I got curious. I passed by ABC Cooking Studio when I was in Hokkaido and went in to ask if I could do a class. They said no. This time, I walked pass them at Takashimaya in Singapore and I knew I had to try a cooking class with them. I am so intrigued by their simple furnishing and zen look. It must be something I have never experienced before.

I was leaving my yoga class to get across the road to the trial baking class I booked. My friend couldn’t understand, “But why do you need to go for a baking class, when you can bake almost anything!” Um… I have been baking since I was 9 and yes, there’s really nothing much I cannot bake, but I am so curious how this whole cooking studio works and functions.

“I want to learn how to set up a cooking studio!”

She shook her head, “You have to slow down. You have no time to run or start a cooking studio!”

I don’t! But I will know someone who wants to start one, and I will be their consultant! I am good at learning and then breaking things up into simple steps and teach that!

After spending 2 hours at the studio, here’s my verdict:

1. This cooking studio model has become a seamless factory, and they have made teaching cooking/baking into clockwork, which means their formula is so good, it is idiot proof. They can take any 20-year-old novice and make them into a faultless cooking instructor. Nothing cooked or baked in the studio will ever fail because they control every process so well.
2. Whatever you make in the studio will be perfect. But to repeat with the same success at home is not easy. My estimate is that the success rate is not more than 50%, unless you replicate the exact studio environment in your home, having the same equipment and the same ingredients. Not a small investment.
3. I tested the instructor’s knowledge. He is around 25 years old but his knowledge of what he is teaching is good! I asked him why this is called a pound cake (because I know from the ingredients this is not a pound cake). He explained exactly that this is not a pound cake but more like a butter cake. However, it feels like a pound cake and that’s why they call it a pound cake. Full marks here.
4. The place is dirty and oily, and the folks do not really observe stringent hygiene practice especially essential during these covid-19 times. The pail for us to place our soiled equipment to wash is scarily dirty and oily and I bet is full of germs.
5. The employees are not happy. I would expect these young instructors to be bubbly and super enthusiastic about their baking career and enjoy the young vibrant work environment. Unfortunately, the vibes is completely the opposite. There was no passion. They are nice, knowledgeable people and try to help, but they lack fire in the belly which is sad to see in 20 somethings.

Well, look at my bake. It is beautiful, because the instructor just measured everything and handed them to me at the right time. Given that I bake so often, it is likely I can repeat the result with some variations of success. But I think it would be difficult for a novice to repeat that.

What do I do? Haha. I rewrote the recipe and so that you can spend less time in the kitchen and you have the same chance of success. I reduced a few steps and added some changes to the ingredients to reduce the sugar yet not the sweetness. Took away the failing points so that the chance of success is much higher. Quite idiot-proof, but in the home.

Earl Grey Butter Cake with Lemon Curd

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Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert, Snack

Ingredients

  

Earl Grey Butter Cake

• 150 g Unsalted butter room temperature
• 150 g Caster sugar
• 3 Large Eggs about 150g at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp Lemon juice
• 1.5 tsp Earl grey powder or any tea powder
• 90 g Self-raising flour
• 25 g Corn flour
• A pinch Salt

Filling (Lemon Curd)

• 1 Egg
• 60 g Sugar
• 50 g Lemon juice
• 30 g Butter

Decoration

• 80 g Whipping cream
• 20 g Caster sugar
• Orange peel as desired

Orange Peel

• Orange
• Sugar Equal weight as orange

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven at 180C.

Lemon Curd

• Combine eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.
• Place over double boiler and heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, or thickens.
• Add butter and gently stir till the butter melts.
• Transfer the lemon curd into a piping bag and pipe out a tablespoon (or any amount you'd like on top of your cake) of the curd to set aside. Set the rest in the chiller to cool.

Earl Grey Butter Cake

• Cream unsalted butter and sugar until it turns pale yellow, (this is called the creaming method). If using a mixer, cream at medium speed. If using hand to mix, beat in one direction. Work quickly before the butter becomes oily.
• Add the eggs one at a time.
• Add in lemon juice to combine.
• Mix in the earl grey tea powder and salt.
• Sieve the flours into the mixture and fold in at low speed. The batter is ready and should be of dropping consistency. Add more lemon juice or milk to the mixture if it is too dry.
• Portion the batter into 5 cupcakes or paper molds, about 120g each.
• Bake the cakes for 10 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and pipe the lemon curd into the centre of the cake. Do so by inserting your piping bag into the centre of the cake from the cracks on top of the cake that were formed from the baking.

  Return the cake to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Chantilly Cream

• Add sugar to the whipping cream and whip until just before stiff peak is achieved.
• Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag.

Assembly

• Allow the cakes to cool and then pipe the Chantilly cream from the top of the cake to the center.
• Add droplets of lemon curd that was reserved previously on top of the Chantilly cream.
• Garnish with orange peel.

Orange Peel

• Peel the orange, (don't use the pith) and cut the peel into small strips.
• Boil the strips in water for 15 minutes. Then drain.
• Juice the orange and add sugar. Place the boiled peels into this mixture and boil for another 20 minutes.
• Drain and set aside to use. Watch how legendary Pepin does the orange peel here.

Keyword lemon curd