Last week, in between the flash of the last day of school, and the avalanche of food at Big E's birthday dinner, I taught my first baking class. This was the first of four baking classes for children aged ten and up.
This particular class included lunch, so we began our session with making dough for tortillas. This class covered measuring techniques, ingredients, the why and the how behind baking soda versus baking powder.
It was a really fun day. I borrowed a friend's gorgeous kitchen for this lesson, which was quite a luxury. I think future classes will take place in my own, more modest kitchen. It was a bit of a shock when I realized just how much stuff I use when I cook. And it makes my head hurt a little when I think of how many more things I will need when the next three classes take place.
The class ended with our baking up a ton of chocolate chip cookies: two different recipes, two different brown sugars, and two different grades of chocolate.
The next set of classes, a two day class, will cover a variety of egg based recipes. We'll make lemon curd, pastry cream, meringues, choux pastry, chocolate ganache, and whip cream. We'll talk about shining peaks, folding, piping, and there will be a whole bunch of egg separating. It should be a good time.
Then there is a stand alone class where we'll make and can jam. The berries have finally begun in earnest, and I'm looking forward to cooking them up and sampling the product on fresh buttermilk biscuits. (Yes, we'll be making biscuits, too.)