Bless the day the KitchenAid Mixer was made

As is customary in France, why do things the simple way when they can be done the complicated way? For example, why make a sponge cake with a mixer when you can use a balloon whisk and simply muscle a cake into being (with a little prayer said for good measure)?

As you can probably guess, today was another day in Patisserie. We made several sponge cakes. The first two were made by hand and then just to show us how much easier it is to do by mixer, Chef Thierry had us make two more with the KitchenAid. I secretly think he just wanted to keep us until 7 pm instead of letting us go early!

Anyway, here's my shot at the sponge cake...


Look familiar? Starting ingredients.



Chef beating the eggs and sugar over low heat.



The mixture will triple in size.

See? Cool, huh! Take it off the heat and beat a little while longer, then add sifted flour.

Now, it's my turn. Whip, whip, whip.

And put into buttered cake pans.

Bake. What am I ever going to do without these huge and awesome ovens?

Allow the cakes to cool.

And make the buttercream frosting. Beat by hand (again, hating on the mixer) the egg yolks and sugar.

Add just a "bit" of butter.

And beat. Mine looks a little thin, so Chef and I decide to put it in the blast freezer for a while.

Hmm. Out of the blast freezer, chocolate added, and things go drastically wrong as you can tell!

Never fear, Chef Thierry to the rescue. He fixed it in no time. Thanks Chef!

Now, he shows us how a pro frosts his cake. Who needs a cake stand that swivels when you have your hand?

Flawless! He's a pastry genius.

My turn to try. Cakes are cooled and ready to go.

Cut one into thirds. Carefully!

Douse with simple syrup spiked with liquer.

Frost and cover with chocolate shavings.

Decorate with more frosting on top.

And voila!

Just a bit messy after all that.