A cake break in NYC – Carlo’s Bakery Class Review.

I love travelling, cities and cake. Therefore, I love NYC.

Literally days after New Year’s Eve, I headed west from London to New York City (The best time to go BTW). The usual stress happened of course, heavy snowfall at JFK airport, bitter cold weather with a real feel of -24c and flights being delayed but had plenty to look forward to when I got there. Nothing would put me off my trip, especially when I love the cold.

I struggle with sleeping on long-haul flights and this time was no exception, especially with a 2 hour delay on Heathrow runway. Thankfully this time though, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights around 4 hours into my flight. It was beautiful although, my camera couldn’t take a picture due to the wing lights but it looked like the below.

Image found on Google. Link to NATE BOLT on the Daily Mail Online.

You can view the whole time lapse from NATE BOLT on the Daily Mail online here.

New York was full of sights, sounds, smells (lots of these – some not so good) and WOWs. I can never get bored of this city. Here’s a few pictures I took while there. If you’ve never been, I fully recommend you do, even for a stopover.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Any who, on Christmas Day, my Mum surprised me with the best gift ever.

A bakery class. In NYC. At my favourite bakery… Carlo’s Bakery.

Carlo’s Bake Shop, famed by the TLC channel and the program Cake Boss with Bartolo Jr. “Buddy” Valastro and his Famiglia, running a traditional family run Italian bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey since 1910.

Image found on Google but can’t find who took it.

I was booked in for a bakery class to learn more about fondant techniques (my personal Achilles heel) and piping. I was always so impressed with how smooth others could cover their cakes in icing/fondant and I wanted to find out the secret, this was my opportunity.

After a frosty morning in Brooklyn and the Dumbo, we walked towards Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge picking up the PATH rail network to take us to Hoboken. My class started at 5pm and I arrived with plenty of time.

In an old warehouse on an empty snowy street, there was Lackawanna, the main bake house location for Carlo’s Bakery. Here they pre-bake thousands of cakes and pastries to ship to the many Carlo’s Bake Shops popping up all over the USA. This warehouse is also where they prepare all the show cakes you may have seen on ‘Cake Boss’ as well as the location for ‘The Next Great Baker’ also on TLC.

Here’s Lackawanna.

Image owned by Google and their Street View service.

In the reception, there were many other visitors who had travelled to take part in a class. We had students from other American States as well as Brazil and Australia, all had a keen interest in Baking. As the main Bake House, of course you’d catch a glimpse of Buddy and his Famiglia wondering around – to which some of the students became giddy with excitement.

Due to the time of year, the class was quieter than normal, allowing additional room for partners and friends to join. Although they couldn’t take part, it meant they wouldn’t sit bored in the reception area for 2 hours.

Someone was bored. Owned by Kellee Taylor.

After a ‘no photos’ tour of Lackawanna, we were taken to our classroom to begin. We just had to choose a worktop and wash up. I was so excited when I received my Carlo’s apron – check me out!

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

We had 2 Bake House staff showing us the tricks of the trade, starting us off with Fondant – YES… exactly what I had been waiting for. They introduced me to a new product, Satin Ice, something that we can by in the UK but only on professional sites but I did find this product on Amazon. It behaves differently to roll out icing; it’s much stiffer to work with initially, requiring some Paul Hollywood bread kneading and some vegetable shortening to loosen it. It was completely pliable and had a satin feel to it (hence the name!). It even tasted different, a bit like condensed marshmallow.

Get your own Satin Ice Fondant on Amazon here.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

To save time, we used an industrial roller instead of rolling pins to get the icing to 3mm thick and covered a pre-dirty iced 8 inch chocolate fudge cake. It was the best icing I have ever used. The Bake House Staff showed us the best technique, the Satin ice stretched like lycra – meaning there wasn’t a single crease in my cake! SUCCESS! Now it was time to pipe!

The Bake House Staff showed us some traditional Italian icing techniques, something I find somewhat OTT myself. The way they created shapes was incredibly interesting but I prefer simple designs on cakes.

Students with Carlos Bakery Staff. Owned by Kellee Taylor.

We were set up with a bag of ‘buttercream’ – in America they use vegetable shortening more than butter hence the brilliant whiteness. This version of buttercream is great for those who are dairy intolerant. You can get the book with the recipe in Baking with the Cake Boss: 100 of Buddy’s Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets

We then went wild with different icing techniques, and as such I decided to ice a cake that would remind me of the day. Here it is – I used all the techniques the Bake House Staff showed me and at the end of the day, they took a picture of my cake! I was so proud!

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Being the end of the session, I picked up a deal of cake decorating goodies and headed to the original Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken – just 15 mins walk from Lackawanna where I picked up cookies, cakes and other naughty treats.

Owned by Kellee Taylor.

Here’s the truth – the classes were expensive but totally worth it, especially as all the tools are included and you get to take your cake home. If you’re planning a trip in NYC and fancy something different to do, I fully recommend doing a baking class. They can get booked out quickly, so book in plenty of time. Here’s their website!

The finished cake. Owned by Kellee Taylor.