STAFF REVIEW: EVENING CAKES COOKERY CLASS
Get ready for an extremely yummy read! Gemma and I were lucky enough to turn a cold wet evening into something special …a cake cookery class!
Our experience was with Cookery School, a sustainable cooking school, who are located in Central London just off Oxford Street -perfect for a day of shopping before baking some delicious cakes. When we arrived, we met Jane and Edwin, who were our chef hosts for the day. They kindly welcomed us with a glass of chilled wine and a warmed savoury scone (Yum!) We hung up our coats and put away our bags in the lockers provided, then took our places at one of the worktop tables. The room was small, yet fully prepared with all ingredients and equipment neatly laid out ready. Once our group of 10 had all arrived, we were ready for the class to begin.
Jane begun the session with an informative introduction to the world of baking. Her tips and tricks were extremely useful, and ones I will be letting all my friends who are aspiring bakers know – for example, mix ingredients delicately yet quickly to avoid overmixing, as you want to keep as much air inside the mix as possible for the best bake.
It was now onto the making … and the messy part! Today we would be learning how to make the perfected whisked sponge. Different to your usual go-to sponge, this cake requires no baking powder, just an old-fashioned folding technique to naturally rise your cake.
Whilst we waited for our sponges to bake, it was onto the next event: an apricot Swiss roll. Using the same technique as before, but adding the baking powder, we began mixing together the ingredients. 10 minutes later, our sponge was golden brown and ready for rolling in a quick smother of apricot jam. Off we rolled, using the baking paper to help! Although this seems difficult, it was actually relatively fun and easy.
Out came our sponges ready for filling. Again, we chose a delicious fruit jam and a dusting of icing sugar. It was then ready to be boxed up to take back to the office! Jane gathered us around for an icing tutorial. My eyes lit up when she told us what we were making: a chocolate ganache topping!
Our final cake was one of my favourites: a classic lemon drizzle loaf - easy to prepare, and simple, yet indulgent to spoil guests with. I’ll definitely be making this recipe at home! The fresh lemon juice used in both the cake and icing was sweet and zingy, just as a lemon drizzle should be. Jane and Edwin had already been baking before our 3-hour session, so we had plenty to taste test, talk about and take home with us. This included devil’s food cupcakes, gluten free orange cake, carrot cake and an olive oil and sultana cake. All recipes are sent to you beforehand, so you can read over them and know what to expect in the class, as well as having something to refer back to.
The class was organised fantastically. We learnt a lot from our 3 hours spent in the session, and had a brilliantly scrumptious time! A huge thank you to Jane, Edwin and the Cookery School for having us!
