Summer Treats Class at Shermay's: Layer Cakes, Cupcakes & Ice Creams

I'll be teaching a Summer Treats demo class at Shermay's Cooking School on 12 July 2008 (Saturday), 13 July 2008 (Sunday), 26 July 2008 (Saturday) and 27 July 2008 (Sunday) - the July schedule has all the necessary booking details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg


The class covers layer cakes, cupcakes and ice creams. This post features the layer cake and cupcakes; I will put up a separate post shortly with details about the ice creams, and another with details about the flavour variations and bonus recipes included in the recipe pack.


LAYER CAKES


Few things embody the pleasures of baking like a lavish layer cake. Tall and grand in appearance, yet ultimately a tribute to homespun comforts, this head-turner of a cake graces the table like no other. It is beautiful even with the most minimal of decorative flourishes. Possibly, it is most beautiful when least fussed with, such is the perfection of its simplicity - moist, tender layers of cake, seams of flavourful fillings and lashings of lush frosting coming together to create a whole that's truly greater than the sum of its parts.


The class will cover all the essential techniques you'll need to know to level, split, fill and frost layer cakes, as well as tips on how to ensure good results every time.

Coconut Heaven
Classic Coconut Cake layers are filled and frosted with a Luxurious Coconut Buttercream, then finished with a blizzard of shredded coconut. The fabulous depth of flavour comes from using coconut cream in both the cake batter as well as the buttercream.

And in the event you want to produce something with all the savours but in a hurry, I've also included instructions on how to bake this versatile batter as cupcakes.

CUPCAKES

Lemon Grove Cupcakes

A zingy treat that I like to think of as sunshine in a pleated paper case, this cupcake packs a wonderfully tart punch thanks to the addition of fresh lemon juice, aromatic lemon zest, pure lemon extract and candied lemon peel. The batter is enriched with sour cream, which enhances the citrus tang as well as contributes to the velvety texture.

The topping, a Whipped White Chocolate & Lemon Ganache using Valrhona Ivoire 35%, is both delicious and very easy to make.

It is also a real joy to handle, and the ideal texture for piping - tinted a golden yellow, it makes for a rather fetching sunflower design.

I'll put up details on the ice cream component of the class soon. The menu features 2 quick "No Churning Required!" ice creams (Lemon Ice Cream and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream) as well as a classic custard-based affair (Peppermint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream).

In addition, the recipe pack includes some bonus recipes and ideas for easy variations, including a pineapple filling flavoured with lime, dark rum & Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean to put an island cocktail spin on the classic coconut layer cake - a Piña Colada Cake! There's also a Rose Water Glaze and a Rich Lemon & Lime Curd - extra topping and filling ideas for transforming the lemon cupcakes and getting the most mileage out of the recipe. I won't be demonstrating these extra recipes during class so will be elaborating on them shortly as well.