Let There Be Cake …

I know that life is often busy and it’s not always possible to do, but I think it’s important for Moms (and Dads too) to spend time on themselves. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in being a parent/spouse/employee etc and not to look after ourselves and do things just for us. I know for me it almost feels a bit self indulgent or selfish at times, but I always appreciate it when I do get those opportunities to focus on just being Lucy for a short while and definitely feel rejuvenated to tackle other areas of my live.

I love cake. Eating it, making it, decorating it, thinking about it. I’ve done a few cupcake classes in the past and enjoy making them for friends and family however, I wasn’t very confident at attempting larger cakes. I’d seen an advert for a rainbow drip cake at a local bakery, Iced Jems (www.icedjemsshop.com) and Mr Mack kindly bought me some gift vouchers to put towards the class for Christmas. However, I had to wait patiently til June when the class was next available.

 

The classes are held within the Iced Jems shop which has a fantastic variety of baking equipment, ingredients and decorations, they also have a pic n’ mix wall of sprinkles which is just too beautiful to resist. I’ve always found the staff there very helpful and willing to offer advice.

Pick n Mix Sprinkles!

The class is run by Jemma, who also owns the shop. She made me feel very welcome and looked after us well throughout the day and kept us topped up with drinks. There were 8 of us in the class which gave everyone a chance to have Jemma’s support when it was needed. She was also happy to help with any other cake questions we had which I found very useful.

The class ran from 10 – 3 with a lunch break in the middle, lunch isn’t included but you’re welcome to take lunch with you or pop to the Subway next door. Upon arrival I chose one of the lovely aprons to wear for the day. The cakes we were decorating were already baked for us and were a rich chocolate cake, made with one of the cake mixes sold in the shop. I’ve since used the ginger one and found them really easy to use and made a delicious and moist cake.

Throughout the class Jemma demonstrated what to do step by step and then it was over to us to copy whilst she came and supported where needed. Her instructions were clear and simple and I liked how she gave really practical, down to earth answers and advice. We learnt how to split and level the cakes and crumb coat them before understanding how to get the beautiful rainbow effect with the icing. Finally we made a ganache for the drip effect on top of the cake.

I found that the class went at a good pace for everyone to take their time to do each step and to not feel rushed. I was really proud of my finished cake and felt confident in my newly learnt skills. The cake didn’t last long as we had a group of friends over for dinner that evening who kindly offered to help me get through it.

I would highly recommend the classes to anyone who is looking to learn new cake skills and I am definitely looking forward to doing another class in the future.  After the class you can join a secret Facebook group just for people that have attended classes at Iced Jems and allows students to ask questions, share tips and showcase their cakes, which I thought was a really lovely idea.

Since doing the class I have made a drip cake using the skills and techniques from the class for my Niece’s birthday, who was suitably impressed at my efforts. I really enjoyed both the class and then adapting what I’d learnt at home. For me, baking is really therapeutic and I love seeing my creations come together and getting to share them with others and I’m already itching to see what classes catch my interest next…

 

This is not a sponsored review and all views are entirely my own.