Decorated Christmas Cookies - Classes at Shermay's Cooking School

Call me a lucky girl; it's Christmas come early around these parts. In fact, it hasn't just come early, but I've had occasion to celebrate it quite a few times since May whilst testing recipes for new seasonal classes. So while it may appear premature to be talking about Christmas, it sure seems after the fact in this kitchen! At any rate, I think many avid (and well-organized) home bakers prefer to get a headstart on their festive baking (while not well-organized but just plain antsy, I certainly do, but won't bore you with the story of how one memorable year I actually started anointing fruitcake with dark rum the Christmas before Christmas), so I imagine advance notice can't be remiss.

I'll be teaching Decorated Christmas Cookies, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 2 November 2007 (Friday), 3 November 2007 (Saturday) and 4 November 2007 (Sunday) - the November schedule has all the necessary details. There are also some places left in the classes held on 19 October 2007 (Friday) and 21 October 2007 (Sunday) - please refer to the October schedule. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg To all the wonderful (and well-organized) individuals who had booked earlier on, I am deeply appreciative, and can only hope that you'll enjoy the experience as much as I have the planning process.

The type of cookies known as rolled cookies is the decorator's preferred choice of canvas. Unlike say drop cookies or bar cookies, however, they do take a bit of care to get right. Quite aside from sleights of hand to facilitate the procedure, there's the recipe itself - it needs to be a dough that's sturdy enough to withstand repeated handling, yet not bake up so dense and hard as to result in mediocre eating. The Luscious Lemon Cookies (butter cookies with a hint of zest and real lemony depth) and Classic Gingerbread (given just a touch of molasses and judiciously spiced) are both favourite recipes - while I find them a real joy to handle, what's more important is that taste is not compromised for looks.

Once you have your canvas, you'll need to choose your medium. To that end, there's Rolled Fondant (the ready made product is extremely convenient and useful for large batch baking, but homemade has a flavour that you may find worth the extra effort), and Meringue Powder Royal Icing. The latter is a cookie decorating essential, and distinguishing between stiff, soft peak and runny consistencies and knowing the different decorating functions they serve form the foundation of cookie decorating. An understanding of just a handful of Core Decorating Techniques - such as outlining, flooding, drop-in flooding, overpiping, flocking and gilding - opens up limitless design possibilities. The class will cover the practical application of these techniques as can be seen in the decoration of:

Christmas Stockings

Gingerbread People

Snowflakes

Christmas Tree Ornaments

(which, incidentally, make a lovely gift for friends who are passionate bakers when twinned with a handsomely crafted copper cutter)

Christmas Trees

(which, in the right size, can be embellished in an endless variety of styles)

3-D Christmas Tree

Much simpler (and faster) to construct than a gingerbread house, but certainly no less stunning as the perfect holiday table centrepiece.

You've home-baked them. You've hand-iced them. The self-respecting Martha Stewart fan (I'm one and not afraid to admit it) won't let them down with anything less than thoughtful packaging to create the ultimate heartfelt and one-of-a-kind holiday gifts. If you're so inclined, hopefully one or two of the various ideas that round out the class may prove useful.

Christmas Cupcakes - Classes at Shermay's Cooking School

I'll be teaching Christmas Cupcakes, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 17 November 2007 (Saturday) and 18 November 2007 (Sunday) - the November schedule has all the details. The school has also recently opened bookings for the month of December (check out the December schedule here) - Christmas Cupcakes will be held on 1 December 2007 (Saturday), 2 December 2007 (Sunday), 15 December 2007 (Saturday), and 16 December 2007 (Sunday). For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

As I'd mentioned earlier, thanks to this and Decorated Christmas Cookies, I've been breathing, sleeping and baking Christmas for the better part of this year! To say I'm really psyched about this series of festive classes would be an understatement.

The 4 cupcake recipes in luxurious holiday flavours are:

White Chocolate, Macadamia, Sundried Cranberry & Vanilla Blondie
The secret to the richness of these Madagascar Bourbon vanilla-perfumed buttery yellow beauties is Valrhona Ivoire white chocolate melted and folded right into the batter. And to bring it completely over the edge, it's seriously studded with goodies like toasted macadamias, sundried cranberries, and yet more morsels of white chocolate. Blondie batters, being so rich, are perfectly suited to being presented as the blissful two-bite wonder known as a cupcake. This one's a treat for lovers of chunks and add-ins.

Sticky Medjool Date & Guinness Stout Gingerbread with Crystallised Ginger
The smouldering, dark spiciness of this sticky gingerbread owes its heady depth to a generous slug of stout. The addition of Medjool dates makes these cupcakes moreishly moist whilst tempering their bittersweet nature. Meanwhile, tiny bits of crystallised ginger lend spicy zip.

Spiced Chocolate & Sour Cream
Sour cream makes for the most divinely tender cake crumb. This elegant chocolate cupcake batter is flavoured with Valrhona's peerless cocoa, underscored by a touch of pure coffee extract and Christmassy with the warmth of cinnamon.

Pumpkin with Pecans& Rum-Soaked Raisins
Possessing all the festive allure of pumpkin pie, but much faster to put together. Pumpkin puree ensures a soft and delicious cupcake. The pecans add welcome crunch and the raisins - plumped in a boozy bath of dark Jamaican rum - a lovely, succulent fruitiness.

I do think these cupcakes have enough personality to stand alone. But somehow, a naked cupcake is simply not very in keeping with the spirit of things - another time of the year perhaps. This time of the year, those sweet domes are just crying out for a thick blanket of white frosting, like so many snowcaps. To that end, 2 very versatile and useful toppings - a Classic Royal Icing (this snow white icing has many marvellous applications, as will be demonstrated at class), and a Rich Cream Cheese & Sour Cream Frosting (which, while not snow white - it's more ivory - is utterly delicious and very accommodating of different flavouring variations).

In terms of embellishment, I'm a big believer in keeping to the usual suspects - snowmen, Christmas trees, stars, holly, you get the idea - because I feel Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas if it weren't more about tradition and less about innovation. That said, trad emphatically does not have to mean boring. (And of course, it goes without saying that the various decorative techniques covered during the class can be practically applied to fashion edible ornaments as minimalist and modern as you please.)

The holiday cast of handmade fondant toppers includes

penguins,

snowmen, igloos and Santa hats.

I adore the look of holly.

So holly - be it in the form of leaves, berries or wreaths - makes a star appearance.

I don't think anything heralds the advent of the winter solstice quite as beautifully.

And because cupcakes would make a wonderful gift and addition to the holiday table, I couldn't help but add a beribboned present (even better, a pile of presents),

and a voluptuous red bow or two.

Amongst the aforementioned multiple applications of royal icing, chic decorations with the delicate appearance of lace. Snowflakes,

Christmas trees, stars...anything you can draw, really, you can render as a royal icing design.

Of course, you may not be in the mood for the fiddly stuff - and frankly, between brining the turkey and the eleventh hour shopping scramble, few are. In which case, opt instead for one of the various easy-yet-effective decorative ideas. No fuss, no muss. These ideas prove that the super simple can also be very stylish.

Tall swirls of frosting can stand in for trees.

OK, I cheat. The above royal icing tree is not exactly the fastest one to do. But its sophisticated look belies the sheer simplicity of the technique - anyone who owns a leaf tip, can squeeze a piping bag repeatedly (and has a moment to spare), can whip up this number.

In case anyone's missing the fruitcake, here's the faux fruitcake - bejewelled with gleaming pieces of fruit and nut, and swaddled in baking parchment.

Snowballs are another easy choice.

As is a dusting of icing sugar.

Quite a handful will already be covered in class. On top of the above, the recipe pack also includes 4 bonus cupcake recipes (Espresso & Candied Orange; Chocolate & Marmalade; Tea-Infused Gingerbread; and Spiced Honey). I won't be demonstrating these during class (for all their deliciousness, they are a breeze to make), so will put up a post in the near future with more details on these extra recipes.

A Love/Hate Relationship With Brioche

Ah.

Brioche.

What have I said that I will say again.

Time and again, I fall for its crafty, buttery, egg yolky charms.

Most sometimes, I hate how it's made me try, try, and try and try somemore.

Rare othertimes, I love how it's made me try, try, and try and try somemore.

Best part is, regardless, I try, try, and try and try somemore.

And so, hate it or love it, as far as brioche is concerned, I will be trying, trying, and trying and trying somemore, such is its spellbinding power, ever holding (or withholding) the promise of paradisiacal perfection. Brioche is a most contrary mistress, and in every sense. Ethereal yet rich, and most most tempestuous, attempting to hone and perfect a brioche recipe is as one would imagine an exercise in patience not terribly different from the taming of the shrew.

Some women are addicted to bad relationships. While I thankfully got that out of my system many moons ago, I seem to have traded it for an addiction to truculent recipes. The agony and the ecstasy, really, sometimes, are one and the same.

But once grasped, a fabulous brioche recipe becomes a many-splendoured thing. It can form the basis of many preparations, from flamiche to kugelhopf.

If I had to pick a favourite, the kugelhopf from Holiday Treats II, the demo class I'll be teaching at Shermay's Cooking School on 27 November 2010 (Saturday) and 28 November 2010 (Sunday), is most certainly the one. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or 6479 8414, or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

I've tried to strike a balance in this particular menu between the challenging-but-oh-so-gratifying-to-perfect and the simple-but-spectacular, hopefully those of you attending will find it as pleasing a mix too, accommodating of schedules both flexible and tight.

The menu:

Kugelhopf From Alsace to Austria, this traditional European specialty is equally beloved for good reason. Buttery yet delicate, the fruited yeast-leavened dough has a superb texture that’s the perfect cross between cake and bread. Leftovers make for excellent Bread Pudding or Pain Perdu.

Gingerbread Linzertorte This lovely twist on a beloved Austrian classic features a beautifully spiced gingerbread crust coddling a raspberry jam filling.

White Christmas Parfait A dreamy, creamy, light-as-snow frozen dessert with cranberries, pistachios and Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate (an ice cream machine is not required for this recipe).

Peppermint Fudge Brownies An ultra luxe brownie recipe featuring an extravagant quantity of Valrhona Manjari 64% dark chocolate, bound by just a little flour. The result? Fudgy brownie heaven. These special treats are also used as the base for decorated miniature stacked brownie tiers.

Bonus Section I – Decorating Ideas & Essential Techniques:

Miniature Stacked Brownie Tiers decorated with Pretty Poinsettias,

and Holiday Holly.

Cupcake Ornaments How to decorate Brandied Mincemeat Cupcakes to resemble gorgeous holiday ornaments for trimming the tree.

Bonus Section II – Extra Recipes, Ideas & Serving Suggestions:

Brandied Mincemeat Cupcakes As festive and tasty as fruitcake or mincemeat pies, but much quicker to put together.

Rum Raisin & Chocolate Bread Pudding A velvety chocolate custard and rum-plumped raisins elevate homey bread pudding into the realm of the sublime.

Luxurious Pain Perdu No ordinary French toast, this showcases an enriched bread soaked in a lush Madagascar Bourbon vanilla-perfumed custard and carefully cooked till tender within and crisp without.

It's been an exhilarating - and slightly insane - 2010 for me so far. Between moving house, new projects, and travel plans, time constraints have unfortunately dictated that I do far fewer holiday season classes than usual - just one weekend of Holiday Treats I and one weekend of Holiday Treats II. On the bright side, I know they will be weekends filled with the warm, familiar faces of the individuals I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know better over the last few years I have been teaching. Can't wait!

Holiday Baked Treats - Classes at Shermay's Cooking School

Aside from this, the only other seasonal class I'll be teaching is Holiday Baked Treats, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 8 November 2008 (Saturday), 9 November 2008 (Sunday), 22 November 2008 (Saturday) and 23 November 2008 (Sunday) - the November schedule has all the necessary details. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

If the candy class is geared towards gifting, this baked treats class is all about the joys of the bountiful holiday table. Many of the recipes are designed for entertaining, and make for a magnificent grand finale to a festive meal.

Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55% Chocolate Pudding is a super easy and versatile recipe that's equally good served hot or cold. Served hot, it has a light texture, not unlike soufflé, and is delicious simply accompanied by pouring cream.

Served cold - topped with whipped cream and a shower of chocolate shavings - it becomes denser and richer in texture, not unlike a chocolate mousse.

Moist and moreish Sticky Date & Toffee Bundt, served with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream and a generous dose of yet more Sticky Toffee Sauce on the side, is a surefire crowd-pleaser.

The recipe can also be baked as individual Sticky Date & Toffee Mini Puds - you may find this a more practical solution if you are hosting a large party. The mini puds also make a wonderful addition to a dessert buffet table, allowing guests to help themselves easily.

In Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes with Valrhona Perles, cocoa is used subtly, as if it were a spice, adding nuance and complexity to the flavour of the gingerbread. The chocolatey kick comes from the extravagant addition of Valrhona chocolate pearls.

I personally find the cupcakes lovely as they are, and prefer to skip the frosting entirely - all that's required to finish them is a dusting of icing sugar. While very fine served at room temperature, if you do get the opportunity, try them warm - I'll sheepishly admit that when a tray of these emerge from the oven, I'm quite capable of demolishing half the batch at one go.

Valrhona Cocoa Meringue Kisses - light, airy, crisp and a snap to make - round out the recipe lineup.

Mastering the meringue technique alone opens up many other possibilities, including the ultimate Bûche de Noël decorations, these Meringue Mushrooms. Of course, you could simply enjoy them as cookies!

I'll have more details up in a separate post on the Bonus Section - The Art of Meringue: A Guide to Fabulous Holiday Ideas. These include:

Meringue Cookie Shapes Techniques for shaping/piping Poinsettias, Shells, Porcupines etc

Recipes for filling Meringue Cookie Sandwiches Salted Caramel Filling; Peppermint Chocolate Filling

Meringue Tartlet Shells How to shape and fill with preserves, curds etc of your choice

Mini Pavlovas How to shape and fill with flavoured whipped cream and fresh fruit of your choice

Meringue Boxes How to construct a beautiful edible container for holding scoops of sorbet, ice cream etc

Decorated Christmas Cookies 2008 - Classes at Shermay's Cooking School

How time flies! It's been a whole year since the warm spicy aroma of festive baking last permeated my kitchen, ahead of schedule too...This class is back!

I'll be teaching Decorated Christmas Cookies, a demo class, at Shermay's Cooking School on 4 October 2008 (Saturday) and 5 October 2008 (Sunday) - the October schedule has all the necessary details. There will only be 2 sessions of this class. For all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

Exactly the same recipes and techniques will be covered as last year's class - the only difference being the selection of cookie shapes. Shermay, who has impeccable taste in such matters, has very thoughtfully managed to source a collection of highly covetable cookie cutters, and I wanted to feature these fabulous new shapes - once the core decorating techniques have been grasped, they can be practically applied to any cookie shape.

The type of cookies known as rolled cookies is the decorator's preferred choice of canvas. Unlike say drop cookies or bar cookies, however, they do take a bit of care to get right. Quite aside from sleights of hand to facilitate the procedure, there's the recipe itself - it needs to be a dough that's sturdy enough to withstand repeated handling, yet not bake up so dense and hard as to result in mediocre eating. The Luscious Lemon Cookies (butter cookies with a hint of zest and real lemony depth) and Classic Gingerbread (given just a touch of molasses and judiciously spiced) are both favourite recipes - while I find them a real joy to handle, what's more important is that taste is not compromised for looks.

Once you have your canvas, you'll need to choose your medium. To that end, there's Rolled Fondant (the ready made product is extremely convenient and useful for large batch baking, but homemade has a flavour that you may find worth the extra effort), and Meringue Powder Royal Icing. The latter is a cookie decorating essential, and distinguishing between stiff, soft peak and runny consistencies and knowing the different decorating functions they serve form the foundation of cookie decorating.

An understanding of just a handful of Core Decorating Techniques - such as outlining, flooding, drop-in flooding, overpiping, flocking and gilding - opens up limitless design possibilities. The class will cover the practical application of these techniques as can be seen in the decoration of:

Snowmen

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Snowflakes

Christmas Trees

The 3-D Christmas Tree

Much simpler (and faster) to construct than a gingerbread house, but certainly no less stunning as the perfect holiday table centrepiece.

You've home-baked them. You've hand-iced them. Don't let them down with anything less than stylish packaging to create the ultimate heartfelt and one-of-a-kind holiday gifts. If you're so inclined, hopefully one or two of the various ideas that round out the class may prove useful.