Masterclass :: Dominique Ansel

Was looking forward to this class for some time, so was excited when I could clear away things and spend some time with it. I have been a baker and chef in the past but nowhere this level. I wanted to improve my techniques, gather new recipes, and fix and inaccuracies i had in my own cooking.

Going in, I had actually never heard of the cronut. I had no idea who Dominique was or why he was famous.  This was going to be fun.

His mission is very simple. Be creative, love your work, and love food.  Since being a dad, sharing these flavors has always been a thing for me. Baking is precise and ordered.  It is simple and easy to do, if you do the steps, follow directions, and remain calm.

He is a very calm teacher and slow.  He goes into why he does certain things and the stories about how he learned.  Reading past these stories is helpful as you never know when a moment can teach you the lesson you were not expecting.

Lesson 2 he shares the secrets of his success. Don't listen to others, and follow your own sensitivities.  The world is big enough that everyone can have the success they are searching for.  This lesson is also in Steve Martin's masterclass.

The pastry cream is very close to how I was taught.  There are definitely some finer technique that was missing from my method.  This will be recipe fun to practice and master, especially since he uses it in many of the other recipes in the class.

The chocolate mouse was very much how I was taught, except I always whipped the cream too much. I always went to the point it would hold on the whisk. Can't wait to fix this one, and see look on small faces as they eat it.