Pastry School Diary – Superior Pâtisserie, Weeks 7-8

A year or so ago, I took an excellent multi-day sugarwork course with Chef Kathryn Gordon at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. I immediately took to the creative nature of the medium.

Sugarwork, which often feels more like glassblowing than pastry, immediately appealed to my artistic side. I loved how ingredients as basic as sugar and water could be pulled and poured and shaped and molded to form beautiful, intricate sugar showpieces.

So, in coming to Le Cordon Bleu, I couldn’t wait to explore this topic in more detail.

Superior Pâtisserie includes quite a bit of sugarwork instruction. Things start out gradually, making a simple pulled sugar loop and a blown sugar apple during the Restaurant Desserts module. We learned to make pulled sugar sweets during the chocolate workshop. And then, finally, we arrived at the point I’d been waiting for: the sugar showpiece!

Pulled Sugar Rose & Sugar Showpiece

I loved these sugar classes so much. We began with the showpiece. We learned how to cook the sugar properly, how to add color, and how to pull it to create a smooth, satin-y, finish. Then, we learned how to shape our sugar into a delicate sugarwork rose. (Very delicate, actually! A few roses in my class didn’t even make it to grading time!) We also learned how to use a mold to make leaves to accompany our rose.

Then, we learned techniques for pouring and casting the sugar to make the base of our showpiece. This was tricky as you had to make sure not to make the pieces too thick or too thin. We also made small embellishments for the piece, like sugar discs (which we embossed with different patterns) and delicate pulled sugar tendrils:

And then, finally, we used melted sugar (and a blowtorch!) to stick all of our various pieces together. My sugarwork wasn’t perfect, but I was pretty happy with what I created. (And, it was definitely a massive improvement over my very first sugar showpiece!) I especially liked my color scheme, and the leaves I made for my rose.

Croquembouche with Sugarwork Decoration

The following week, we continued our sugarwork lessons with the creation of a croquembouche with pulled sugar decoration on top.

“Croquembouche” literally translates as “crunch in the mouth.” A tower made of caramel-dipped choux buns, it traditionally serves as a wedding cake in France. (Although nowadays, croquembouche are made all over the world, for many occasions, and with a variety of unique ingredients. There is even a macaron version!)

I was very pleased with my finished croquembouche! Although my dipping caramel could’ve been a bit lighter in color, and the overall presentation was a little messier than I would’ve liked, I still felt happy with what I’d created for a first try. Many people chose to color their isomalt with food coloring, but I kept mine white, and really liked the final look. The white rose played nicely with the white royal icing and the nibbed sugar decoration. I could definitely see making something like this for a wedding cake!

Modern Tart

After several days of sugarwork, we wrapped up the week with the final demo of Superior! We learned to make two modern tarts: a coconut pineapple tart, and one with dark chocolate and pears. We’ll made these in a practical (the last one ever!) next week, and then it’s on to…exams!

Missed last week’s pastry school recap? Read it here.

---

About Rebecca:
Rebecca earned the Diplôme de Pâtisserie from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2020. She kept this detailed diary as a record of her journey, and as a way to help others decide if pastry school might be the right choice for them. Rebecca also holds an MSc in Culinary Innovation from Le Cordon Bleu and Birkbeck, University of London, and a Professional Chocolatier’s Certificate from Ecole Chocolate. She currently works as a recipe developer, food stylist, food photographer, writer, and pastry chef. Feel free to make one of her original recipes, or to follow her on Instagram @bastecutfold for more baking and pastry inspiration!