The last day of mousse cakes! We sprayed the the tops of our raspberry silk cakes with cocoa butter and food coloring.
The layers are white chocolate mousse, raspberry gelee, chocolate hazelnut crunch, and almond dacquoise. This was my favorite cake we made in the two weeks of cakes class. It was really, really good.
On Friday, I took home some of the raspberry cakes, and this chocolate caramel cake. It has layers of chocolate streusel, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, caramel cremeux, and dark chocolate glaze.
This one is still sitting in the freezer at school. It’s chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, hazelnut crunch, and vanilla cremeux. The glaze is milk chocolate.
We had extra time so we made apple turnovers using leftover puff pastry.
Everything we bake at at school is this color. When your pastry is dark golden brown, just about to burn, you pull it out of the oven. French brown.
Now it’s time for a new week in school! I’m excited. Can you guess what we’re doing next??
Ericcakes and I spent time at the lake this weekend. He did some fishing and I did some reading. Fall in Chicago is beautiful!
A lot of the boats in the harbor are starting leave.
I love living so close to the lake!
I’m going to turn this into a postcard. Let me know if you want one. Wink.
I don’t think you can tell, but I dyed my hair close to its natural color. It feel so dark to me! I do like it, though. I got my hair cut, too, and now it’s quite a bit shorter. No comment on the haircut.
We also shopped for winter coats. I want the warmest coat possible for under $100.
Is this too extreme? Aren’t Chicago winters supposed to be terrible?
Definitely not too extreme! The wind in the winter-time is nasty up here. That jacket should keep you nice and toasty. Plus it's really cute!
ReplyDeleteI have a jacket like that for NJ! From what I've heard about Chicago, I'd suggest a face mask for the really blustery days as well (no, I'm not kidding!).
ReplyDeleteLove the new cut/color! so cute! the jacket is adorable as well
ReplyDeleteYou might need that coat this year but you will become acclimated quite quickly. I think nothing of going out in Chicago, mid winter in just a sweater and a scarf. The only time I wear an actual coat is if I am planning on being out for a few hours. Hopefully you will enjoy the coming season, it's my favorite time of year!
ReplyDeleteSend me a postcard! I like the jacket you tried on.
ReplyDeleteA couple of tricks for surviving winter.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, layers are your friend - you'll be warmer with three thinner shirts/sweaters than with one bulky one. The layers trap heat between them and keep you toasty plus if it's really cold in the morning but warmer when you're coming home, you can peel off a layer and still be warm instead of sweltering with your big sweater and/or coat.
Second, make sure you keep your head, hands and feet warm - that's where you lose most of your body heat. So look for warm before pretty in a pair of boots - sometimes you can get both together but, if you have to choose, pick comfort over looks. You'll be glad on those -20 mornings as you're waiting in the snowstorm for the bus! You can buy boots that are rated to -30 degrees. You may want to think about getting two pairs, one for being gorgeous and one for being warm! Also think carefully about boots with heels - you'll be walking in snow and on ice some of the time and heels can make it hard to keep your balance. Especially if you're carrying cakes home!!
Hats and mitts? Again, look for layers either in the way they're made (fat knits) or wear a thin glove under your mitts and a thin knit or crochet cap under a winter hat to help trap the heat.
You know that lake that you love being so near - you're going to experience just how cold the wind can get and how fast it can travel when it whips in off the lake with a nice blizzard!! But that doesn't happen every day, of course (;-D)
Just think how great it will be to get home to a nice warm apartment and cuddle up with Eric and/or a beautiful quilt and a huge cup of soup or hot chocolate!!
Linda, you're scaring me!! I don't want any blizzards! Only Dairy Queen blizzards. Thank you for all of the advice! I need to get shopping because I don't have any of that stuff.
DeleteI hope Eric will let me cuddle with him!
I completely agree with Linda. BUY the biggest, warmest jacket you can find. I always make sure to wear plenty of layers and always make sure that you have a shirt tucked into your pants so that no air hits your back. That is what makes you cold and feel chilled to the bone.
DeleteBut blizzard are awesome! ....well as long as you're at home and you don't lose power. Other than that, they're beautiful! Just my opinion though. :)
DeleteYour hair looks lovely and so do those cakes and pastries! You make me want to hole myself up in the kitchen and bake all day, except nothing I could make would look this good.
ReplyDeleteI love baking all day!
DeleteThese cakes tasted delicious on Friday, thanks for bringing them to Book Club!
ReplyDeleteThanks to you for bringing that delicious cheese!
DeleteI've not been to Chicago ever... but your coat looks about right (in comparison to what my native friends and other people have told me). And Linda's advice = primo.
ReplyDeleteI live in Boston and am still a wimp when it comes to the cold (maybe I need to move to a warmer climate...). Last year, I bought a pair of Sorel winter boots (on sale from Amazon) that go to my knees. I wore them yesterday during a hiking field trip (I'm a teacher), walked through a bunch of swampy water, and remained dry! My feet were also nice and warm all day. I think with a nice, thick pair of socks, they'll keep my feet warm all winter. They're also super cute! They were on sale, so they were much cheaper than this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sorel.com/Women’s-Helen-of-Tundra™-II-Boot/NL1586,default,pd.html