The fourth day of my pastry course didn’t begin as smoothly as I’d hoped. I left on time, climbed into the car and drove to Beverwijk, where the class is held. About five to ten minutes from my destination, traffic came to a halt. Ten cars in front of me slowed down and, beyond them, a tunnel blocked the road. It looked like there had been an accident. Fortunately for me, the school was just past that tunnel, so I would still reach it quickly—if only traffic moved.
I ended up waiting roughly half an hour with the engine off. To pass the time I got out and chatted with the driver in front of me. He suggested switching to all-weather tires, and it sounded like sensible advice. A few ambulances and police cars went into the tunnel, but after we finally drove through there was no visible sign of any incident. To this day I still don’t know exactly what happened.
When I arrived I was about ten minutes late. The class was already underway, so I missed the first half of the chef’s explanation. I was paired with a different partner than in previous weeks, which required some adjustment, but we quickly found our rhythm. The day felt a bit off for me—I didn’t fully get into the flow—but I still learned a lot.
That session we prepared a batter for a whipped cream cake. The method was straightforward: warm the egg mixture, beat it until smooth and creamy in the mixer, then fold in the flour. Simple in theory, but my partner and I misjudged the egg quantity and needed to whip more eggs separately. Later we also forgot to add sugar to the whipped cream—an absent-minded slip. Despite those hiccups, the cake turned out very well. I brought a portion to work the next day and my colleagues were enthusiastic; they appreciated that the cream wasn’t overly sweet.
During the same class we made meringues, specifically Italian meringue. This style relies on pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites, so timing and temperature are crucial. I hadn’t made Italian meringue before, but the results were excellent—the texture and flavor came out just right. My colleagues tried them as well and enjoyed them.
I’m looking forward to making both the whipped cream cake and the meringues again, and trying out several variations—after all, experimenting is part of the fun. Despite being a somewhat hectic day, it was informative and enjoyable, with tasty results to show for it.