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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Baking Class at The Maya Kitchen

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." This saying sounded cliche but it's very true. We have been married for more than two and a half years but until now I still haven't mastered the art of cooking. Before I got pregnant, I tried my best to cook something edible for the two of us but with a toddler now, I can't seem to find a quiet time to get back to the kitchen. 

Last month I was so lucky to have the opportunity to attend a baking class at The Maya Kitchen. Thanks to Mommy Bloggers Philippines for giving me a slot. Actually, it was a last minute decision just because somebody backed-out and that I was able to immediately grab the freed up slot. Personally, I love to eat sweets which includes cakes, chocolates and pastries that's why this session is just what I need.

I haven't heard about The Maya Kitchen before but upon visiting their website, I saw how credible and enticing it was to join their class. It got me curious as to how they all started that I went on searching online for their history and stumbled upon this link from Inquirer. It's interesting to know how this well-established local company emerged from just being a flour manufacturer to a most sought-after culinary center.

I'm excited to share with you my experience when I attended their Mother's Day Baking Class last May 10, 2014 together with my mom blogger friend Edel of Legal Mom Archives. First let me tour you around the place.

Upon entering, their product display will be the first thing that you can see. Oh, it's their 50th anniversary this year!


They are the makers of the best selling Maya baking ingredients and cookbooks.

Then as you go inside, you could see these ancient looking windows which gives you a nostalgic feeling of antiquity. Turn left and there you see the door to where the cooking classes are being held.


Door towards the classroom.
 

You might also want to check out their awards where it says Best Culinary School.


Awards

Here's their classroom that sits approximately 30 students.


Neat and air-conditioned classroom.

And here's where the hands-on cooking is being done. Talk about experience.


They have a big kitchen where hands-on cooking/baking is being held.

The most important thing is that their utensils and tables are clean.


Baking utensils in the cooking demo table.

And without any delay, let me go over the three mouth-watering pastries we made that day. I won't write down the recipes here, just my experience but if you want to have a copy, just let me know in the comments below.


Anyway, here are the ingredients, all well-prepared and measured in cups before starting.

Ingredients for the three pastries.

Egg Tart

The first thing that pops into my mind is the Lord Stow's egg tart. I just enjoyed eating them but didn't thought of how they were made. Here we were taught to bake from scratch. The instructor demonstrated first how to make the crust then followed by the filling. Complete the two separate process first before combining and bringing them to the oven. Here's the finished product. The crust is baked just right, not too hard and not too brittle. The filling tasted like leche flan, perfect!

Egg Tart
 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcake

I'm fond of eating chocolate chip cookies and brownies separately but in this recipe, it's a combination of both in a cupcake format. We were taught to prepare the chocolate chip cookie batter and chocolate fudge brownie batter separately before scooping them into the cupcake trays. The end result, both the cookie and the brownie gets combined. Ingenious! I learned to bake two pastries in one.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Cupcake



Red Velvet Cake

Recently, red velvet flavor has become an all-time favorite next to chocolate. It's usually whipped with cream cheese frosting. As with the first two, the instructor again taught us to prepare two things separately: the cake and the frosting. It was an eye-opener for a newbie like me that red velvet has a red food coloring, cocoa powder and sour cream in it. And I'm also happy to learn and see how those finger-licking-good frosting is being made. It's quite tedious I tell you. Kudos to those cake makers, I admire your patience.


Red Velvet Cake

The best way to learn is through experiential learning or learning by doing. After the demonstrations, we were grouped into two teams of four. Yes, we're only eight in the class that time. From this hands-on session, I realized how one should be very keen in following the steps indicated in the recipe. One mistake would make a big impact on the final output. Presence of mind is the key to baking.


Mommy bloggers with Ms. Rory C. Subida, The Maya Kitchen's manager.


Meet our friendly and humorous chef or instructor of the day, Ms. Elvie Ibale.

Picture with the instructor, Ms. Elvie M. Ibale.

Last picture before I left The Maya Kitchen.


Left: sample cake designed by Ms. Elvie; Right: my take home goodies.




























Another good thing in attending a cooking/baking class is that you'll get to have a free taste. But here in The Maya Kitchen, we even got to take home our own creation of the chocolate chip cookie brownie cupcake and a small version of red velvet cake, plus the apron. Due to time constraint, we were told to decorate our red velvet cake at home. We just took home a portion of cream cheese frosting, red velvet crumbs and the naked red velvet cake. Check out the photo below.

Before and after photo of our take-home mini red velvet cake.

And because the following day was Mother's Day, I gave my masterpiece to my dear mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

After this baking class, it made me appreciate the kitchen better and be more at ease in reading the measurements and cooking terminologies in the recipe such as sift, beat, fold, etc. Now that I'm a little equipped, I hope to make something out for my hubby's birthday next week. Wish me luck! :)

Enroll now and you might just unleash your hidden talents in baking or cooking in general. The magic of cooking will be revealed when you attend their class.

The Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center

Address: 8th Floor, Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Ave., Legazpi Village, Makati (you can see the map from their website)
Contact No.: 892-5011 loc. 108
Fax No.: 892-1185  
Mobile No.: 0947-8352290
Email: contactus@themayakitchen.com
Website: http://themayakitchen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mayakitchen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/themayakitchen1
Instagram: http://instagram.com/themayakitchen1

Check out the reviews of my co-mommy bloggers here: 

Maricel Tanguanco
http://mmtanguanco.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothers-day-treat-at-maya-kitchen-road.html

Arge Valencia
http://argevalencia.com/bake-like-a-pro-with-the-maya-kitchen/

Let me know your experience too at the comments below. 

Mommy Sally

5 comments:

  1. Cool~! I would try to attend one or two of Maya Kitchen's class sometimes.

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    1. Hi Cha! Try to attend as they have a friendly learning environment plus the most important part which is the hands-on. Thanks for dropping by! :)

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  2. Hi Sally!

    Wow so organized your thoughts and pictures :) ♥ Oh for sure you're an expert na in breaking eggs... hehehehe that was so funny and memorable. By the way, many thanks for putting my link on your post♥♥♥ More power to you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Maricel, haha nakakahiya yung egg breaking, sumama pa pati yung shell, halatang hindi nagluluto. Thanks for the nice comment! :)

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  3. do they give certificate of attendance after a session?

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