Final Showpiece

With the end of the semester at SNHU comes the end of my Advanced Pastry course. For the end, we were asked to create showpieces that were at least 8 inches tall, wider at the bottom than the top, and that included chocolate, sugar, and pastillage.

For my showpiece, I wanted to focus on a classic design, the swan. Normally, I come up with ideas for art based on pop culture, so this design was meant to challenge myself and show creativity within the classics. The main body of the swan was created with pastillage to give the stark white color and structural support. Then, there are pulled sugar feathers and water lily petals. The base is made from casting sugar, and the chocolate can be found in the form of a modeling chocolate stick and chocolate bonbon rocks.  Below is my rough sketch for the design.

Course Overview

This course was a great way to practice decoration techniques within a learning setting. Some of the mediums we used, like pastillage and blown sugar, are hard to find in the industry, so the lab provides all the equipment needed without extra expense to students.  If anyone is interested in sugar art, I recommend looking for classes at near by establishments. Classes involve less investment then buying all the equipment only to not enjoy sugar art.

I would have to say that my favorite medium was the sugar. While sugar can be hot to handle, it does not require quite as much attention or precision as chocolate or pastillage. Sugar, however, is incredibly fragile, and so it is best to make extras of every piece. I would definitely be interested in making sugar decorations for cakes later in life, nonetheless.

After sugar would have to come pastillage. Pastillage did not bother me much, as I am fine with working quickly under pressure, but a lot of my pieces had a texture referred to as elephant skin. This means that the surface was rough and bumpy. Since the piece was kept white, the texture was not noticeable, but it would have become clear should I have airbrushed my piece. I would need more practice to eliminate this defect in my pastillage.

Lastly is chocolate, with which I have a love hate relationship. Modeling chocolate is easy to use and incredibly versatile without being overly sugary like fondant, so I love this medium. Tempered chocolate, however, takes far more time and patience than I usually have in me. I would still love a chance to train under a chocolatier, despite my difficulties with the medium. The number of things that can go wrong in chocolate fascinates me.

The final note I would like to leave behind is that sugar work is not for the faint hearted. I personally am far to anxious to ever subject myself to making another sugar showpiece. While assembling the swan, I was incredibly frightened of shattering it all with every step, and so I was faint for the majority of the lab. However, if you have a steady hand and lack mental illnesses like anxiety, go for it.

Good luck!

Pastillage

What is Pastillage?

Pastillage is a sugar medium that few know about, despite the fact that it was created in the 17th century. Pastillage is known for it’s bright, white color as well as it’s durability. In the past, it was used to decorate cakes, as well as make boxes, like the one below.

Pastillage is fairly easy to make. It starts by mixing powdered sugar, cornstarch, and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment. Gelatin is then bloomed and warmed until it reaches a liquid state. Once the gelatin is a liquid, it is added to the try ingredients and mixed until the pastillage forms a ball. Remove the pastillage from the bowl and briefly knead it together before wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap and laying a damp cloth of the mix. This will keep it from drying out when cutting out pieces.

When shaping pastillage, use small amounts at a time and work quickly. Base pieces should be at least 1/4″ thick in order to provide stability. Decorative pieces should be closer to an 1/8′ thick. Use a clean, sharp exacto-knife and stencils to cut the pastillage before sliding the pieces onto a wooden board for three days to dry. Pastillage can be airbrushed for color, but it is important to show of the white, as it is hard to achieve a pure white with other mediums.

Industry Use

As stated before, pastillage is rarely used. However, high end hotels and pastry shops with sometimes use it for centerpieces or cakes. The Ritz Carlton hotels are a prime example.

Most businesses choose not to use pastillage due to the time it takes to create showpieces and the lack of demand for the medium. Instead, chefs choose to hone their craft in the comfort of their own homes. Should the chef be truly dedicated, they may find work in hotels, or join their nation’s pastry team to make displays like the one below by Team USA.

Other Sugary Goods

If anyone wants to work with sugar, but is too afraid to attempt a showpiece, you can start with confections such as fudge or fondants. There are plenty of recipes online and they take far fewer pieces of equipment then sugar blowing does. The most important parts of candy making are to cook the sugar to the correct temperature and to agitate the sugar enough to get the proper texture. For example, to make fudge, one cooks the sugar, add it to the flavor mixture, and then pours it onto a silipad to mix it with plastic bowl scrapers until the mix becomes homogeneous.

For a bakery, confections are simple sweets that are easy to make in bulk. They can then be placed on the counter a waist height to entice children to buy them. It does not take much to satisfy a sweet tooth with confections and they are cheap to make, so the profit will add up quickly.