"Cake Perfection" Class with Sur La Table
If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year and are wondering what side dishes to serve with your turkey, be sure to sign up for my next virtual cooking class with Sur La Table on Thursday, November 19th at 4pm ET - I'll show you how to make three of my favorite sides.
I'm thrilled to be hosting classes with Sur La Table. I hosted my first LIVE class yesterday straight from a kitchen at my Bedford, New York farm. I was joined by our own Culinary Director and host of "Kitchen Conundrums," Thomas Joseph. We had so much fun. During the two-hour Zoom session, I went through the step-by-step process for making a delicious carrot cake batter, building a perfect four-layer cake, and creating a delectable white chocolate frosting. I also decorated several other cakes using various techniques. All the cakes featured were from my newest book, "Martha Stewart's Cake Perfection: 100+ Recipes for the Sweet Classic, from Simple to Stunning." I also shared baking secrets, golden rules, and essential tools for making beautiful and flavorful baked goods. Plus, I answered lots of questions from class participants, and a surprise call from my friend and neighbor, Richard Gere.
Enjoy these photos and please sign up for my next event - just go to the Sur La Table web site or click anywhere on this highlighted link for all the information.
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- I am so proud of this book, “Martha Stewart’s Cake Perfection: 100+ Recipes for the Sweet Classic, from Simple to Stunning” from Clarkson Potter. In one’s lifetime, there are so many occasions that call for celebration or “something special” – birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, engagements, weddings, showers, new jobs, retirements, and more. A homemade, home-baked, and hand-decorated cake somehow makes these events feel even more joyful. This class was a great way to showcase some of the wonderful cakes, ideas, and baking techniques from the book.
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- The class began with “mise en place” which means “everything in its place.” It’s one of my golden rules for cooking and baking. When a professional chef prepares a dish for service, they first gather all the ingredients needed to finish it.
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- All the necessary tools such as mixers, off-set spatulas and cake pans are also placed on the counter, so everything is close at hand and ready to use. It makes the process so much easier.
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- Then, I start preparing a carrot cake batter. Here I am beating four large room temperature eggs and the sugar. Another golden rule is to “mind the mixing.” My book book calls for two creaming methods – “classic creaming” requires butter and sugar to be mixed together, followed by eggs, dry ingredients, and liquids. “Reverse creaming” involves beating the butter into the dry ingredients to produce an extra-tender, texture.
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- Once it is pale and fluffy, I add the butter, already melted and in a measuring cup.
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- For this carrot cake recipe, five medium carrots are peeled and then shredded on the fine holes of a box grater.
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- I also talked about the nutmeg. Do you know… true nutmeg, Myristica fragrans, is really two two spices? That’s right, the nutmeg comes from its seed, and mace comes from the seed covering.
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- The recipe calls for two eight-inch round cake pans brushed with butter and lined with parchment paper.
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- I place half the batter in one pan and the other half in the second pan. To be perfectly accurate, one can use a food scale to create two portions, but during the class, we estimated the amounts – they were just right.
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- The white chocolate frosting is also in my new book, and uses white chocolate, cream cheese, butter, lemon juice – yes, lemon juice – and one-and-a-quarter cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar.
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- Once the cakes are baked and cooled, using a serrated cake knife, split each cake in half horizontally to make four layers.
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- Stack the cakes with frosting in between each layer. Don’t worry, there will be enough frosting to cover. The frosting is then spread around the entire cake to create a crumb coat – a first and thin layer of frosting. It’s another one of my golden rules in the book – this crumb coat will seal any stray crumbs allowing the second coat to be perfect.
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- The cake is refrigerated for about 30-minutes and then ready for the final coat of frosting. I am holding a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #104 petal tip. Starting from the center of the top of the cake, I pipe the entire cake while slowly turning it on the rotating cake stand. This creates a swirl effect.
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- Here it is all finished – a carrot cake dressed up in ruffles – simple yet elegant, and so delicious.
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- This is our Citrus Cake with Edible Blossoms – a lemony cake with a lime-mousse filling and covered in a delectable Italian meringue buttercream frosting. I covered it with beautiful blossoms, meringues and sugar-pearls.
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- I also showed this gorgeous Vanilla Sponge Cake with Strawberry Meringue. Here I am placing lots and lots of sweet strawberries on top. Take your time decorating and make it as perfect as possible, and always “bake with aplomb” – confidence and assurance. If you were part of my class, yesterday, you’d remember this important tip.
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- Here is the finished cake all complete with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top. Another tip is to place four-inch wide strips of parchment paper under the edges of the cake before dusting with sugar – the paper will catch any extra sugar and keep the cake stand clean. Once done, the pieces can be removed.
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- I also showed one of my favorite cakes from the book – this is my Double-Orange Bundt Cake with Cointreau-spiked syrup glaze. The “Brilliance” bundt pan by Nordic Ware makes an extra special sunburst design.
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- I decorated the sides of the cake stand with calamondins – citrus fruits commonly grown in the Philippines.
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- All these cakes look so stunning – and perfect for any occasion.
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- The last cake I showed is another popular favorite from my book – the Coffee Feather Cake. This one is made from a coffee-infused cake layered with mascarpone filling and coffee whipped cream and then decorated with shards of chocolate. I started with white chocolate feathers which were made by brushing the warm chocolate onto baking sheets lined with nonstick parchment paper. After refrigerating for about 30-minutes to set, they’re ready to anchor onto the cake.
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- Next, I add milk chocolate feathers, carefully overlapping as I go around.
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- And lastly, dark chocolate feathers. An easy-to-do technique that adds texture and creative design to the cake. Richard Gere loves chocolate – I will give this cake to him and his family.
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- Thomas and I had so much fun teaching this class and speaking with the participants. I hope you sign up for the next virtual cooking class next Thursday, November 19th. Just go to the Sur La Table web site – or click on this highlighted link. I am looking forward to seeing you there. Happy baking!
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