Cake and frosting overtakes Campus Craft and Floral every Tuesday and Wednesday night for the spring Wilton cake decorating course.
Starting at the beginning of May, course one of the three available cake decorating courses began. Each course is four weeks long with classes once a week for two hours.
“Classes sell out so quickly,” said Michelle Virtue, head of Campus Craft and Floral. “Because we want one-on-one instruction, only 15 people are enrolled in each course. If we have more wanting to sign up, we put them on a waiting list.”
In course one, students are taught basic frosting skills. The focus is on baking mechanics, icing chemistry and elementary decorating skills.
Virtue said that by the end of the course participants should be able to make a rose out of icing.
In course two, beginning in July, participants focus on making flowers. Virtue said they make everything from violets to pansies and chrysanthemums.
In course three, beginning in August, participants work with fondant. They learn to roll fondant and work with extreme detailing. The final project is a tiered wedding cake.
Participants must bring their own cake and icing and are given a recipe and technique book for each course, Virtue said.
In course one, the first day of class focuses on teaching correct baking and icing making techniques. After the first class, each participant must bring their own cake and frosting to each following class. In course two and three, participants will only have to bring one or two cakes throughout the whole course.
Kirsten Whiteley, a BYU graduate in food sciences and current Campus Craft and Floral employee, is the cake decorating instructor. She has taught the various courses for the last four years and was a participant prior to that.
Whiteley said her former instructor sent out an e-mail asking if participants were interested in being the instructor. She replied, interviewed, and received the job.
“I interviewed with Wilton to become certified,” Whiteley said. “Then I was sent a box of
training and course materials.”
Wilton is the cake decorating brand that certifies decorating instructors. Whiteley said she uses most of the materials that Wilton sent her to organize her class.
“I like the class to be very hands on,” Whiteley said. “We use practice boards with templates for the first half of class.”
Whiteley said she recommends participants take course one before taking course two and three.
“I have had students take course two or three prior to course one, but at the end of the course, most wish they had the basic training first,” Whiteley said.
Course one is currently being offered, but the class is full. Course two will start in July and course three will begin in August. Go to Campus Craft and Floral in the Wilkinson Student Center for more information on signup times.
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