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You absolutely must boil an yolk+starch custard, whether the recipe specifies it or not. That's the only way to neutralize the alpha-amylase; if you don't do that, the custard with quickly turn watery as the alpha-amylase breaks down the starch. I wrestled with this problem for years until I finally read the scientific explanation in Shirley Corriher's book, Bakewise. There's a lot of confusion between English custard sauce that has no starch and CANNOT be boiled, and pastry cream that has starch and MUST be boiled.
To add to this, heat the pastry cream to 82 degrees celcius and keep it here for a minute. This is the temperature the egg proteins coagulate and create the creamy texture. Please don't actually bring the pastry cream to a "boil" at 100 degrees, you will burn the cream and create lumps.
@@Tartar Indeed, a full boil is not necessary. A furious boil over a high flame is definitely a mistake. The problem, though, is that the mix will start to bubble when the base of the pan is up to temp but custard on the the surface is not. I have run into that problem before, where I got the start of a boil but I had not fully denatured the alpha-amylase, and the custard ultimately failed.
In culinary school my teacher said pastry cream MUST boil. She said it should go blub, blub, blub, if it doesn’t the corn starch will go yum, yum, yum on your eggs and turn it into a watery mess.
Hahaha, with the blub blub blud and the yum yum yum, made me smile :D. Also a pastry chef here and I just said to myself that it needs to blub, and then I saw your comment :)
With utmost respect, the pastry cream was too thin. No amount of refrigeration would thicken that. I realize that you followed the book but now you can annotate the recipe in the book (not "ribbons" but "lumps"). Next time will be much better. BTW: your cake was excellent.
I wonder if not sifting the baking powder with the flour, by sifting the clumps out caused less powder in the final mixture? I would have been happy with that end result because I too am not a baker😢!
@@suzc265 I doubt it, it's such a thin layer on top, its not any worse then adding the chocolate covered strawberries in terms of how much it weighs. I do however, agree with the previous comment above yours. It was simply too thin. Cornstarch has to be heated to a certain temperature to get that nice thickened consistency. Really, the cornstarch and milk should've been mixed with an immersion blender or poured into a regular blender, to ensure the mixture is thoroughly combined, heat up the mixture until fully thickened. Once its cooled considerably, then add in your egg yolks, bring to the heat to cook the egg yolks so it thickens further, and then finally melt in your butter at the end. I assume, the reason the book was written the way it was, is so that you only had to temper in your milk into the egg mixture, so you'd have less steps. Although I am surprised it says to add in the vanilla extract before the milk has boiled, I would've added that afterward to preserve as much of that vanilla flavor as you can. What I'd do? Throw everything into the pot on medium heat and go to town with an immersion blender until combined and thickened and hope nothing goes wrong. 🤪 While my method is certainly half hazard, it always gets the result I'm after for. Although that's on an induction stovetop, Jamie uses gas, so different cooking techniques for different power sources to cook said food. Hope that helped! :-)
2 things: 1. Yeah! to strawberry cake's success. I'm sure next time it will be perfect. There are plenty of notes here to make the crème patissiere thicker. 2. How Jamie manages to fight with a strip of acetate is a comedic art form only mastered by himself and Buster Keaton 😂
As someone who once worked in a bakery/patisserie, can confirm, taking the acetate off a cake is always a dicey proposition. There's a reason they're usually sold with the acetate still on. Also, best thing to do with any leftover marzipan is just eat it, it's one of my very favorite things in the world.
Sorry dude. Been there, so here's a few tips from this home cook. Do not BOIL the milk, only bring it to a simmer at the edges. The pastry cream needs to come to first boil (Erin Jeanne McDowell explains this best) then continue to boil for at least a minute. The flour in that custard recipe is pointless, replace it with more cornstarch, and it must come to a full boil (again, first boil + a minute) to active the corn starch. Do not skip on fridge time. Frustrating as it is, a bowl of pastry cream needs to come to fridge temp all the way through to the center. This can be shortened by cooling it on a tray in a thin layer rather than a bowl. Chill a cake like that at least overnight.
Forget all you know about custard when making crème patissière… It is gently cooked until thick and I mean that: Thicker than pudding. It is supposed to have structure. French patisserie depends on it having structure when it cools down as you learned the hard way. That’s also why we have crème anglaise or actual custard for applications when thick isn’t ideal. Apart from that yes it looked like a million bucks and I am sure it taste like it too.
A great attempt for a first try! I think for the purposes of a fraisier cake where you're molding the pastry cream it needs to be thicker and you would need to bring it briefly to a boil until it has a pudding-like consistency. I also prefer to use a spatula for stirring pastry cream on the heat rather than a whisk because it lets me get a more even cook and creates less air bubbles so I can see what I'm doing! Every baker has had their baking fails, but you learn from them and even if it doesn't look great, it'll still taste great!
I was thinking the same thing! Also, sifting the starch might help to prevent clumping better. I think you'd have to be incredibly lucky to get the consistency of the pastry cream right on the first try!
@@Zach-h2lFor baking, metric measurements are usually by weight (grams) and customary measurements are usually by volume (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons).
@@andrew_ray i thought it was something like that, but that really has nothing to do with the system tho no? just use US imperial mass? especially cause she's saying she chooses metric? It's not a thing to convert imperial volume to metric mass is it?
This is why they sell a lot of pastries in bakeries with the acetate on there. Because as soon as it gets warm, that pastry cream is going bye bye. It looked beautiful though Jamie and was probably freaking delicious!
that and pre-cut pastries have more exposed surface areas that can dry out. If you're going to make a pastry cream that has to hold weight, another cake layer, or toppings it has to be boiled for several minutes for the eggs and corn flour to properly set, or else it will break down and become watery and loose over time.
You always remind me why I rarely bake cakes. For me, if I want strawberries & cream, I'll bake some biscuits, top with sweetened mashed strawberries, then a giant dollop of whipped cream. Done & no drama. I do admire your persistence. Me, not so much.
I kind of like the look of the fallen strawberries. They reminded me of a flower that was opening up. Sounds silly but when my mom was in the hospital, there was a vase of roses on her bedside table. I watched one of them for about 5 minutes as it’s petals gradually opened. My brother noticed it too.
That was heartbreaking. It looked terrific. You didn't deserve for it to fall apart like that. Glad you just embraced it because it looked beautiful and delicious.
I would suggest really whipping those eggs and sugar together. You want almost the color of butter like the most pale yellow. The ribbon should last on the surface for 4 seconds before disappearing. You should be able to write your name. I have just found this gives me the best chance when adding in the rest of the ingredients. I have a better chance of the cake not deflating too much. Your cake looked great! These were tips I picked up in culinary school. Genoise was always the cake that cske me the most trouble. Also, if you really,really, chill the cake, the pastry cream will firm up, and you will be able to remove the acetate better. I am assuming because you film and were baking your kitchen is hot. That will "melt" your cream, making it harder to remove the acetate. Just make sure everything is cold. Always cold! *I saw you chilled it. Hmmm.*
The recipe is at fault. It's a very pretty book, but poorly edited. I've baked a few recipes from it and had to adjust two of the three as they were just plain incorrectly written.
Just as I was about to say I admire how Jamie moves through histl kitchen with confidence, compared to the early shoots, he wrestles with the acetate. 😂
I LOVED THIS EPISODE! Drama, comedy, conflict...what's not to love? I've never stuck with a TH-cam channel longer than yours Jamie. I look forward to every episode! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It's inspiring!
Aside from the cream not being thick enough, you should have put the thicker layer on the bottom. Personally I would have put the top cut side down, added the strawberries and cream then the lighter thinner layer on top. That should reduce the weight a lot and give it more stability. This way or that it sounds like a very tasty cake and you did a great job! I always enjoy your videos!
Despite the fact that Jamie's pastry cream was wrong in the Frasier cake, the way he confidently moved around that kitchen and did various techniques, means macarons must be tackled again. This time they have no chance.
I never imagined I could get emotionally invested in a cooking show, but my heart just SANK for you when those strawberries started falling over. 😢😄 Thanks for sticking with it and showing us that things don't have to be perfect to be enjoyed.
that genoise looked lovely, truly a success! that marzipan got too warm and soft, chilling it whenever it gets sticky will help. now that pastry cream ... I've never seen it use AP flour, we only ever made it with starch in culinary school. also - you can put a few sheets of gelatin in there for a smooth firm cream that holds the shape and cuts clean. also - I'm impressed that you got that chocolate tempered on your strawberries!
Usually the fraisier for us in France is slightly different because the strawberries on the edge don't stand on the génoise, the génoise diameter is smaller to allow the cream to make like a "cement" between the génoise and the strawberries. You'll probably find this technique online if I'm not being clear 😅 And we also make a syrup with water sugar and kirsh to soak the génoise. It really adds flavours to the fraisier. That was a great first try anyway and I always love your videos.❤
After watching this again. I am going to attempt this for Easter with the family. Seems doable. Update: Made a chocolate version of this for Easter, OMG!! Best cake I've ever made. Thanks for the inspiration! Acetate for cakes is a game changer for me.
Tempering the eggs just means diluting them in the milk to avoid curdling them as soon as you pour them into scalding milk. Instant curdling when pouring is actually used in Chinese cooking (sweet and savory). Regardless, you can achieve the same result (and I would argue better because you 100% about any clumps) by mixing the milk while cold, and then cook it all together. Perfect results every single time. Even when I'm infusing milk with cinnamon and lemon rinds, I still let it cool down a bit and mix it all together. It's not done like this in professional settings because it takes longer to heat it up from room temp, but if you're at home it doesn't matter.
My partner and I made this cake. It took two days and about £200 worth of equipment and ingedients but we didn't have those issues at the end. We were very proud
As a self learner of bakery myself, living in Mexico, and already baked some of the cakes from that book, Jamie you're not the problem, the problem here is - geography. I realised the recipes do change depending on the altitude and what it's needed in UK, here in America is needed more in order to work. You did a great work!!! 😊
I had it once as well, poured my heart into a multi-layer sponge cake with pastry cream and fresh fruit only to see that the cream wasn't holding the weight of the cake, even though the sponge cake was light and fluffy. I found other recipes that call for a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream with the addition of a bit of gelatine, and that lightens up the cream while stabilizing it at the same time. From that moment on I got great results!
Everything except your creme pat was excellent: your sponge was a great colour; the cut strawberries were arranged really beautifully; and I think i would have been happy to be served a slice of Fraisier with marzipan that thick on the top, though to be honest that one's more personal preference & the traditional one is very thin. If you ever decide to go for Fraisier redemption, this would be my advice: (1) Beat your eggs for longer until they're really thick & light. By appearance as opposed to texture, it'll appear more like lightly whipped cream. By texture, it'll be made up of very even, very tiny bubbles. It should never be runny by any description until you start adding ingredients into it, and the aim is to have everything mixed in evenly by the time there's any danger of it actually reaching a stage where it could pour like a liquid as opposed to thickly fall. A thick fall is a good name for what you want to have when your putting it into the tray. Move the bowl the length of the tray slowly as you tip it out to mix, aiming to pour evenly from one end of the tray to the other, one pass. This means you have minimal amounts of air lost by using the spatula to spread to the sides, as opposed to trying to move all the mix from a pile in the middle. The aim is to conserve the air to make your sponge as light as possible with an even rise. Avoid tapping the tray to even out the surface as you're just tapping the air out. I feel like tthis is already way too long, but im trying to be REALLY specific for anyone that is interested. Will continue in the comments.
(2) As has been mentioned several times, you need to cook your Creme pat at a higher heat. Recipes usually recommend cooking at a lower heat because the sauce is high in fat, sugar, and viscosity, so can therefore catch & burn very easily. I would go over medium heat initially, especially over gas because it's a very controllable heat source. Don't stir with a whisk; stir with a wooden, straight edged spatula, or a heatproof flexible silicone spatula. The whisk doesn't have enough contact directly with the base of the pan to keep it moving fast enough to avoid catching on the base of your pan. Keep stirring, starting slowly because you want the mix to heat. Stirring does lots of things, one of these being temperature control. Your utensil aerates the sauce from the air around it, lowering the temperature, so keep the initial stir slow, but keep stirring. As the mix heats, you can stir a little faster as you think it needs. You just need it to be smooth as you can get it. If it's catching anywhere, take it off the heat & stir fast to get lots of air in. Keep the spatula in contact with the base as much as you can. When it's smoothed out, stir for another 5 seconds & then back on the heat. If your mix isn't thickening after 5 minutes, increase the heat. You can turn it down again later, if needed. You're looking for a really thick mix that still has some movement to it, like how lava oozes in big globs. There's so many variants to consider (e.g. age of your stove, type of stove, metal used to make saucepan, heat source, etc.) in telling you settings, there's no point in telling you one thing to set it to. Better to know what to look for.
It’s so funny because I was watching The Great British Bake Off and thought to myself “Jamie should really be on this show!” And 5 minutes later I got your notification with this title 😂😂 Loved the video, you should def apply 👌🏼🫶🏼
Remember what made Julia so endearing was she was bold enough to show her mistakes on her show! I know lack of perfection is frustrating, but as a viewer, its so much for fun for me to watch when things go sideways, so please don't feel frustrated 🙂
A couple of random thoughts: First, maybe the cream needed to be a bit thicker--almost an ice cream thickness; and secondly, maybe you did use too much marzipan. You did use almost twice what the recipe called for (presumably--I didn't actually see the full list of ingredients) and that much extra weight was certainly going to factor into the final product. I mean, basically a large strawberry shortcake (two layers of sponge cake with a layer of whipped cream and strawberries in between) and then nearly a pound of marzipan on top (and the extra decorative chocolate-covered strawberries)? It'd be kind of interesting to see how this was actually made on the TV show and compare the conditions. (Maybe your room temperature also had something to do with it?)
I love how overdramatic the musical stings are in this episode because that is EXACTLY what it feels like when your carefully constructed baked good starts falling apart right before your eyes.
I rarely take the pan base off of my cakes when I use a springform pan. It is a perfect tray and hey, why tempt fate. Also if I am going to need to transport it later, I can just put the top back on and there is no worry of the cake, cheesecake or whatever slumping or breaking. Your cake looked great and I would have put it in the freezer the first time it started to slump, again, why tempt fate. It would be easier to cut if it was slightly frozen, also. I think I would have made the cream thicker because you really needed that extra help in that area. The proof is in the eating so as long as it was delicious, it is a win. Good on you for attempting to make a cake with a cream layer like that. Those are always a challenge (which is why you won't usually see them in bakeoffs). If this happened when I was going to be serving guests, I would have served it in parfait or champagne glasses, broken down the cake, put that in the glasses after I had placed the halved strawberries against the side of the glasses and added a chocolate dipped berry to the top. Nobody would have been the wiser.
Sweaty and covered in flour, he wantonly sighed, "That should be nine inches..." Not to be defeated though, he made sure his cakes were filled and the sweet icing tasted and enjoyed by all watching and participating.
Jamie I have said before I have baking certification and also worked as pastry chef etc...however the tricks I have learned is through trial and error....YOU have definitely come a long way with your baking/decorating skills since your early videos...I have done these "Fraisier" type cakes and have found that if I over-thicken(with cornstarch) & even chill it separately before applying to cake)the custard first and also don't overload the cake with it, it does help . I make my own almond paste/marzipan also so I find mine is is little denser so maintains shape. TO BE SURE, this type of cake is very advanced in level of difficulty so actually you have succeeded in my opinion. I think it would be delicious! Your technical video talents(and sense of humour) crack me up. Vive la francais!! tres bien! 🍓🍓🍓oops PS. Jamie; lose that liquid food colour; use only paste colours (liquid affects consistency too much)
the lumps you had in your pastry cream in essence is corn starch. So some of the starch was removed so you lost some the thicken power. Or if you did not take the pastry cream above 180F. The starch will not achieve its maxim thicken power until it reaches 180F; it starts thickening at 140F. You might want to sift your corn starch in the future.
I’ve had similar problems with the Bake-Off cookbooks. Ratio issues, missing key steps (like boiling the starch for the pastry cream)… it’s not just you!
You might have had too many strawberries inside and they put pressure on the outside edges. Always set overnight. But you might have needed to cook the pudding longer.
9:10 maybe when he passed the cream through the sieve he got rid off lots of the cornstarch in the lumps and without the cornstarch the cream never set
Great job Jamie; the cake not come apart because of anything you did; it was a bad recipe. The classic Bagatelle aux Frazier is always made with diplomat cream (pastry cream stiffened with gelatin and has whipped cream folded in). When diplomat cream sets up, it is much firmer but still delicate. Also; the cake layers should always get a soak of simple syrup.
Okay - it's true that I'm only 2 seconds into this video and I've pressed pause to say this: thinking about the title alone, it would be flipping awesome if you were on the GBBO! Canadians can try out, right? Cause your cooking show and GBBO are both my happy places. It would be the bee's knees!! I don't care how this cake turns out. I will watch the video now. I just wanted to say that I would gladly support any effort to get you on GBBO. Who else would love that?
you've convinced me. If I ever make this delicious-looking recipe, it's going to be layered in individual dessert glasses and served like parfaits. Because I'm great with flavors while lousy at construction and who needs the stress? A lovely light cake, pastry cream, ripe strawberries, and a little marzipan? I just want to eat it! :)
There is a tool called a cake leveler that splits your cake evenly, and it's adjustable also. The cake looked beautiful, but even though it fell, I'm sure it tasted delicious
One thing that I can empathize with is a patisserie cream failure. My first attempt at Gateau St. Honoré was an unmitigated soggy runny disaster for that reason. I learned to bring it to a full rolling boil while stirring vigorously.
Just came here to say that I am learning so much. The videos give me confidence to try the hard things, the comments give me the know-how. Great community led by a fearless leader (chef).
I love your determination! I really can't get enough 😊 Never using marzipan myself, I wonder if using that extra portion made it too heavy and the pressure caused the cake to collapse 🤔 Whatever the case, it was a first attempt success! 🎉
I think I know what happened besides the pastry cream not being thick enough it was the butter step. Most pastry cream recipes will call for 1-2 tablespoons of butter being stirred in at the end. I’ve seen my fair share of Fraisier cakes being made and you whip the butter then slowly add in the pastry cream to make a buttercream pudding hybrid.
I've done creme pat several times and it has never set - it wasn't supposed to do it either. It would need way more corn starch or butter, which would destroy the taste. Adding gelatine would be the best course of action I think to make it work
For someone who has never watched Bake Off, this sure does feel like I’m watching Bake Off. Love your work! Also, whenever I make a custard that refuses to thicken after much cooking over low heat, I just crank up the heat a little and cook it until it starts bubbling.
Thank u for tasting the cream on the spat. It amazes me that none of the other utubers ever lick their fingers or mixers when baking something delicious. That's one of the best perks about baking.
Anytime I see Jamie baking, it’s a must watch. There are science chefs and bakers. We can’t be all things to all ppl. Baking is a diff type of science.
It’s like a beautiful strawberry flower that blooms immediately in room temperature! I feel like it just wants to be appreciated a little differently than you’d expect. Respect its individuality ❤
As a professional cook and cake baker for coffee shops, I aknowledge the role of the freezer and the torch to treat stubborn edges who don't want to come clean of the tin.
yes you bring pastry cream to a boil when cooking it stir it with a rubber spatula so you can keep the bottom from getting a layer of overcooked cream from happening that is what your clumps are from. sometimes it can make it taste eggy. straining afterwards is a good idea even if it doesn't look lumpy this is also possibly why your cake was collapsing, your pastry cream didn't ever get thick enough. flour and corn starch don't get to their full thickening strength until they're boiled
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I want the food dye!!
I have 7 year old who loves pink been through a things of pink this year alone! 😂
@@lori_lady_Egg Pink is my favorite color too 😁
I think you should do a series where you follow recipes in French and avoid using translations until after you've made the dish.
for an activity that is seen as something peaceful and tender, baking is a war on mind, body and soul. you served bravely private
(pun intended)
This could not be a truer statement.
Your username and your comment 🤌🏽
Love your style.
Truer words were never spoken!
You absolutely must boil an yolk+starch custard, whether the recipe specifies it or not. That's the only way to neutralize the alpha-amylase; if you don't do that, the custard with quickly turn watery as the alpha-amylase breaks down the starch. I wrestled with this problem for years until I finally read the scientific explanation in Shirley Corriher's book, Bakewise. There's a lot of confusion between English custard sauce that has no starch and CANNOT be boiled, and pastry cream that has starch and MUST be boiled.
Yes, I think Jamie would be well served to watch/read more about the science of baking ❤
Thank you, I just hopped over to Amazon and ordered that book!
Bakewise isn't only INCREDIBLY informative, it's also surprisingly fun! Whoever is in charge of publishing school textbooks should take note!
To add to this, heat the pastry cream to 82 degrees celcius and keep it here for a minute. This is the temperature the egg proteins coagulate and create the creamy texture.
Please don't actually bring the pastry cream to a "boil" at 100 degrees, you will burn the cream and create lumps.
@@Tartar Indeed, a full boil is not necessary. A furious boil over a high flame is definitely a mistake. The problem, though, is that the mix will start to bubble when the base of the pan is up to temp but custard on the the surface is not. I have run into that problem before, where I got the start of a boil but I had not fully denatured the alpha-amylase, and the custard ultimately failed.
In culinary school my teacher said pastry cream MUST boil. She said it should go blub, blub, blub, if it doesn’t the corn starch will go yum, yum, yum on your eggs and turn it into a watery mess.
Exactly!
I love this method of teaching
the thing about corn starch is if you go too hot or boil too long, it goes liquid again! has caused me much grief one or two times😅
Hahaha, with the blub blub blud and the yum yum yum, made me smile :D. Also a pastry chef here and I just said to myself that it needs to blub, and then I saw your comment :)
"I'm gonna take the easy route today" - decides to make a fraisier cake hahahaha
I know right??? 😂
Ironically, that pancake stack cake would have been less fiddly
I saw him pick that one and immediately thought "oh sweetie, you're gonna be miserable"
We all saw it, it was beautiful!! I would absolutely say it was a win. Now dump it in a bowl and call it a trifle! Lol
THAT is the Julia spirit!
Exactly why I'll never have an open plan kitchen!
That's exactly what i would have done. Because it looked too delicious not to enjoy it :)
Lol. Love that idea.
This! It'll still taste good!
With utmost respect, the pastry cream was too thin. No amount of refrigeration would thicken that. I realize that you followed the book but now you can annotate the recipe in the book (not "ribbons" but "lumps"). Next time will be much better. BTW: your cake was excellent.
Also, could doubling the marzipan make it top heavy?
I wonder if not sifting the baking powder with the flour, by sifting the clumps out caused less powder in the final mixture? I would have been happy with that end result because I too am not a baker😢!
@@suzc265 I doubt it, it's such a thin layer on top, its not any worse then adding the chocolate covered strawberries in terms of how much it weighs. I do however, agree with the previous comment above yours. It was simply too thin. Cornstarch has to be heated to a certain temperature to get that nice thickened consistency.
Really, the cornstarch and milk should've been mixed with an immersion blender or poured into a regular blender, to ensure the mixture is thoroughly combined, heat up the mixture until fully thickened. Once its cooled considerably, then add in your egg yolks, bring to the heat to cook the egg yolks so it thickens further, and then finally melt in your butter at the end.
I assume, the reason the book was written the way it was, is so that you only had to temper in your milk into the egg mixture, so you'd have less steps. Although I am surprised it says to add in the vanilla extract before the milk has boiled, I would've added that afterward to preserve as much of that vanilla flavor as you can.
What I'd do? Throw everything into the pot on medium heat and go to town with an immersion blender until combined and thickened and hope nothing goes wrong. 🤪
While my method is certainly half hazard, it always gets the result I'm after for. Although that's on an induction stovetop, Jamie uses gas, so different cooking techniques for different power sources to cook said food.
Hope that helped! :-)
@@Noah-LandNumbers*haphazard*
@@tamarawerner3136 You're right. Yet, half hazard is a delightful malapropism. I think I will include it in my life.
Thanks for coining it, Noah.
During those few seconds it stayed together, it was a thing of beauty.
"Can you stop!?, I'm starting to get on my own nerves." Man, I felt that one in my soul. Said that many times to myself.
2 things:
1. Yeah! to strawberry cake's success. I'm sure next time it will be perfect. There are plenty of notes here to make the crème patissiere thicker.
2. How Jamie manages to fight with a strip of acetate is a comedic art form only mastered by himself and Buster Keaton 😂
His fight with the acetate was valiant! And comedic.
“Cooking is love, baking is science.” - Chef Jean-Pierre
One of TH-cam’s finest😊
I grin with malicious anticipation when I see a thumbnail of Jamie with a cake!
I do, too! Is that sadistic of me. I get a little too much schadenfreude from it.
I love the man, but maybe cakes just aren't his thing.
@@carveyloverlove the use of that term 😂❤❤❤❤
I am so glad I am not the only one! They inevitably make me giggle, and he always perseveres! They're my favourite videos hahaha
"Nothing is ever not solved when you're using a sieve." Words to sieve by.
When Jamie exclaimed "I deserve this like anyone else!", I felt it to my very soul!!!! 😢😢
As someone who once worked in a bakery/patisserie, can confirm, taking the acetate off a cake is always a dicey proposition. There's a reason they're usually sold with the acetate still on.
Also, best thing to do with any leftover marzipan is just eat it, it's one of my very favorite things in the world.
The tagine is still sitting on the stove like a rifle hanging over the mantel in the first act of a play. We see it and we are waiting. ❤️
Chekhov’s gun?
LOL! Chekhov's Tagine
Sorry dude. Been there, so here's a few tips from this home cook.
Do not BOIL the milk, only bring it to a simmer at the edges. The pastry cream needs to come to first boil (Erin Jeanne McDowell explains this best) then continue to boil for at least a minute. The flour in that custard recipe is pointless, replace it with more cornstarch, and it must come to a full boil (again, first boil + a minute) to active the corn starch. Do not skip on fridge time. Frustrating as it is, a bowl of pastry cream needs to come to fridge temp all the way through to the center. This can be shortened by cooling it on a tray in a thin layer rather than a bowl. Chill a cake like that at least overnight.
When I read a recipe that asks for acetate, I know this is not the cake to make with my lacking fine motor skills
Forget all you know about custard when making crème patissière… It is gently cooked until thick and I mean that: Thicker than pudding. It is supposed to have structure. French patisserie depends on it having structure when it cools down as you learned the hard way. That’s also why we have crème anglaise or actual custard for applications when thick isn’t ideal. Apart from that yes it looked like a million bucks and I am sure it taste like it too.
“I’m starting to get on my own nerves” 😂
Relatable.
I get on my own nerves too sometimes 😂😂😂.
Same
😂
My primary habitation.
A great attempt for a first try! I think for the purposes of a fraisier cake where you're molding the pastry cream it needs to be thicker and you would need to bring it briefly to a boil until it has a pudding-like consistency. I also prefer to use a spatula for stirring pastry cream on the heat rather than a whisk because it lets me get a more even cook and creates less air bubbles so I can see what I'm doing!
Every baker has had their baking fails, but you learn from them and even if it doesn't look great, it'll still taste great!
I was thinking the same thing! Also, sifting the starch might help to prevent clumping better. I think you'd have to be incredibly lucky to get the consistency of the pastry cream right on the first try!
I'm going to try using a spatula instead of a whisk.
Did anyone else find it adorable that he jumped like a bunny after announcing the Siver Fox? 😊
The metric system measurements are alway appreciated.
Love,
The Rest Of The World.
I’m American and I chose metric for cooking whenever possible. Accuracy matters.
@@kaybrown4010I might be missing something, what does accuracy have to do with using metric?
@@Zach-h2lFor baking, metric measurements are usually by weight (grams) and customary measurements are usually by volume (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons).
@@andrew_ray i thought it was something like that, but that really has nothing to do with the system tho no? just use US imperial mass? especially cause she's saying she chooses metric? It's not a thing to convert imperial volume to metric mass is it?
Well, he is Canadian… Canadian’s generally use the metric system now
Jamie puts so much work into his cooking and his videos. My favorite cooking channel.
This is why they sell a lot of pastries in bakeries with the acetate on there. Because as soon as it gets warm, that pastry cream is going bye bye. It looked beautiful though Jamie and was probably freaking delicious!
that and pre-cut pastries have more exposed surface areas that can dry out. If you're going to make a pastry cream that has to hold weight, another cake layer, or toppings it has to be boiled for several minutes for the eggs and corn flour to properly set, or else it will break down and become watery and loose over time.
You always remind me why I rarely bake cakes. For me, if I want strawberries & cream, I'll bake some biscuits, top with sweetened mashed strawberries, then a giant dollop of whipped cream. Done & no drama. I do admire your persistence. Me, not so much.
Lots of people can't make biscuits/scones. You're a step ahead of the game.
Wow… the music… this was the most suspenseful cooking show I’ve ever watched! Loved it!
I kind of like the look of the fallen strawberries. They reminded me of a flower that was opening up.
Sounds silly but when my mom was in the hospital, there was a vase of roses on her bedside table. I watched one of them for about 5 minutes as it’s petals gradually opened. My brother noticed it too.
Without explaining, I'll just tell you'd fit in a lot more than you'd think on The Great British bake Off.
The tension & expectation every time Jamie re-fastened the cake corset 😱🎂🍓
Loved it!
Always bring your pastry cream or cream filling to a boil, otherwise it will turn to liquid.
yeah he never got it hot enough
This was epic on so many levels. The “not like this” and the “don’t do this to me” have crossed my lips numerous times
Thank you for inviting us into your kitchen every week. It's always a joy to watch you cook.
Please never get rid of the Silver Fox jump I love it so much!
I had much more fun watching this than any episode of The Great British Bake Off that I've ever seen. 😅
A fraisier cake. I have made that. LOL. Oh boy, this will be fun 😂
I'm looking forward to the redemption show
That was heartbreaking. It looked terrific. You didn't deserve for it to fall apart like that. Glad you just embraced it because it looked beautiful and delicious.
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE apply for The Great British Bake Off!
That would be fantastic!!!
YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS
he`d be a delight!
I second that! xx
I’d love to see Jamie clap and yell, “Bowl me!” in the middle of the tent.
I would suggest really whipping those eggs and sugar together. You want almost the color of butter like the most pale yellow. The ribbon should last on the surface for 4 seconds before disappearing. You should be able to write your name.
I have just found this gives me the best chance when adding in the rest of the ingredients. I have a better chance of the cake not deflating too much.
Your cake looked great! These were tips I picked up in culinary school. Genoise was always the cake that cske me the most trouble.
Also, if you really,really, chill the cake, the pastry cream will firm up, and you will be able to remove the acetate better. I am assuming because you film and were baking your kitchen is hot. That will "melt" your cream, making it harder to remove the acetate. Just make sure everything is cold. Always cold!
*I saw you chilled it. Hmmm.*
The recipe is at fault. It's a very pretty book, but poorly edited. I've baked a few recipes from it and had to adjust two of the three as they were just plain incorrectly written.
@@ethelryan257 It did have me wondering about other recipes in the book being not so accurate or well-explained.
@@ethelryan257 hmmmm. Well, that is troubling indeed.
I can just see Paul Hollywood standing there with his head cocked and rubbing his chin while looking at your cake, LOL.
“It’s messy… but it tastes delicious”
"That's disappointing."
Just as I was about to say I admire how Jamie moves through histl kitchen with confidence, compared to the early shoots, he wrestles with the acetate. 😂
God that bit made me lol
I LOVED THIS EPISODE! Drama, comedy, conflict...what's not to love? I've never stuck with a TH-cam channel longer than yours Jamie. I look forward to every episode! Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It's inspiring!
Aside from the cream not being thick enough, you should have put the thicker layer on the bottom. Personally I would have put the top cut side down, added the strawberries and cream then the lighter thinner layer on top. That should reduce the weight a lot and give it more stability. This way or that it sounds like a very tasty cake and you did a great job! I always enjoy your videos!
I was coming here to say that. The top layer was too thick and heavy.
PLEASE upload the fight with the acetate as a short. Everyone needs to see it
Despite the fact that Jamie's pastry cream was wrong in the Frasier cake, the way he confidently moved around that kitchen and did various techniques, means macarons must be tackled again. This time they have no chance.
As I always tell my kids, it's not what it looks like it's how it tastes, AND THEY BOUGHT IT.😳
I never imagined I could get emotionally invested in a cooking show, but my heart just SANK for you when those strawberries started falling over. 😢😄 Thanks for sticking with it and showing us that things don't have to be perfect to be enjoyed.
that genoise looked lovely, truly a success! that marzipan got too warm and soft, chilling it whenever it gets sticky will help. now that pastry cream ... I've never seen it use AP flour, we only ever made it with starch in culinary school. also - you can put a few sheets of gelatin in there for a smooth firm cream that holds the shape and cuts clean.
also - I'm impressed that you got that chocolate tempered on your strawberries!
I thought the same about the AP flour..
Usually the fraisier for us in France is slightly different because the strawberries on the edge don't stand on the génoise, the génoise diameter is smaller to allow the cream to make like a "cement" between the génoise and the strawberries. You'll probably find this technique online if I'm not being clear 😅 And we also make a syrup with water sugar and kirsh to soak the génoise. It really adds flavours to the fraisier. That was a great first try anyway and I always love your videos.❤
petition to put Jamie on the Great British Baking Show
After watching this again. I am going to attempt this for Easter with the family. Seems doable. Update: Made a chocolate version of this for Easter, OMG!! Best cake I've ever made. Thanks for the inspiration! Acetate for cakes is a game changer for me.
Tempering the eggs just means diluting them in the milk to avoid curdling them as soon as you pour them into scalding milk.
Instant curdling when pouring is actually used in Chinese cooking (sweet and savory).
Regardless, you can achieve the same result (and I would argue better because you 100% about any clumps) by mixing the milk while cold, and then cook it all together. Perfect results every single time.
Even when I'm infusing milk with cinnamon and lemon rinds, I still let it cool down a bit and mix it all together.
It's not done like this in professional settings because it takes longer to heat it up from room temp, but if you're at home it doesn't matter.
You've made some really lovely cakes Jaime. Don't sell yourself short.... also, even if you have trouble, you're still charming and freaking cute.
OMG! I couldn’t decide to laugh or cry so I did both!
Jamie you are such a fighter it’s inspirational!
Thank you so much for making these videos!
My partner and I made this cake. It took two days and about £200 worth of equipment and ingedients but we didn't have those issues at the end. We were very proud
As a self learner of bakery myself, living in Mexico, and already baked some of the cakes from that book, Jamie you're not the problem, the problem here is - geography. I realised the recipes do change depending on the altitude and what it's needed in UK, here in America is needed more in order to work. You did a great work!!! 😊
I had it once as well, poured my heart into a multi-layer sponge cake with pastry cream and fresh fruit only to see that the cream wasn't holding the weight of the cake, even though the sponge cake was light and fluffy.
I found other recipes that call for a mix of pastry cream and whipped cream with the addition of a bit of gelatine, and that lightens up the cream while stabilizing it at the same time. From that moment on I got great results!
Good idea.
I know a thing or two about cakes. You did fine for a first try. Your second one will be perfect 👌🏻
Everything except your creme pat was excellent: your sponge was a great colour; the cut strawberries were arranged really beautifully; and I think i would have been happy to be served a slice of Fraisier with marzipan that thick on the top, though to be honest that one's more personal preference & the traditional one is very thin.
If you ever decide to go for Fraisier redemption, this would be my advice:
(1) Beat your eggs for longer until they're really thick & light. By appearance as opposed to texture, it'll appear more like lightly whipped cream. By texture, it'll be made up of very even, very tiny bubbles. It should never be runny by any description until you start adding ingredients into it, and the aim is to have everything mixed in evenly by the time there's any danger of it actually reaching a stage where it could pour like a liquid as opposed to thickly fall. A thick fall is a good name for what you want to have when your putting it into the tray. Move the bowl the length of the tray slowly as you tip it out to mix, aiming to pour evenly from one end of the tray to the other, one pass. This means you have minimal amounts of air lost by using the spatula to spread to the sides, as opposed to trying to move all the mix from a pile in the middle. The aim is to conserve the air to make your sponge as light as possible with an even rise. Avoid tapping the tray to even out the surface as you're just tapping the air out.
I feel like tthis is already way too long, but im trying to be REALLY specific for anyone that is interested. Will continue in the comments.
(2) As has been mentioned several times, you need to cook your Creme pat at a higher heat. Recipes usually recommend cooking at a lower heat because the sauce is high in fat, sugar, and viscosity, so can therefore catch & burn very easily. I would go over medium heat initially, especially over gas because it's a very controllable heat source. Don't stir with a whisk; stir with a wooden, straight edged spatula, or a heatproof flexible silicone spatula. The whisk doesn't have enough contact directly with the base of the pan to keep it moving fast enough to avoid catching on the base of your pan. Keep stirring, starting slowly because you want the mix to heat. Stirring does lots of things, one of these being temperature control. Your utensil aerates the sauce from the air around it, lowering the temperature, so keep the initial stir slow, but keep stirring. As the mix heats, you can stir a little faster as you think it needs. You just need it to be smooth as you can get it. If it's catching anywhere, take it off the heat & stir fast to get lots of air in. Keep the spatula in contact with the base as much as you can. When it's smoothed out, stir for another 5 seconds & then back on the heat. If your mix isn't thickening after 5 minutes, increase the heat. You can turn it down again later, if needed. You're looking for a really thick mix that still has some movement to it, like how lava oozes in big globs. There's so many variants to consider (e.g. age of your stove, type of stove, metal used to make saucepan, heat source, etc.) in telling you settings, there's no point in telling you one thing to set it to. Better to know what to look for.
It's already late here, but I'll add more tomorrow if anyone wants to hear them.
Thank you!
It’s so funny because I was watching The Great British Bake Off and thought to myself “Jamie should really be on this show!” And 5 minutes later I got your notification with this title 😂😂 Loved the video, you should def apply 👌🏼🫶🏼
A quick dip of the strawberry leaves in hot water will give them a brighter look.
Remember what made Julia so endearing was she was bold enough to show her mistakes on her show! I know lack of perfection is frustrating, but as a viewer, its so much for fun for me to watch when things go sideways, so please don't feel frustrated 🙂
Next time unmold it onto the cake stand! You put parchment strips around the edges and then pull them out so that way it keeps the stand clean.
Jaime, you are the type of person that whenever you lose, you always win. It’s what makes this channel a perpetual winner 🎉🎉
A couple of random thoughts: First, maybe the cream needed to be a bit thicker--almost an ice cream thickness; and secondly, maybe you did use too much marzipan. You did use almost twice what the recipe called for (presumably--I didn't actually see the full list of ingredients) and that much extra weight was certainly going to factor into the final product. I mean, basically a large strawberry shortcake (two layers of sponge cake with a layer of whipped cream and strawberries in between) and then nearly a pound of marzipan on top (and the extra decorative chocolate-covered strawberries)? It'd be kind of interesting to see how this was actually made on the TV show and compare the conditions. (Maybe your room temperature also had something to do with it?)
I'd forgotten about the extra marzipan. Good point.
This looks so good! And keep using the metric system especially for baking. It really seems to make a difference
I love how overdramatic the musical stings are in this episode because that is EXACTLY what it feels like when your carefully constructed baked good starts falling apart right before your eyes.
I rarely take the pan base off of my cakes when I use a springform pan. It is a perfect tray and hey, why tempt fate. Also if I am going to need to transport it later, I can just put the top back on and there is no worry of the cake, cheesecake or whatever slumping or breaking. Your cake looked great and I would have put it in the freezer the first time it started to slump, again, why tempt fate. It would be easier to cut if it was slightly frozen, also. I think I would have made the cream thicker because you really needed that extra help in that area. The proof is in the eating so as long as it was delicious, it is a win. Good on you for attempting to make a cake with a cream layer like that. Those are always a challenge (which is why you won't usually see them in bakeoffs). If this happened when I was going to be serving guests, I would have served it in parfait or champagne glasses, broken down the cake, put that in the glasses after I had placed the halved strawberries against the side of the glasses and added a chocolate dipped berry to the top. Nobody would have been the wiser.
Sweaty and covered in flour, he wantonly sighed, "That should be nine inches..."
Not to be defeated though, he made sure his cakes were filled and the sweet icing tasted and enjoyed by all watching and participating.
Jamie I have said before I have baking certification and also worked as pastry chef etc...however the tricks I have learned is through trial and error....YOU have definitely come a long way with your baking/decorating skills since your early videos...I have done these "Fraisier" type cakes and have found that if I over-thicken(with cornstarch) & even chill it separately before applying to cake)the custard first and also don't overload the cake with it, it does help . I make my own almond paste/marzipan also so I find mine is is little denser so maintains shape. TO BE SURE, this type of cake is very advanced in level of difficulty so actually you have succeeded in my opinion. I think it would be delicious! Your technical video talents(and sense of humour) crack me up. Vive la francais!! tres bien! 🍓🍓🍓oops PS. Jamie; lose that liquid food colour; use only paste colours (liquid affects consistency too much)
the lumps you had in your pastry cream in essence is corn starch. So some of the starch was removed so you lost some the thicken power. Or if you did not take the pastry cream above 180F. The starch will not achieve its maxim thicken power until it reaches 180F; it starts thickening at 140F. You might want to sift your corn starch in the future.
I’ve had similar problems with the Bake-Off cookbooks. Ratio issues, missing key steps (like boiling the starch for the pastry cream)… it’s not just you!
i actually think you’d do great tbh. you’ve grown SO much over the last few years
I want you to succeed every time. I'm always on your side. And heck life happens. You'll get this! I believe in you!
You might have had too many strawberries inside and they put pressure on the outside edges. Always set overnight. But you might have needed to cook the pudding longer.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. The water in the strawberries seeps out so you can’t use that many and the pastry cream needed to be thicker.
9:10 maybe when he passed the cream through the sieve he got rid off lots of the cornstarch in the lumps and without the cornstarch the cream never set
Honestly, crème pat is a tricky bugger to get the hang of... but I've seen you do custards just fine.. So I know you'll get it next time.
Great job Jamie; the cake not come apart because of anything you did; it was a bad recipe. The classic Bagatelle aux Frazier is always made with diplomat cream (pastry cream stiffened with gelatin and has whipped cream folded in). When diplomat cream sets up, it is much firmer but still delicate. Also; the cake layers should always get a soak of simple syrup.
Okay - it's true that I'm only 2 seconds into this video and I've pressed pause to say this: thinking about the title alone, it would be flipping awesome if you were on the GBBO! Canadians can try out, right? Cause your cooking show and GBBO are both my happy places. It would be the bee's knees!!
I don't care how this cake turns out. I will watch the video now. I just wanted to say that I would gladly support any effort to get you on GBBO. Who else would love that?
I know Canadians probably can't be on the show, to be clear, but this is me wishfully thinking.
you've convinced me. If I ever make this delicious-looking recipe, it's going to be layered in individual dessert glasses and served like parfaits. Because I'm great with flavors while lousy at construction and who needs the stress? A lovely light cake, pastry cream, ripe strawberries, and a little marzipan? I just want to eat it! :)
There is a tool called a cake leveler that splits your cake evenly, and it's adjustable also. The cake looked beautiful, but even though it fell, I'm sure it tasted delicious
One thing that I can empathize with is a patisserie cream failure. My first attempt at Gateau St. Honoré was an unmitigated soggy runny disaster for that reason. I learned to bring it to a full rolling boil while stirring vigorously.
Autograph the food coloring and eBay it fund your trip for the British Bake off! 😍
I would just go with 'Jamie v Cake' then after each episode you can decide did you beat the cake or did the cake beat you.
I like that! That’s a good one. I’ll add it to the short list :)
@@antichef cool I wish you luck in your epic battle v cakes
Thank you so much for this video, Jamie. The cake looked beautiful before it collapsed, and tasted good so it’s a win!
Just came here to say that I am learning so much. The videos give me confidence to try the hard things, the comments give me the know-how. Great community led by a fearless leader (chef).
I love your determination! I really can't get enough 😊 Never using marzipan myself, I wonder if using that extra portion made it too heavy and the pressure caused the cake to collapse 🤔
Whatever the case, it was a first attempt success! 🎉
I think I know what happened besides the pastry cream not being thick enough it was the butter step. Most pastry cream recipes will call for 1-2 tablespoons of butter being stirred in at the end. I’ve seen my fair share of Fraisier cakes being made and you whip the butter then slowly add in the pastry cream to make a buttercream pudding hybrid.
I've done creme pat several times and it has never set - it wasn't supposed to do it either. It would need way more corn starch or butter, which would destroy the taste. Adding gelatine would be the best course of action I think to make it work
For someone who has never watched Bake Off, this sure does feel like I’m watching Bake Off. Love your work! Also, whenever I make a custard that refuses to thicken after much cooking over low heat, I just crank up the heat a little and cook it until it starts bubbling.
You get the absolute best comments of any TH-camr, I learn so much from your videos AND the top quality comments, well done Jamie🎉
Jamie, it’s not about you not having baking talent. When the instructions aren’t correct, you can’t be held liable! Keep it up.
Thank u for tasting the cream on the spat. It amazes me that none of the other utubers ever lick their fingers or mixers when baking something delicious. That's one of the best perks about baking.
love your content! your tempering has IMprOVed !!!! It looked beautiful. On the plate, no one would know! Good work.
Did you try the recipes?
Anytime I see Jamie baking, it’s a must watch. There are science chefs and bakers. We can’t be all things to all ppl. Baking is a diff type of science.
It’s like a beautiful strawberry flower that blooms immediately in room temperature! I feel like it just wants to be appreciated a little differently than you’d expect. Respect its individuality ❤
Episode 1 Jamie would have never thought that would be his bookshelf. What a cookbook collection!
As a professional cook and cake baker for coffee shops, I aknowledge the role of the freezer and the torch to treat stubborn edges who don't want to come clean of the tin.
That's a beautiful tagine you have there. Do you have any plans to do a video with it? BTW, I'm obsessed with your show
yes you bring pastry cream to a boil when cooking it
stir it with a rubber spatula so you can keep the bottom from getting a layer of overcooked cream from happening
that is what your clumps are from. sometimes it can make it taste eggy. straining afterwards is a good idea even if it doesn't look lumpy
this is also possibly why your cake was collapsing, your pastry cream didn't ever get thick enough. flour and corn starch don't get to their full thickening strength until they're boiled