Cheese and Cake, but not Cheesecake

This week Adrianne and I have been working on our skills.  Adrianne made a cake for a friend's daughter.  It looked fantastic, and we have heard reports that it tasted great, too.





Mike made Camembert for the first time.  Camembert is the same as Bri, except it's smaller.  Bri is a cheese that snobs eat just so they can sound like they are cultured--at least that's what Mike thought until he had a good Bri.  Prior to that, he was sure that Bri wasn't very good.  Now he's excited to be making his own and hopes that it will turn out well.

Making a B/C (Bri or Camembert) is different from making other cheeses in a number of ways.  The first is that in B/C you add mold to the milk (you can also spray mold on after you've made it).  Another is that in other cheeses, you take the curds and press them together to get a solid cheese.  In B/C you use a ladle and scoop the curds and whey into the molds.


You let the whey drain out, while flipped the molds every few hours until the cheese is a "solid" mass.


You age the cheeses in a high humidity environment (which I am hoping to accomplish by keeping them in this storage box, at about 54 degrees.


  Here the box is in the cheese cave--I put the lid on it after this picture.  I've got a little meter in there to measure the temperature and the humidity for me.  They'll stay in here for about a week until it is covered in a white, velvety bloom of mold.



I'll report on how they turned out in about 3-4 weeks.

Comments

Frances said…
The cake is so pretty. And I'm slightly disgusted by cheese. Great post!! :)
Jess and Jen said…
Wow, that isn't cake...that's art. And that isn't cheese...that's mold. Wait, that's what it's supposed to be. I guess you are both successful! -Jess
The Duke said…
The cake is fabulous!! It really is cute. I'm just blown away by all that cheese. You now need to report how all the cheeses taste when you get to taste them so we know that it all worked! Impressive for sure.
How can you be disgusted by cheese--what's disgusting about a fluid coming from a big dangley thing on a stinky animal, being contaminated with bacteria, solidified, smashed, and then housing mold? Oh, I guess I can see it.
Pitcher Family said…
White velvety bloom of mold??? Lovely! The cake, on the other hand really is Lovely! You are both so talented!
chelsey said…
I like Brie! And holy cow on the cake skills girl!
Jason said…
Am I the only one chuckling at the "snobs only eat it so they can sound cultured," part? I love word play - especially when it is not intended (or was it?)
Jess and Jason said…
I love the cake and want to taste the cheese, although "a lovely bloom of mold" doesn't sound very appetizing.

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