In Thursday's demonstration we learned how to make Dacquoise, which is a hazelnut or almond meringue cake, complimented by french butter cream icing. The chef also made other varieties of meringue, and fresh raspberry sorbet during the demo. He took the meringue bases he had created, spread the frozen sorbet on top, then dressed up his creations by using his smaller meringue pieces, and whipped cream. The last cake on the right is a meringue swan he crafted!
I had never made a french butter cream before, so it was a bit of a challenge for me, but the final product was delicious. The french version takes a lot more work than the traditional American, however the time is well spent because the difference between the two types of frosting is striking. The French butter cream ends up being airy, buttery, and flavorful, not overly sweet and dense like the American counterpart. The cake itself was very unique, the meringue wasn't brittle, and the texture was closer to that of a cake rather than a traditional meringue.
I also spent the past weekend in Scotland with two friends from my residence. We stayed in Glasgow, but spent most of the day in Edinburgh, which was beautiful. We visited the Edinburgh castle, which is nearly a thousand years old, and I tried the traditional Scottish dish, Haggis. I didn't fully understand what Haggis was until we returned to our hostel and the receptionist informed us that it is sheep innards, minced with oatmeal and spices. It had a unique texture, and tasted decent. However I am happy the pub did not serve the dish in it's traditional fashion, encased in the sheep's stomach!