Day 10 was the start of a new phase; Royal Icing. I have never made or worked with royal icing before, but basically it is egg whites, powdered sugar (suikerbakkerspoeder= powdered sugar with dried glucose) and a pinch of cream of tartar. It's been used a lot for decorating cakes and cookies. While working with royal icing it has the consistency of very thick yogurt. But after it dries out it gets really hard.
We started with a masterclass on royal icing and were showed how to make it and what the right consistency is. From this basic mixture it is possible to make the icing more or less runny simply by adding water (or liquor) or more sugar.
After receiving a lot of information we used the rest of the day playing around with royal icing. We used:
- 180 gr pasteurized refrigerated egg whites
- about 1 kilo shifted powdered sugar
- pinch of cream of tartar
To the egg whites we added 2/3 of the powdered sugar and the cream of tartar. On very slow speed using the flat beater we mixed everything together. Then after that spoon by spoon we added some more powdered sugar till the icing has the right consistency. The right consistency is when the icing on the beater forms a nice peak that is flexible enough to still move back and forth.
We used several different piping tips making borders, flowers and anything we could think off. We also made some colored icing.
I practiced a lot on flowers and leaves.
It was a bit of a slow day with lots of information and a bit of piping practice. It didn't feel like we did a lot, but I manage to make this.
This day was purely to let us practice with icing and get the feeling of it.
For the end of the chocolate phase we had to make our own chocolate show piece. I was so very exited for this class I couldn't even sleep the day before. So many ideas in my head of what I wanted to make and how I would make it.
It all stared with an idea. At first my team mate and I were suppose to make something that would match together, like Ying and Yang. So we both could make our own piece but when we place it together it would match. I looked online for ideas and instead of Ying and Yang I found earth, wind, water and fire. In this case we both could make two elements and give our own creative touch to it. The weekend before we would work on our show piece and finish it off in class.
After the class in which we made round shaped chocolate we figured that we could make something in class and finish it the same day. No need to work on it beforehand. We decided to each make our own piece, not matching this time.
I wanted to make a beehive with some bees. I looked everywhere for a beehive shaped mold or vase so I could make my own mold, but there was nothing I could use. Then I figured I could make my own beehive by using something round and then make the circles around it.
I broke my freaky mask in pieces and reused the chocolate to make this beehive shape. Unfortunately a piece broke off when I took the chocolate out so I decided to make the door a bit bigger so you can see the inside of the beehive.
I also found a game with some round pieces so I used them to make the bee bodies.
Then on a piece of paper I had some circles and I tried to pipe the chocolate in that shape. I wanted to use the circles on the outside of the beehive, but it didn't work out. The circles didn't fit and they weren't evenly piped either. I melted the chocolate again and this time piped it directly on the beehive.
I started with the bottom and unfortunately the chocolate was still too runny.
So I tried it on the top and that held its shape a bit better. So I worked my way down. To mask up my poor piping skills I use the tip of the piping bag to make grooves.
It took me two hours to make this beehive so I was very happy to make this at home first so in class I could focus on the details.
As usual I didn't had a detailed plan of what I was making. All I thought about was making a beehive with some bees. And maybe a Christmas tree and some snowflakes. I wanted to make it snowing inside the beehive.
In class I first started with make some more bigger bee bodies and the Christmas tree. Because my hubby thinks my beehive looks like a helmet I reshaped the door so it got a bit bigger and rounder on the top.
Then I painted the outside of my beehive yellow. I didn't wanted it yellow yellow, but still see the brown so a light brush with yellow cocoa butter was enough. Then I had to cover the inside of my beehive with some white tempered chocolate to make the honeycomb structure. After I poured the white chocolate in I covered the whole inside with plastic bubble wrap. I had to do it twice because it didn't look as neath as I wanted.
After that I had to make the bottom so the beehive can rest on it. I poured a lot of white chocolate on a sheet and pressed the bubble wrap on it. To make it all look prettier I paintbrush the honeycomb yellow.
While that set I took my Christmas tree out of the mold. I only need the top part so I broke the rest off. As the tree couldn't stand on itself I made a plateau. Then I decorated the tree with some silver balls and made some presents for under the tree.
Then I put my bees together. I dipped part of the body in some white chocolate and after it dried I heated both halves and pressed them together. After that I painted the whole body yellow. I made wings, eyes and a mouth.
I wanted some bees in the hive and some on top.
And I wanted to make some ladybugs as well. I found a mold that was just perfect and I borrowed some pink chocolate. I painted the bodies red, gave it a black head, black dots and of course eyes. They were the cutest!
I even had time to make a snowman. But no time for snowflakes.
To make it all look extra glamorous I dusted the beehive with some cooper dust, just to add the finishing touch.
I had a great time putting it all together and the result is amazing! Who knew I could make something like this only after 3 days of working with chocolate.
