedule, but apparently i was wrong. it's not for a lack of events, i went to Nathan's hot dog eating contest, Phoenix, made a chocolate sculpture of Gotham city, and sealed the deal on my internship. one of the most glaring reasons is that (shocker shocker) my computer is not working; but that is only a temporary(fingers crossed!) delay. I have not been doing much baking in my apartment, due to the fact that the lord god remembered what month it is and turned up the temperatures. which is great! but only makes me want to sit in my underwear and eat cereal, not bake a blueberry pie. you know how these things work. there's never enough hours in the day,you tell yourself, but what it really comes down to is not having anything worthwhile to say. what could i possibly say about baking/eating cupcakes that you don't already know? I guess what i am saying is, I am feeling a bit intimidated by all the interwebs, and all the information they have to offer. i feel the only way to write an original piece is by making it fictional; less observation, more making shit up. but I'm not very strong in that department, either. Tonight I am taking a food writing class and hopefully that will spark my imagination and reaffirm my interest in writing and baking and everything that comes with it. However, it might not. I might take endless notes and leave with such excitement, but by the time i get home i will only be able to think about sleeping, or eating cereal in my underwear....it seems so fleeting, these moments of creativity and thought.
well, this is my sorry excuse for an apology, much like this one. i really want to keep doing this! i just need a kick in the pants, or money to buy ingredients, or a day off. who knows!
Love you all, and i swear next time i update it will be about food! no more of this sorry my self shit.
xoxo-TSR