Well, I knew it would come to an end sooner or later. Summer is over and that means time for my girls to go back to school instead of spending time with me. Summer, however, went out on a good note. Our last cake took two classes to prepare and I ended up having only one of my students in class. We decided to make a basket-weave cake that included the cake and filling from scratch.
I decided to teach her how to make a lemon Chiffon cake and lemon curd filling. I was sure she could do it since she had made a chocolate Chiffon cake for the hydrangea cake previously. We started with the lemon curd because that takes the longest amount of time to make. She zested all of the lemons and squeezed them. She measured everything out correctly and cooked it to make sure it didn’t burn. Then we had to temper the eggs and I was a little nervous about how that would work out. Tempering is hard, especially the first time, and I was really hoping to not have to strain the egg pieces out. I worried for nothing! She tempered perfectly. Then she cooked it some more and it was perfect.
We decided to make the cakes round instead of ovals like in the Wilton book simply because I didn’t have any oval pans. She measured and mixed the ingredients, added lemon curd until it was lemony enough, and baked them. Again, they came out perfect! YUMMY!!!
We ended our class making the royal icing for the flowers and buttercream for the cake. She was to make the flowers on her own at home.
Next week, she came with fabulous flowers! I was soooo impressed! She finished them up before we moved on icing our cakes and they looked beautiful…well, the roses had some issues but we fixed that later. It turned out to be an icing issue and not technique.
We put the cakes together, after adding whipped cream to the lemon curd, and we had our final decorating lesson. I showed her how to do the basket weave and a rope. Then we added the flowers on top and she was done! Her cake was gorgeous. I finished my cake with roses on top and a welcome back message for the teachers (registration was the next day at school).
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- Pansies
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- All the flowers
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- Finishing touches
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- All done
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- My cake
Claire, mom of July Said:
on August 9, 2008 at 8:39 pm
These cakes were absolutely gorgeous and scrumptiously delicious!
Michelle donated the Welcome Back cake to Monte Vista our first day back to work. The Cake sat all day admired but not cut because no one wanted to mar it with that first cut. At 5 p.m. a starving soul driven by baser needs than art appreciation saw the cake and said how beautiful it was and then preceeded to cut a slice. The rest is history so. . . thankyou, Michelle, for the beautiful pictures. Thankyou for your unique and wonderful classes and the gift of your patient time in your home for the girls.
Kelly Said:
on August 13, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Absolutely Amazing. I’m looking forward to the next occasion where I can order a cake from Elena! Way to go Michelle, by the looks of Elena’s cakes you are an amazing teacher!
Jeanette Said:
on August 13, 2008 at 2:47 pm
I am so very proud of my great grandaughter,Elena,not only for her amazing baking skills but for everything she does.
I have to admit that she did not take after me for her baking skills as I am a very basic baker(when I do,on a very rare occasion) bake but perhaps some of my fantastic mom’s (Elena’s great great Grandmother)genes have been passed down to Elena.
Congatulations to you,Michelle,on being a terrific mentor to my beloved Elena.
Jeanette Said:
on August 13, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I am so very proud of my great grandaughter,Elena,not only for her amazing baking skills but for everything she does and is!
I have to admit that she has not inherited her baking skill from me as I am a very basic baker when I do on rare occasions bake but I like to think that perhaps some of my fantastic mom’s (Elena’s great great Grandmother)baking genes have been passed on to my beloved Elena.
Congratulations to you,Michelle on being a fantastic mentor and I want to thank you for enriching Elena’s summer with experiences she will always treasure.
Regina Said:
on August 14, 2008 at 7:34 am
Recipe for sweet success
Ingredients:
An exceptional instructor
Two enthusiastic students
Several weeks of coaching
Long hot summer
Method:
Blend together all ingredients until well mixed (approximately
the entire summer).
Decorate with hearts and roses and lots of love
Yield: 1 extraordinary woman
2 exceptional girls
Grateful parents and grandparents
A productive summer.
Lots of delicious cakes
A pan full of appreciation
Thank you. What a terrific accomplisment.
Roberta (Mom of Elena) Said:
on August 14, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Michelle,
You have been such an inspiration to Elena! I can’t tell you enough how much we appreciate all you have done to make Elena’s dream a reality. She is so creative and the cakes she brought home were delicious! She will forever remember the time spent with you and the mentoring you have provided will be a part of her success (not only as a baker, but as a person).
Keith and I are so proud! Thank you again for teaching Elena how to work hard, have patience and follow her dream! She made an incredible semi-truck cake this last weekend for Keith, and now has three more cake orders to fill. She is officially an up and coming entrepreneur. Thanks a million, Michelle. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Jeanette Said:
on August 16, 2008 at 2:39 pm
What more can I say?
Elena you are a treasure..and I will be looking forward to a VERY special cake when I return to Albuquerque.
stargazer » As Sick of the Farmers Market Dudes as You Are Said:
on October 2, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[...] – started a baking blog documenting her unbelievably FANTASTIC creations and the cake class she taught this summer. People, she made a COCKROACH cake that looked good enough to eat. ’nuff [...]