Yesterday me and
David went to the Primrose Bakery for our cupcake decorating class I mentioned in a previous post
HERE.
Honestly, I had such a good time! Our class was hosted by Lisa & Rachel who made the whole experience so lovely and enjoyable. You really leave feeling like you want to come back to the bakery, even to just pop in and say hello to them!
There was roughly 8 people in the class which is held in the super cute bakery on Travistock Street. Nothing can prepare you for the amazing smell of this place! When you arrive, Rachel greets everyone and makes sure you have a drink, welcoming you to have a nose around and generally just passing on a infectious, cheery feeling! Lisa, who does the class demonstrations is always encouraging you to ask any baking questions you might have and could not have been more helpful.
After a brief chat about the background of Primrose Bakery, our first task was to practice the signature Primrose icing swirl which Lisa demonstrated after also showing us how to make the icing from the cook book. It was nice to know that every single recipe in the book is actually what they use in the shop.
It turns out, I was quite rubbish at the swirl. David on the other hand, was a pro. Bitter? Me? Of course not! Haha! David also couldn't resist eating the icing which was all in pastel colours and, not only looks pretty, but also serves a purpose as they like to use as little coloring as possible in their cupcakes to make sure you're not eating lots of rubbish artificial colours and preservatives.
Lisa also taught us, along with other things, how to make our own parchment piping bags! I'm so happy I won't have to keep buying the plastic ones for my cookie decorating now I can make my own!
At the end of the class, you got to take home a little bag of goodies including the cakes you'd decorated, a loyalty card stamped up so you can have a free cupcake, a signed postcard from Martha Swift & Lisa Thomas as well as a recipe card.
I cannot recommend this class AND the bakery highly enough. Just the feeling of the whole place makes you feel comfortable, relaxed and happy. Add to the mix that the cakes taste fricking AMAZING you have a winning combination!
A HUGE thank you to Rachel & Lisa for such an enjoyable and fun couple of hours!
If anyone is interested in taking a class (I REALLY think you should!) you can find more information
HERE.
Me and David already own the Primrose Bakery book so it seemed fitting to include a little review along with this post!
The Primrose Bakery Book is a 240 page, hardback containing over 80 of the most amazing recipes. I'll go as far as to say this is my absolute favorite baking book and if you don't already own it, you need it in your life. It's dubbed as the 'baking bible' and quite frankly, I have to agree. Baking is most definitely my kinda religion!
Aside from the fact it's full of beautiful photography, the recipes are delicious and range from cupcakes, layer cakes and cookies to pastries and more.
Each recipe is easy to follow and always, the hardest part is picking what to make first!
As each cake has a corresponding icing, there is always a tutorial for both. We got to taste some of the chocolate icing Primrose use at the bakery and it's like nothing i've tried before. It's almost like a light mousse and made with dark chocolate rather than the usual coco powder.
You can see below, the signature swirl! You'd think it would be very easy to do but it actually isn't! Each cake chef learns the same way and then develops it into their own style. I know i'm going to be spending a lot of time practicing until I can show David up!
I've made pastries before but I have to admit, I have been a huge fan of the wonder of ready rolled pastry. The breakfast section, which also features granola, cinnamon buns and corn muffins means i'm definitely going to stop being lazy and have a go at making it myself, from scratch.
The recipes range from the tradition shortbread, victoria sponge to the more unique friands, flourless chocolate cake and mars bar cake! One things for certain, you'll want to bake and eat EVERYTHING.
The book is littered with tips and tricks on icing and decoration as well as step-by-step 'how to' tutorials. It really does allow you to master a lot of skills to ensure perfect baking, even for an amateur like me!
Yum.
The wedding cake section is perfect for the bride who loves a bit of shabby chic charm rather than the usual heavy iced cake. A cupcake tower or a huge layer cake is a delicious alternative and this section of the book goes into details of icing, decoration and display.
To conclude, The Primrose Bakery Book actually makes me excited about baking. It's hard to walk past it on the shelf and not want to pick it up and start making something. Although I star rate everything, this book get's an easy 11/10 from me! Yep, 11 out of 10!
Tutorials ★★★★★
Practicality ★★★★★
Design & photography ★★★★★
Overall ★★★★★
Lastly, after the decorating class, we went for a walk around St. James Park, stopped for something to eat at Byron Burger (FYI the blue cheese burger is sooo good!) and generally enjoyed London on a sunny day! Best. Sunday. Ever.
