• Sixteen, all women
• College-age and up
• A few from outside the U.S.
• Many of whom never bake cakes
• Most liked cupcakes and cookies more
The room:
• An endless supply of white aprons and dish towels
• Four stainless steel work tables
• Kitchen Aid mixers
• Clean kitchen-and-bakeware always available
• Four big ovens
• Bins of flours and sugars
• Big bottles of Vanilla extract
• I don't know how many pounds of butter
• Stacks of eggs resting in carton flats
The instructor:
•Made us lunch every day even though he wasn't supposed to
• Could go from sweet to snappy in the blink of an eye (but always with the best intentions)
• Knows what he's talking about
• Is a big gossip
• Is serious about kitchen safety—so much so that he threatens to smack hands like a Catholic School teacher if you do something wrong
• Which he did to me. For the record, he was mistaken.
Some of the wonderful, tasty cakes made by my group of four:
DAY ONE
• Perfect Pound Cake
• Blackberry Jam Cake
• Heirloom Chocolate Cake
DAY TWO
Not pictured, but loved nevertheless:
• Banana Rum Coconut Cake
• Individual NY Cheesecakes.
• Classic Genoise (baked on day 1)
Filled and frosted with Raspberry Meringue Buttercream (spiked with a touch of Raspberry Eau de Vie)
Topped with fresh raspberries and toasted, broken bits of almonds
• Devil's Food Cake crushed to death by a ton of failed Meringue Icing.
Other cakes made by other groups:
• Whipped Cream Cake with Caramel Whipped Cream Frosting
• Blueberry Crumb Cake
• Hazelnut Financiers
• Single-layer Chocolate Mousse Cake
DAY THREE
The day of small things:
• Cocoa Nib Brownies
• Biscotti Regina
• Raspberry Linzer Disks
• Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes with Confectioners Sugar Icing
I have no pictures of those treats, but I do have as a closing shot enlightenment in the form of this Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake N.M. baked for us as a demo.
As I understand it, all of the recipes are in The Modern Baker, out very soon. If those three days taught me anything, it will be worth every penny.
5 comments:
Any idea if this book will be a good one for beginners or is it a little advanced? Just curious since there were some beginners in your class. :)
I just looked through an early copy, and it's definitely perfect for all levels. He gives very complete instructions and a lot of background info. Along with the cakes, there are recipes for breads, pies, tarts, basically everything baked!
That is so cool. Where did you take the class? Was it expensive? SO COOL. I have over 300 cookbooks and I am always adding to them
bakingqueenbe@hotmail.com
sorry it is bakingqueenbee@hotmail.com
Hi Mariel:
I took the class at the Institute of Culinary Education, but I believe he is going to teach some other classes throughout the US. His website is NickMalgieri.com.
Thanks for reading (and sorry it took me so long to respond)!
Best,
Jessica
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