This is what you get when everything goes wrong.
1. My dacquois burned when it was moved from the Gemini to the Blogett. I expected that to happen, so not a big deal. Had to remake a base layer, which took time I didn't have.
2. My mousse seized when I added the gelatin to the chocolate (because the pate a bombe was cold). Lesson learned on that one. Had to use my ganache, which meant my glaze was toast because I ...
3. Ran out of ganache. Used a white chocolate band around the outside instead of the dark satiny shine it was supposed to have. Not as pretty, but functional.
4. The white chocolate band didn't quite reach, so the huge lurking heart was a total "OMG What do I do" fiasco.
5. I lost the crunch with the burning of the dacquois, and since I didn't have my stylized white chocolate heart on top, I had to do caramelize something --- dried cranberries? Sure! Luster dust saved the day.
6. My tempered chocolate was nicely called "rustic" This wasn't supposed to be rustic at all. It was supposed to be sexy and thin and stylized. But who had time when I had to set the gelatin?
7. My layers aren't even, and my ganache is too thick in the middle. But I was able to keep my station clean, offer support to my classmates, and not laugh too hysterically at the whole situation.
At least it tasted really good.
It's hard to tell I made this three times practicing at home before the final. Seriously. And it all worked out at home. I'm going to make it one more time and take a picture of it, mainly because I ended up really like the almond crunch at the bottom better than the dacquois.
I'll put the recipe up, too.