Very dainty, very delicate, very demure…

Workshops and masterclasses are in and Dubai has plenty of spectacular workshops to take advantage of. One in particular that I have been very lucky to try is the masterclass with the master baker, and world-renowned cake decorator Penelope d’Arcy Graham at Little Venice Cake Company at Atlantis The Royal.

An introduction

Atlantis The Royal alone carries a certain prestige – add to it a bakery that has top-tier (pardon the pun) pastry chefs working away at their craft and you instantly have a recipe for success. The bakery is dainty, cosy and chic with a welcoming atmosphere as you walk in. Greeted by cake decorator Pen herself who introduces us to the wonderful world of Little Venice Cake Company before we begin our journey to creating a masterpiece of our own.

I’d like to preface this by saying, that I have a fairly decent but beginner-level knowledge when it comes to baking – I’m not scared of wielding a piping bag, but venturing into this kind of cake decorating is new for me. Pen explains to us that the masterclass is entirely bespoke. Some people who are really looking to up their game, and learn specific techniques will request to do so, while children and beginners can also come in and learn about cake decorating. So no matter your level, this masterclass can be suited to you and your needs.

Making moves

For today’s masterclass Pen explains that we will be decorating a six-inch cake, and her vision for us today is a Victorian-style wedding cake with pink and gold accents – but also tells us very swiftly that we can also do whatever else we would like on the cake. But the main focus of the class was making roses and practising our piping.

Straight away I am very excited – I love to bake, it runs in my family and some of my earliest memories are of me in the kitchen learning how to measure ingredients and rolling out cookie dough with my grandma. So learning a new kitchen technique instantly has me perking up.

From start to finish, Pen is extremely supportive but also allows for the exploration of the different mediums – she explains why we would be using modelling paste over fondant, and how gum paste varies and ensures us that the class won’t be very lecture-heavy but fun and the final product is entirely up to us.

After the brief demonstration, it’s time to get stuck in. We begin kneading our paste to make it warm enough to mould, mixing a few colours for the perfect shape. Rolling out the paste and moulding the paste, before I know it I’ve created my own delicate little rose.

Next was painting and cutting out the gold leaves out of the gum paste before finally moving on to the piping. Pen suggests that it’s best to practice on a board before putting pipe to cake.

The grand finale

The final step was imagining the dream cake and putting pipe to cake to pipe out the Swiss buttercream icing. Slow and steady wins the race with piping. Hold the bag upright, a little bit above the cake before pressing on the bag to release that sweet sweet icing.

I personally went for a more traditional style pipe, with layering and a small scalloped edge around the cake. While the top of the cake had thicker detailing, with gold pearls. Pen did say “know when to put the piping bag down.” I think I put it down at just the right time and then it was time for the final assembly which meant delicately placing my beautiful little flowers and gold petals atop the cake, before giving the cake one last sprits of gold dust to really finish things off.

I couldn’t be more proud of the beautiful cakes we created, from start to finish the process was so fun, learning about Pen and her journey to cake decorating, learning new techniques, and coming out the other end with a wonderfully decorated cake to take home to share with my family.

Little Venice Cake Company, Atlantis The Royal, Palm Jumeirah, by booking, priced at Dhs995 per person. Atlantis.com

Images: Supplied and social