by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
Want to sign your kids up for an interesting activity? Try a baking class at Hot Shot Bakery (also known as Luvin’ Oven) in St.Augustine. The age range is from five to teen, covering different baking projects depending on the age and skill level of the participants. Parents have the option of leaving their children at the bakery or staying with them during the class, depending on the level of comfort the children and adults have. Baker Sherry Stoppelbein loves to teach baking and is delighted by the children’s enthusiasm. Says Stoppelbein, “The first teaching class I had was a group of eleven-year-old girls and they were just so well behaved and so into it so hungry for… [the knowledge], it’s just neat.”
The class I dropped in on was at the five-year-old introductory level, in which the students got to decorate a pre-made mini doll cake. The dolls are plunged into the center of the cake, with the cake serving as a sort of skirt for the top. The class was small but the girls seemed to be having a marvelous time decorating their little cakes and dolls, placing their candy adornment with a laser-like concentration. Hope, an adorable little blonde girl with pigtail braids, learned how to pipe on frosting with a professional baker’s bag and piping tools. Some of the frosting ended up on Hope, but she didn’t seem to mind. Baker Sherry Stoppelbein kept a sharp eye on her students, helping the ones that wanted extra guidance, and leaving the more independent students to their own creative devices. Different types of sprinkles, frosting colors and candies are on hand so students can personalize their creation. Cakes are decorated on a white Styrofoam plate, on which the students can make a mess, and then the finished cakes are transferred onto a scalloped, golden presentation plate. The creations are then placed in a small cake box for a neat transfer to home. Although students can eat their creations right away, most have put in so much in creating them that by the time they’re done, they don’t want to.
Eight-year-olds can handle most of the challenges of the baking process, from measuring to mixing. Accurate measurement, Stoppelbein says, is “part of the class…I teach them about… [measurement] and why you do it. The way you put stuff together when you’re baking is not like cooking; there’s a system to it.” Sharing is also a lesson that the students learn, since students share a mixer. Students also get to see and sometimes even use professional baking equipment. Says Stoppelbein, “They get to use the big trays and ovens and they’re just fascinated by that.”
The littlest children start out with just decorating, but the next level is a rocky road bar. Each student pours the layers into their own baking pan to form the strata of their rocky road bar. Muffins, which are easy to over-beat are the project given to students at the third level skill. They hope to offer bread making classes for the most ambitious students, since bread making is one of the most challenging baking tasks. Stoppelbein is flexible about placing the little chefs in the classes depending on their skill level and age. All skill levels, from would-be-master bakers to newbie novices are welcome.
It isn’t just girls who are attending her classes, plenty of boys, according to Stoppelbein, also attend. “I’ve got a whole list of boys and most of them are twelve to fifteen…A couple of them, their goal is to become a chef…They watch enough of the Food Network, I think that’s where their interest is coming from.”
If you’re interested in signing up for a cooking class, call the bakery at 824-7898. Sherry will put you on a list and then will call you back when she gets a large enough group in that age range together. Make sure you let her know the age and skill level of your child so they can be put in the appropriate group. The class time is generally scheduled for Saturday at 11am. Cost is $10 per child. Classes last about two hours and Sherry takes up to ten in a class, although class sizes are generally about four to six students large. It’s great idea for a party, even for adults, and you get to eat the results.
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