Chocolate and Caramel Pears

Maybe I just needed to get the complaining out of my system.  Today's practical was much more enjoyable than the last few.  This dessert wasn't as time consuming and the chef did not rush us nearly as much as usual until the very end.  We went all the way until the end of our class and he's probably going to get in trouble for it.  But I was definitely in better spirits when I left class.

We made Poires au Caramel Religieuses today and it is delicious!  It is now one of my favorites for taste.  It is a thin layer of chocolate sponge (sprinkled with hazelnuts) as a base and around the outside, a thick layer of chocolate mousse, a very small piece of sponge, pear chunks poached in a creamy caramel sauce, more mousse, and a chocolate glaze on top.  The pears on top were also poached in the caramel and the white pears are made out of tempered chocolate.  As you can hopefully see and as the chef pointed out, my piping is improving.  I felt a little brave today and decided to try a border that had potentail to be disastrous for me.  It is still simple and not perfect, but it turned out pretty nice and I'm happy with it.  I think that made it taste better to me too.