STAFF REVIEW: CUPCAKE AND COOKIE BAKING WITH GREENWICH PANTRY

Cupcakes and cookies are by far some of the most loved baked goods, and here at Experience Days we just can’t get enough of them! At the start of February, Maddie and I embarked on a new baking adventure, lead by expert baker Teresa and sous chef Merian, of Grenwich Pantry  – this was a fantastic way to spend our Friday evening.

Upon arriving at Prendergast Vale College (where the experience was held), we were greeted and shown through to the Food Tech department by the friendly staff. Once in the kitchen, we put our coats and bags away and waited for the other participants. When everyone had arrived and we’d all had tea and a friendly chat to get acquainted, it was time to begin. Teresa and Merian showed us to our workstations and briefed us on the goods we’d be baking during our two hour lesson – lemon and poppyseed cupcakes with a buttercream icing, and cinnamon swirls!

Starting with the cupcakes, we were taught the correct techniques for folding, whipping and beating our mixture to make it as airy as possible. Making light and fluffy cupcakes has always been something that I have personally struggled with, so as a keen baker these tips were great!

To use our limited time effectively, we made the cinnamon swirls (or in my case, accidental blobs) whilst the cupcakes were in the oven, and iced our cupcakes whilst the cinnamon swirls were baking. The swirls were made from a basic cookie dough, with brown sugar and cinnamon rolled into it. Even though they turned out rather unattractive, they were very tasty – so a win win situation!

I think it’s safe to say that the swirls were not my strong point.. as you can probably tell from the pictures comparing mine and Maddie’s creations!

Everything was timed well and we had some delicious results at the end, which we are still eating four days later! It’s safe to say, although a keen baker, I still have a lot of skills to brush up on. We would like to say a massive thanks to Greenwich Pantry for having us and give a special mention to the friendly staff that helped us create our baked masterpieces!