French Rollet Baking Class

Our first French Baking class took place finally last Sunday. I had one person after another ask me, "when will you start teaching your classes?" I also started getting emails from people asking about classes, so finally I just decided I had to just do it.

There was a lot to prepare for in a very short amount of time and I must admit I was a little panicked the night before. Thanks to my husband, he calmed me down and helped me prepare. I taught some of my closest friends first who had been wanting to take the class, and decided they would be great students to experiment on. Also I knew they are easy going and fun to be with and would give me good feedback. The baking class was on how to make a Rollet cake from scratch. The cake comprised of chocolate shavings and fruit decorations on top and fresh whipped cream inside the white cake.

There were 6 students, Amy, Mike, Nancy, Maria, Sally, and Jinous. The class was held at Jinous' home who was very generous to open up her kitchen and host the class. Her large kitchen with an island was the perfect setting for the baking class. The students made their own Rollet cakes with complete hands on experience. I provided all the equipment and ingredients needed, so they did not have to worry about bringing anything. I demonstrated and guided them in what they were to do, and then allowed them to do it on their own which they preferred and was the best way to learn. Their final work of art was impressive for their first time. I am definitely proud of each one of them and know they will go home and practice and perfect their baking talents even more.

You are all talented and awesome baking students and have inspired me in your conviction and dedication! Your efforts definitely paid off and it shows in your beautifully decorated Rollet cakes. I thank each one of you and wish you success in your baking endeavours!

Now that the first class is behind me, I am going to be having these classes regularly. If any of you are interested, please contact me. We can either have these classes in my kitchen or at your homes. I offer giving classes for up to 6 students at a time.

Finally, I also want to share that I have dedicated my baking business and endeavours to raise money for the less fortunate. My husband and I wish to dedicate our time and efforts to raise money to help those in need. We are so fortunate and have many wonderful things in life to be grateful for, that we cannot forget the less fortunate peoples of this world. We know we can't solve world hunger, but if we think that way, then nothing will get done. Instead we have to do our small part individually to make a change because its the multitude of small parts that make the difference. All proceeds from my baking business will go towards charitable purposes.

Chocolate Eclairs

Chocolate eclairs, ooh how tasty the eclair can be!!! We recently had a Baha'i study circle at our home with about 20 people participating. It was an all day intensive study circle, we started at 9:00am and finished at 5:30pm. I knew I had to make something that would keep people functioning all day long, besides for food (breakfast and lunch). My answer was mini eclairs with hot tea or coffee, Yumm! How to make eclairs? It is easy all you need is a great recipe for eclairs.

A Chocolate eclair dessert is one of my favorite pastries. One of my guests was a beautiful French lady (both inside and out) named Guilmette. She came up to me and said "this is real French custard". She knew her true Eclairs living in France for so many years, and could not believe I had made them. I had also experimented with my original recipe and decided to do something a bit different, that made it more nutritious and tastier. (It will be revealed in my classes and recipe book - hint hint).

I do have to say that French Baking is a labor of love. The reward is seeing the happiness it brings to people and their stomachs. Also the reaction that people have after they eat the pastry - takes me by surprise a lot of times. Some will come up and hug you and love you for it while others will just say you are the best! This is when I have to remember not to let it go to my head, which too many compliments can do to someone. I sometimes don't realize how much people appreciate the effort and quality of a well made dessert and this is why I keep making them. I love to see the joy it brings to people besides for their tummies.

It makes the hard work...well not so hard and definitely worth it!

Until next week, be happy, eat healthy, and bring about more love in this world.

White Strawberry cake with white chocolate shavings

This cake was made for a little angel who turned one! Her name is Nura which means light in Persian, and you guessed it she is a little angel of light. This was an enormous 21 pound cake, filled with three layers of strawberries and fresh whip cream, and about 5 to 6 inches in height. This cake easily fed 70 people plus there was left overs for the family to take home. Niky, who is Nura's mom had told me for several mornings after the B-day party, her family had cake for breakfast, and day by day it tasted even better. This is actually true as the strawberry's juice and whip cream soak into the cake over time.

I never use oil or butter in my cakes and that makes for a very healthy and light cake, and that is why people can easily eat more than one slice. Also using fresh whipping cream and not frosting which is made of butter and sugar, makes my cakes very light and healthy. As we try to live a healthy life we need to be aware of what we put into our bodies. Therefore if we can eliminate cakes that have butter, oil, and lots of sugar, we will then eat a healthy cake that is delicious and brings a sigh of yum with every bite we eat.

Niky wanted Nura's cake to have the appearance of snow, so she wanted only white chocolate shavings for the decoration with happy birthday to Nura written on marzipan. There were many Marzipan lovers at the party, especially Anisa and Tandis, who could not keep their eyes off the rich tasting marzipan piece (they knew how tasty marzipan can be). Either you are a big fan of marzipan and love it, or you simply may not know enough about it and may not have taste buds for it (yet). As for me, I love a high quality marzipan. Happy Birthday little Nura and may you have many more angelic birthdays to come!

I was very happy with the review from Nura's family, friends of the family, and those who don't like cake, but really enjoyed this one. I will be putting together all my recipes in a book for sale in the near future, for all of those who have been asking and like to bake. Also sometime soon I will begin teaching classes for those who have asked. Happy New Year to all, and best wishes for 2010!