Happy 2nd Birthday Alana - Project Lavonne

Wish you very happy birthday Alana......Miss you a lot.....We miss your 'No".......We miss your "Akkaaaaa"....We miss your "paaaaaaa"......above all we miss "Mimi"

I had made a fondant cake for my niece Alana for her first birthday....and that was a very terrifying experience....I remember mentioning in that post...never to work with fondant ever again....Well....like most of the things I say....I was wrong again, but I have to say that this was an amazing experience compared to last time...and for that I have to thank my teacher Joonie Tan from Lavonne Baking Academy.......she made me fall in love with Novelty cakes.

Joonie Tan teaches novelty cakes and cupcakes at Lavonne....and she is drop dead awesome....her talent is unbelievable...you have to see it to believe it (visit 180 Degree Celsius )..... She is an awesome teacher with loads of patience (she will answer every silly question we throw at her) and a perfectionist and I just cannot wait to attend all her classes ....I know I have a lot more to improve ...but I will be very happy if I am at least half as good as Joonie...

Herbed Garlic Knots - Project Lavonne

Last but not least....Herbed Garlic knots.....

In the end...what tired me was the kneading....Chef Vinesh is particular about kneading till perfection...(this was when I backed out from the bread making course :).

All together an awesome course and worth every penny.....you get your own workstation and a course completion certificate and I got to make a lot of good friends who share the same passion.....the only complain few of us had was.....there were no chairs.....we had to stand throughout...to which Chef Vinesh rightfully said...... "A chef never sits"......Amen to that :)

Baked Vanilla Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis - Project Lavonne

Very simple dessert.....blend of  yogurt, milkmaid and cream and vanilla baked in a water bath and served with strawberry coulis.

It tasted like dense vanilla shrikhand......out of 5 dishes that I learnt at Lavonne, I have to say this was my least favorite......but my family enjoyed it.........maybe I prefer lighter desserts like Vanilla Panna cotta.

Recipe for Strawberry coulis

• 1 cup Strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Cook the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice, bring to a boil. Serve as it is when cooled or puree in a blender, strain , cool and serve.Can be stored in a sealed container up to a week in refrigerator.   

Fresh Fruit Pastry - Project Lavonne

Soft sponge cake soaked in syrup and layer with fresh cream and topped with fresh fruits.....At Lavonne we made this with egg less sponge cake....but I have used this recipe.....very refreshing dessert.

Chef Vinesh topped the cake with beautifully carved fresh fruits.....mine looks more like a scene from the game.......Fruit Ninja.

Apple Jalousie with Almond cream - Project Lavonne

Chef Vinesh is 'THE' man of Lavonne......Young ,talented and super witty and its a pleasure learning under him....looking forward to more classes...

I had once declared in one of my old posts that ....ME......self proclaimed lazy......would never attempt to make puff pastry sheet from scratch....well guess what.....I proved myself wrong.

Thin layer of puff pastry sheet (made from scratch....mind it) topped with yummm almond cream which is topped with  apple or pineapple cooked in caramel syrup and finished with another layer of puff pastry sheet (mind it).....and baked to perfection......awesome awesome awesome...

Want the recipe?........Visit Lavonne.

Chocolate Truffles with Kahlua - Project Lavonne

I read somewhere.."I would rather do nothing and be happy than do something I know I don't love ".......and I am sooooo loving this.

I love to bake.....you give me a choice between making a simple meal of dal and rice or bake a cake....I would without a doubt on my mind.....bake a cake....I would go to an extent of baking two cakes just to make my point that I rather bake.....for me the end result of baking is the most satisfying feeling ever..

I have been wanting to do a baking course for a very long time.....not coz I don't know to bake , I just wanted to learn more and that is when I  came across Lavonne Baking Academy.....I was so excited looking at their website that I wanted to do every course that they offered.....I did not waste any time.....my husband always says that my attention span does not last for more than 5 seconds.....so I left immediately to Lavonne which is in domlur.....The whole place excited me.....I felt like I was in my comfort zone.

After looking around for few minutes I spoke to the management and when he asked me "which course do you want to attend" ......I was so excited that I told him "every course"......so he advised me to try out one course and see how is goes and that the next course was Eggless baking......I just stopped to think for a second....coz I seriously like to bake with eggs.....eggs and baking go hand in hand.....then again I could hear my husband's voice echo in my head "attention span of 5 seconds......attention span of 5 seconds"......then I just went for it and registered for the eggless baking course and when I left that place....believe me.....I felt sooooo damn good.......

 I will try to make every dish I learnt at Lavonne and share it with you through my blog........I am calling it 'Project Lavonne' (I have a thing for silly titles like 'Mission Toscano')...I won't be sharing the recipes coz I am really not sure if I can do that......So here it goes....I tried out the easiest first.... Chocolate truffle (I know it does not come under baking....but this was taught along with few other)....Its super simple ganache recipe that has been coated with compound chocolate (you can use tempered chocolate....I totally suck at tempering).....I have coated few truffles with cocoa powder.

More to come :)