Better Than Betty

For the past two days all I've been thinking about is baking. Cupcakes, gumpaste flowers, petite fours, wedding cakes, fondant, and piping tips. Actually it all started with piping tips. My husband and I were at the Metropolitan Market picking up groceries for dinner. On our way to check out we took the baking aisle and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a whole display with piping tips. (There were probably other cake decorating supplies too but I only had eyes for those tips). My mom had been cleaning out the pantry and had given me a bunch of piping bags but I didn't have any tips, and here was my chance. I picked out a small star tip. I also grabbed a box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food and a fluffy white frosting. I was making cupcakes.

I made deliciously moist psychedelic colored cupcakes. But they were boring. I used my star tip and played with different patterns on the cupcakes but the whole time I knew that that little metal piping tip could do so much more than I was capable of. That's when I decided that I want to be a better baker than the average Jane (Betty?). So I searched online for baking/decorating classes in Seattle and I was actually kind of dismayed by what I found. There were very mixed results, Micheal's crafts store does a Wilton's method decorating class, but doesn't teach anything about baking. A few bakeries offered fondant classes, wedding cake classes, or other specific techniques but I wanted something more all inclusive. There is one that I'd like to take, its offered by a bakery down the street from my house and it looks like I could probably learn a lot from it. But its $400. Justin laughed when I told him the price. I don't think cake is worth that much to him. So I guess its up to me to teach myself.