I consider myself to be a decent baker, but a terrible decorator. I just never knew where to even begin the decorating process.  And the tools! Have you seen how many different tools and cake decorating options there are out there? So the question was, what tools do I use to decorate? And how do I decorate? And then you wonder, what is the point of having everything you need to make your pastry creation look beautiful when you do not know what to do with it. My solution; take a cake decorating class. In this case,  a cupcake decorating class.

After doing some research, it turns out that there are not that many cake decorating classes offered in Toronto, and the ones that exist are quite expensive. Oh come on! Baking is a hobby, not my destined career. Actually, I am still trying to figure the “destined career” part out,  but that is another story for another blog post.

Thanks to my incredible research skills, yes modesty comes easy to me, I found a class I could semi afford. Let me tell you how I am able to purchase these classes with minimal guilt:

“My birthday is around the corner, so I will just buy myself an early birthday gift. No harm in that!” Mind you, my birthday is in May and the purchase was made in January. Oh what’s a couple of months.

“I was a really good girl last week so I deserve a treat. Positive reinforcement is very important.”

“In these cooking classes I not only learn how to make the food, I also get a meal out of it! So, technically it is like going out to dinner, but I learn something. This is a total deal!”

Etc…etc….

So, it was August and Christmas was just around the corner, so I bought myself a cupcake decorating class as an early Christmas present. The class I chose to sign up for was the Introduction to Cupcake Decorating class for $80 at Le Dolci in downtown Toronto. The class was 2 hours long and you got to take the cupcakes you decorated home. What did I tell ya? I am getting a meal! 😉

So this is how it went….

They also sell their own cupcakes in addition to other treats.

What I aspire to make one day. One day…

You can purchase decorating material here. This is an example of what they sell.

My classmates. Our instructor at the front of the class is teaching us how to decorate.

What we started with. Hello there! I am going to make you look SO PRETTY!

Fondant to color and mold to our hearts desire. So it begins.

1st one. Meh.

2nd..a little better.

3rd. No more fondant for me! I am sticking to frosting.

I tried to go back to fondant but it was just not working for me. This is such a sad-looking gift box.

Ok, this is much better! The one fondant creation I was proud of.

IB, that’s me!

The final product. Very proud moment.

This class was a lot of fun and I learned a lot about decorating. For example, fondant and I do not get along.

On my way home with a box full of cupcakes it occurred to me, oh sh%$t I am not going to see any of my friends this weekend. Can I be trusted with ALL these cupcakes? The answer was a resounding NO! I ate them all in 2 days. Delish!

I enjoyed this class so much that I took their Perfect Parisian Macaron class (I got a 2 for 1 coupon). Sadly I did not enjoy the macaron class nearly as much as the cupcake one. I will tell you why another time.

Bye for now!