I have the great pleasure to work with Chef Walter Howald who has been in this industry for .... well... for longer than I have been on this earth and he is still passionate and excited to share his knowledge and expertise with myself and my students. He is great fun to watch since he constantly reminds the students that, "decorating is like a dance, stay loose!" and, "you won't get better without practice, I wasn't born with this, you know!" Even though he does it like he had a pastry bag in his hand at birth!
My students are always riveted to his hands as he works. They say I make it look easy but he makes it look effortless and always so much fun! I only hope to keep my passion alive as long as he has...it seems to be staying strong but I can only hope to be as lively and enthusiastic as he is as I go even older...
He showed us this great technique using coating chocolate and ice that he had made in a half sphere mold.
Piping the chocolate over the ice back and forth to form long strands and then when it has set up in just a few seconds he lifts it off the ice and forms a flower.
And then he makes a second one and places it in the first one to strengthen and enhance the flower. Finally he places a fondant pansy he had made and dried in the center for color.
The butterflies he makes are all out of chocolate. He uses a template that he has made and on a sheet of acetate he pipes first the chocolate lines and then when they have set the white chocolate with color added. After the wings have set up then he attaches the wings together with dark chocolate to form the body. The butterflies add a lot of dimension and color to a cake.
His piped buttercream designs are not only fun and colorful but they add a theme to a cake for whatever occasion that might be happening.
Here we have a poodle and a bear, great for kids cakes.
I love the way he enhances his writing with flourishes and curls.
My class loved him so much they had to have a group shot with Walter.
Thank you so much Walter for sharing your passion with all of us!!!
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