It was a land of bloggers at The Glasgow Cookery School with everyone from lifestyle to beauty to food bloggers all getting some hands on bakery tuition.
A well organised and presented display of goodies
The lovely folks at Currys. supplied each of us with a Kenwood Whisk (very handy as I had recently tried to burn the house down with nicking the wire of my old whisk on the hob!).
I’ve always liked the Jacobean Corsetry building from the outside but had never been inside. We all gathered outside for a quick photocall to show off our Kenwood whisks from Currys.
The gang!
The inside is modern and fully fitted out as a teaching area as well as a demonstration area.
Explaining how to get a good mixture
We all gathered around Danny to follow his instructions for perfect scones. Being an avid scone baker, I’m glad to say he has obviously followed me and listened to my instructions
It’s hard work without the Kenwood mixer!
Being in groups of three and four to a table was fun. We got to chat, make a mess with the flour and the scones! An egg was added at the wrong time, but that’s not a worry with scones.
The worst scone mistakes for me are – twisting the cutter (it stops the scone rising) and not making scones big enough. – none of these little dinky things, big scones!
Scones ready to bake
Softening the the butter and mixing in the sugar was fun, especially without a whisk! The butter needs to be soft here in order to mix in with your egg. Having the egg and better at the same temperature helps both ingredients combine without looking like they have curdled.
Delicious looking scones
Scone recipe
Loading the cupcake tin
It was time for cupcakes and a Victoria Sponge. These are great basic recipes. Learn these and you can bluff your way through anything.
Cupcake recipe
Victoria Sponge recipe
Cooling bakes – no OCD bakers here!
Decoration in action
Decorating the cupcakes was a chuckle. A lot of icing, butter cream and hundreds and thousands flying about – it was like a demonic kids birthday party!
Chef shows how to decorate a Victoria Sponge
We learned tips on how to put jam/chocolate etc in the center of cupcakes, as well as how to make a ganache (really easy 2 parts chocolate, 1 part cream and mix!)
Chef Danny keeps an eye on things
The Cookery School courses
Information posters on what The Cookery School has to offer.
If you’re using your hands, don’t forget to take your rings off first!
Make sure that your oven is fully preheated before putting anything in.
“Tempering” chocolate is a method of melting chocolate that will ensure it is shiny and that it will not “bloom” later on – those white, chalky spots you see. The process of tempering is long and complicated. Preventing blooming is also easy – eat within a few days.
Your cake must be completely cool before decorating or it will all melt off.
Using room temperature eggs in your recipe will help them better incorporate into the rest of the ingredients.
Recipes generally call for either baking soda or baking powder – but be careful, they’re not the same. Check your label!
Many thanks to Joe Bloggers Network, Currys and The Glasgow Cookery School for a fun day.