CUL 244 - Confections, Show Pieces, & Plated Desserts

3 Credits, 5 Contact Hours
1 lecture period 4 lab periods

Concepts, skills, and techniques used to create chocolate and sugar decorations that embellish other desserts or function as artistic showpieces for display. Includes techniques such as applying chocolate colors with a spray gun, use of various types of molds, and making cut-out decorations and silk screens that will be applied to showpieces. Also includes an introduction to sugar techniques such as pastillage, saturated sugar, pulled sugar (e.g., ribbons and flowers), blown sugar (spun, piped, bubble, straw) to create three-dimensional shapes, and poured sugar to create showpieces.

Prerequisite(s): CUL 160

Course Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate the following various processes for, but not limited to: tempering process for chocolate, Ganache fillings, molded and hand molded confections, aerated confections, jellies, and Crystalline sugar confections.
Demonstrate the fundamental principles of chocolate showpieces, plate presentation for desserts, show cakes (how to make and present specialty cakes that are used for show pieces).

Outline:

Tempering Methods: Seeding and Tabling
1. Dark chocolate
2. Milk chocolate
3. White chocolate
Ganache Fillings for Confections
1. Cream
2. Butter
3. Egg
Hand Molded and Molded Confections
1. Use of plastic molds when making truffles
2. Technique used for hand rolled truffles
Non-Chocolate Confections:
1. Aerated fudges/chews/marshmallow
2. Jellies - gummies
3. Crystalline confections - caramels and toffee
Presentation
1. Chocolate showpiece works
2. Plated desserts
3. Show cakes/specialty cakes

Effective Term:
Full Academic Year 2019/20