Cake Crumbs: Specialty Cake Class

What a wonderful two day class with John and Susan Rota at their specialty cake shop Cake Crumbs in Encino.  The class was called Introduction to Baking I, but I feel like I learned much more than the basics as you will see.

The first day we began by mixing and baking a luscious three layer white cake which was so moist it could be eaten on its own.  We then made a light, creamy vanilla buttercream filling that was just the right level of sweetness. Now let me stop here and say I am not a big cake eater and often scrape off the frosting.  I don't like anything that is too sweet.  This cake and buttercream, however, were in a class of their own.  I would highly recommend them and only hope I can recreate them on my own at home.

Unlike many other cake creators, John makes his own fondant, which is easy to work with and tastes great.  He also insists on taking the time to create a fondant-lined cake board edged in ribbon that adds a clean, elegant look on which to display his cakes--much nicer than the typical foil boards.

We ended the first day by cutting out tiny flowers of fondant, which we would use the next day to decorate our cakes, and assembling our three layers of cake with the buttercream, which we covered in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator.

Day two involved decorating.  First we worked on the flowers:

Next we covered the cake with the fondant, which is an art in itself, but John is an excellent and meticulous teacher. 

                                      

 Then we gave the cake a base coat of paint.

Of course there are myriad ways to decorate a cake, but John suggested a unique design inspired by the work of artist Keith Haring. It involves a filigree piping in a maze-like design which was difficult to imitate at first but a blast once I got the hang of it.

Then we piped tiny balls all along the bottom of cake.

    

and last attached our flowers.

When I stepped back to look at it, I was amazed.  I still can't believe I made this stunning cake.

I managed to get it home intact.  It sliced easily--and oh my, tasted great. My husband loved it--especially the fondant. He said the same thing I did--It was not at all overpowering with sweetness, but just right, and the fondant had a chewy texture like candy.

I would encourage anyone interested to check out their website http://cakecrumbs.com and take a look at their classes.  It is definitely worth the cost to work with these highly skilled artists. I plan to continue my training in cake design with John and Susan.  As teachers they are generous, patient, and very knowledgeable.  As artists, they are talented and inspiring.  It is clear that they love what they do and it shows in their work.