Chocolate lollipops

Tues 29/10/13

Well readers, this is my final blog regarding a Savour class as this is the last day of my three month membership. But what a great class to finish on. Chocolate lollipops. A single bite of chocolate bliss. Or maybe two bites if you're dainty.
These little beauties were made using chocolate truffle shells, which are available in dark, white & milk chocolate. A variety of fillings were produced. Of the six varieties, five of them contain two layers. These fillings would also be suitable for a moulded chocolate.

So, starting from the purple lollipop & working clockwise, we have

- Kir Royale, which combines a blackcurrant caramel with a champagne ganache

- Coco kalamansi finds the sweetness of a white chocolate shell cut by the tartness of kalamansi

- Irish coffee sees the pairing of two ganaches, one flavoured with coffee & the other with Baileys

- Gia features hazelnut in both layers, a crunchy layer for texture & a smooth buttercream layer

- Popcorn finds an oozy salted caramel teamed with popcorn marshmallow
- Lemon & coconut, in the centre, features a crunchy coconut component paired with a lemon ganache 

 

 

Following class, Glenn & I caught the tram to St Kilda. St Kilda Pier has a breakwater that shelters the harbour & plays host to a colony of fairy penguins. The breakwater is a Wildlife Management Conservation Area, providing a safe environment for the penguin colony. 
Little or fairy penguins only live in Australia & New Zealand. They like rocky shorelines as these are the best sites for breeding & I imagine, the rocks would provide a degree of protection & security from predators & the elements. After feeding all day, each evening at dusk they venture onto the shoreline to take shelter amongst the rocks. They actually jump between the rocks & stumble often. Volunteers from Earthcare visit the pier each evening to give information to those viewing the penguins & ensure no one is impacting negatively on the colony. They also offer red cellophane to cover torches, as the penguins aren't able to see light in the red spectrum, so aren't disturbed by it. Flash photography is also banned. Apparently the light from torches & camera flashes affects them as they don't have eyelids & it may cause epileptic fits.

 

Hanging Rock & Trentham Falls

Sun 27/10/13

If you've been following my blog then you've seen my initial post on Hanging Rock. My friend Lesa makes teddy bears & was attending a bear fair at Woodend, which is less than 10km from Hanging Rock. A brilliant opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - catch up with Lesa & share Hanging Rock, a truly magnificent piece of nature, with Glenn.

 

 

 

 

 

Also in the Daylesford & Macedon Ranges area is Trentham Falls, which is the  highest single-drop waterfall in central Victoria.

 

 

The face of the waterfall was formed approximately five million years ago by molten lava flowing along the valley of the Coliban River valley. Trentham Falls plunges 32m over basalt columns onto the quartz gravel below. Contraction of the lava as it cooled & solidified resulted in vertical cracking & the appearance of distinct columns.

The spray from the falling water is constantly altering the face, undercutting the lower soft river sediments. In the near future, the left side of the waterfall, which you can see has very little rock supporting it, is expected to collapse as a result of the undercutting.

 

Further along, water bubbles merrily over rocks on its way downstream.

 

 

Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens

Sat 26/10/13

The Royal Exhibition Building is one of the most striking examples of Victorian era architecture in the city. The building was designed by Joseph Reed & built by David Mitchell for Melbourne's first international exhibition in 1880-81. Back in those days, exhibitions were held to showcase & promote products & achievements of the industrial revolution & foster a global exchange of ideas & innovations. It stands as one of the world's oldest exhibition pavilions. In 2004, the Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens were granted World Heritage List status.

 

With its meticulously restored, ornate interior, expansive gallery & soaring dome, the building offers a magnificent setting for cultural & community events, trade shows & fairs. Just this past weekend, the Royal Exhibition Building housed the RACV sponsored Motorclassica, which included examples of classic older model cars, such as Jaguar & Vauxhall.

 

 

 

 

In the 19th century, it was fashionable to place grand buildings such as exhibition halls in a garden setting. Garden beds at the time were laid in a "parterre" style - formally planted with hedges patterned & shaped as scrolls, circles & triangles & then in filled with flowering blooms. These beds were removed in the early 1900's & replaced with more simple beds. In 2008, Melbourne City Council reconstructed the beds in the same shape & layout as in the 1880's, but with plant species more suited to current day maintenance & water conservation requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

As with most of Melbourne's parks, there is a tree-lined avenue offering shade during the summer. A semi-circular space has as its centrepiece, an ornate fountain, from which other paths radiate out across the park. Melbourne really knows how to do parks. The amazing part is that most of them were established back in the mid to late 1800's. The city planners back in that century really showed great foresight & vision. 

 

Chocolate bars with inclusions & infusions

Sat 26/10/13

This Savour class was all about introducing flavours into chocolate through either infusion or addition & then moulded in a bar form rather than an individual moulded chocolate.
Infusion involves the use of a carrier such as cream or cocoa butter. Examples of flavouring agents, where flavour is extracted through infusion include coffee beans, citrus zest & herbs & spices. Inclusions are those ingredients that can be added & left in the fillings, examples of which include nuts, cocoa nibs & liqueurs.

 

 

From front to back, we have:

Flat white -  a small tasting piece of white chocolate with a coffee infusion

Lime caramel - this involved producing a caramel, then processing it to a fine powder before adding it to tempered chocolate

Fried almond & smoked salt - as the name suggests, this chocolate bar was created with the addition of fried almonds & smoked salt

Coconut - the addition of Malibu gives this bar an extra kick of coconut flavour

Lemon & spice - this bar contains flavours introduced through both addition & infusion. It involves the pairing of a lemon ganache with a praline containing coriander & cocoa nibs.



Macarons continuing education 1

Fri 25/10/13

The Savour teachers keep saying these little morsels are on their way out, but honestly, I keep seeing them around. Adriano Zumbo's business is built on the back of his initial appearance on Masterchef with his macarons & when at his Melbourne shop a few weeks ago, people were buying them by the dozen. Chez Dre, which I featured in my post titled "sweet Melbourne", are producing them. Ganache Chocolate retail them. Mind you, Melbourne is probably the first place to see new trends in food, whereas Newcastle is a lot slower to catch on. 
So, the macarons produced in this class are a step up from the entrance level  class, but not quite as developed as the continuing education 2 class. More developed & layered flavour pairings & the decorating of the shells with a textural component are all a step up from the basic macaron with its simple, single flavoured filling. Again, we looked at the three different methods of making macarons, French, Spanish & Italian. 

 

So, down to the all important flavours. From L-R we have:

St Clements - contains an orange jam encased in a lemon butter crème

 

 

 

Citrus & rosemary - a kalamansi pate de fruit is layered with a citrus & rosemary ganache

 

 

Apple crumble - the pairing of a refreshing poached apple gelee & a cinnamon mousseline cream, with additional texture provided by a shortcrust pastry crumb sprinkled over the shells

 

 

Les macarons au chocolate - chocolate mass is used to flavour this shell. This is teamed with a blackcurrant curd

 

 

Peanut brittle & milk chocolate - crushed peanut brittle flavours the shell & the milk chocolate ganache. With the shell, we noticed that being too generous with the sprinkle of peanut brittle affected its shape & structure

 

 

The three levels of classes have opened my eyes to the idea of providing different textures & increasing the number of flavours within a macaron. I've only ever done a single flavoured ganache or buttercream centre. Fitting a number of layers within that tiny macaron shell & not have it as thick as a hamburger provides a challenge, however. As with a hamburger, there's nothing worse than having your fillings shoot out the back, as you bite into it!



 



Warrnambool & the Great Ocean Road

Thurs 24/10/13

Yesterday, we experienced rain. And more rain! This morning revealed a sliver of sunlight through the clouds. And strong on-shore winds. Warrnambool lies within the stretch of coast between Cape Otway & Moonlight Head that is known as "the Shipwreck Coast". Guesstimates number the shipwrecks along Victoria's coast at approximately 638, of which only 240 have been discovered. These shipwrecks have been the result of gales & unrelenting seas, human error & in some cases, foul play. Needless to say, numerous lives have been lost as a result of these tragedies. With the advent of sail & steam, Bass Strait opened up the new colony of Australia to cargo & immigrants from Europe & America. Though treacherous, the waters of Bass Strait provided a sometimes safe & viable route to the riches of the goldfields.
Warrnambool has a breakwall that shields Lady Bay from the open sea. Between the years of 1850 & 1905 & well prior to the construction of the breakwall, there were 15 shipwrecks in Lady Bay. Warrnambool was the rural trade centre, with ships travelling between here & the port of Melbourne.

 

Warrnambool has a maritime museum, laid out in the fashion of a typical coastal village of the late 1800's, dedicated to the history of shipping within the area. The state heritage listed Lady Bay lighthouses, cannons & fortifications erected in the belief of a Russian invasion & numerous maritime artefacts including cargo, documents, fittings, navigational instruments & personal effects recovered from wreckages are all housed here.

 

 

 

The waters of Warrnambool provide a nursery area for calving Southern Right whales. Between the months of June & September, the females migrate from sub-Antarctic waters to the warmer waters off Warrnambool's coastline. The females generally stay in the nursery for many weeks to allow their calves to feed & gather strength for their journey back to the sub-Antarctic waters. Specially constructed platforms allow for viewing of the whales, which can swim within a hundred metres of the shore.

Approximately 14km west of Warrnambool is Tower Hill, a volcanic formation believed to have erupted approximately 30,000 years ago. It's formation is known as a nested maar & it is the largest example of its type in Victoria. During formation, molten lava pushed its way up through the Earth's crust & encountered a layer of water-bearing rock. Violent explosions followed creating a shallow crater which filled with water to form a lake. Subsequent eruptions occurred in the centre of the crater, creating islands & cone shaped hills. It's a truly remarkable natural wonder.

 

 

Port Campbell National Park encompasses the stretch of coast between Princetown & Peterborough ( though we travelled in the opposite direction) & offers spectacular scenery. Rugged coastline, sheer cliffs & unique limestone formations carved through the action of unrelenting seas & fierce winds over thousands of years, offers some of the most breathtakingly beautiful natural sites in Australia. Some of the more impressive formations are named & signposted, including the Grotto, the Arch, London Bridge & the Twelve Apostles. Truly magnificent!

 

 

Photos: the Grotto

 

Photos: the Arch

   

Photo: London Bridge

 

London Bridge was named for its similarity to the famous London Bridge of British origin. In 1990, the arch closest to the mainland gave way, sending thousands of tonnes of rock crashing into the seas. Back then, visitors must have been able to walk out onto the expanse, as two tourists were stranded on the rock lying offshore!

 

Photo: Thundercave

 

 

 

Photos: the Twelve Apostles

 

We finished up our tour of the Great Ocean Road with the sun setting over the Twelve Apostles. Pretty amazing, eh?