Now that my morning sickness has completely subsided (in fact, I’m putting on sooooo much weight as I’m constantly eating!) and I’m getting some energy back, I’d wanted to get right back into one of the love of my life – BAKING. When Tomoko asked me to be one of her pioneer adult student (she held kids classes in Dec), I’d jumped quickly at the chance.
Caramel Factory is truly a labour of love, and because of that, the shop oozes of love. Tomoko who is a pure-blooded Japanese is married to my childhood friend. She is funny and friendly, and weirdly enough, I didn’t know that she was such a talented baker until she showed her blog to me. She specialises in Japanese-style and French cakes, pastries and even puddings. This makes her baking classes so unique because it’s not the run-of-the-mill butter or chocolates cakes that seemed to be offered by everyone else. Anyway, Tomoko has been a SAHM to her cute, recently turned 1 daughter and her husband helped set up this shop for her. Isn’t that sweet? He’s even around during the classes to take care of the administration and help take photos. Of course, he is the official food taster, being a bit of a foodie himself.
Last Sunday, Caramel Factory had its inagural adult baking class and I was honoured to be one of the 6 pioneer students. We learnt to bake Japanese Souffle Cheesecake and Diamant Vanille, which really is a rich and crunchy butter cookie during the 3 1/2 hour class. The class is totally hands-on and everyone got to bring home their own creations. In addition, there was a tea break towards the end when Tomoko made us tea to go with the delicious cake and cookies. It was almost like being a guest in her house! You can see the photos from the class I’d attended here.
Thanks, Tomoko, for being such a great teacher. I particularly enjoyed the fact that you self-lessly shared all the tips and techniques, which I find many people (including friends!) don’t. I will definitely be back to the Caramel Factory!
