Well, I have to say I didn't know what to expect from my students in my beginning buttercream class that we had last Sunday at Goodness Gracious Catering and Cafe in Murfreesboro. The setting as you will see in some of the photos was beautiful and very comfortable with windows from ceiling to floor which is great for decorating cakes with all the natural light. Everyone arrived right on time about 1:00pm. The staff at Goodness Gracious had our box lunches prepared the fruit tea and ice water with lemon cold and ready. 
As you can see we had a full house with 17 students. Maples Wedding Cakes provided all the materials for this class including, 2-9" round cakes, buttercream, cake board, spatulas, piping bags, tips, and a knife for splitting and filling the cake layers.
We started the class with a delicious lunch which was also included in the price of the class with a choice of delicious chicken salad on croissant or turkey. The sides included tortelini salad, chips, and a decadent chocolate dessert that had ganache in it and it really doesn't matter what it was called at that point. Right? I mean they had me at chocolate and ganache! We had a variety of students take the class. Some were true beginners, some had done some cake decorating, and some had some skills at decorating. I've taught several beginning classes and I must say that most of the cakes that came out of this group of students were really good considering this was a first attempt at decorating a cake. After lunch we started the class.
The way I like to teach is to demonstrate the first step in front of the class and have the class join me around my table so I can talk and demonstrate different methods of doing the same tasks in some cases.
In this particular photo, I was demonstrating how to fill a frosting bag properly so as not to get it all over your hand and everywhere else for that matter. It is really important not to over fill your frosting bag as well. The bag should fit into the palm of your hand very nicely and you should not have frosting coming out of the end of your bag while decorating! YUCK! My biggest pet peve, aside from not maintaining a clean and clutter free workstation. You can also see my assistant Jordan who was a great help in the class as well as a great employee! Love her! Very hard worker! She will soon graduate from culinary school. Yay Jordan! If you read my blog very often you will know that I get off track a lot. I never claimed to be an author! Just sayin!
Anyway, below are a few pictures of the students working. My daughter Lauren thankfully remembered to take photos as I was teaching and did a very good job recording the day. All of these photos were taken with my phone.
Jordan and I shaving crust off of cakes, splitting layers, and filling layers with buttercream.
This is a photo of me teaching and a finished shot of our cakes after we removed the crust, split the layers, filled with buttercream, and covered the outside with buttercream. Now we are ready to start piping and applying all the details. After this step, the students went back to their workstations and began this process. Below are some shots of my lovely students!
Class hard at work! Jordan in the background assisting.
Concentration.....ok...I can do this...I know I can...LOL
Smiling while cake decorating is a good thing! Trust me, that isn't always the case!
More lovely smiles! Look at that cake coming together! You will notice she is using a very essential tool in caked decorating....a good turntable!
The chic on the left is Ms. Angie Gambill from Gambill Photography. Check her out! She is an amazing artist in her own right! Love her!
This is me getting into my work. It is very important to have your cake at a comfortable level to work on in order to obtain optimal results. I'm about to demonstrate how to do a traditional shell border and a small beaded border around the base of the cake. I also demonstrated how to do a triple beaded border, which is one of my favorite borders that I came up with. It is really pretty. You can see it on my Wedgewood White Cake in my cake gallery.
So that is just a little sample of the great time we had at our first of many cake decorating classes at Maples Wedding Cakes. Very soon, there will be a tab on our blog with a calendar of upcoming or events and future classes along with class descriptions, material lists, and class fees along with a registration form. Please check back often for more information.
We had so many inquiries about the beginning buttercream class that we are going to do a second buttercream class like this one. We will also be doing a Fondant I and II class, as well as my very popular Romantic Wedding Cake class.
Worried about supplies? Don't worry, we can order the supplies you need for your class through Maples at a discounted rate fromt he retail rate that you would normally pay.
Our beginning buttercream class is $75 which includes lunch plus materials. Our Fondant I, II classes are $125 which includes lunch plus materials. Our Romantic Wedding Class is $150 which includes lunch plus materials. Most classes run 4-6 hours with an hour for lunch and you can take a break most anytime. Many students get so into it, that time just flies by and don't need a break. I will always stay after class as long as necessary to answer any questions you may have.
I also give private lessons to individuals as well. The fee for private lessons depends on what techniques you want to learn and how advaced we get. Private lessons can be one day or one day a week for 6-8 weeks. I will try and accommodate your schedule. However, my schedule is pretty hectic these days as well.
When you take one of my classes, I will demonstrate many different techniques and tricks that will save you time, money, and allow you to charge a premium price for the custom cakes you are doing. I will also discuss how to price your cake depending on what type of cake it is and what techniques you will be using depending on the design of the cake. So, you will definitely get your money's worth.
If you are interested in any of these classes or you have additional questions, please email us at classes@maplesweddingcakes.com. We look forward to hearing from you and can't wait to meet you and teach you all about cake decorating.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jay
