Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1 Class 1

I've decided to post on my blog what I’ve learned (or will learn) in the Wilton Course 1 cake decorating class that I’m taking. I know, I know, the last time I mentioned wanting to document something, I didn’t quite follow through with it…yet (however in my defense, I still plan to post the Kyoto photos from my trip to Japan this past spring).

For those of you who are not interested in food crafts, these posts might not be your piece of cake (heh, dorky pun intended), so my feelings won’t get hurt should you decide to skip them :) I just thought it might help those who may be considering taking the Wilton cake decorating classes at their local fabric or craft store.

I’m taking my class at the local Michaels craft store, as they were offering a 50% discount on the class during the month of September. Class sizes appear to be kept to a minimum for the most part (there were a total of 7 of us ). During the first class, we learned the basics of cake decorating, such as the various tools you can use, how to make buttercream frosting and how to adjust the frosting consistency needed for various decorating projects.

At the end of class, the instructor took us to the Wilton aisle of the craft store to note which items we need for the class as well as the optional items to purchase but don’t necessarily need for the class. The class fee itself was only $17.50 but of course I anticipated spending a little more for the class supplies and some extra "gotta have it" items to add to my ever-expanding baking crap. The syllabus says you can spend anywhere from $25 - $50, depending on how much you want to spend. Well, I can vouch that you can spend more than what's noted on the syllabus too, like I did :) A girl can't have too much baking crap, right? Well I'm sticking with that.

This is where knowing a few tips to save a few bucks comes in handy. The key is to start accumulating supplies prior to your class using the 40% off coupon from either Joann or Michaels (did you also know that both stores accept each others’ coupons? Well I didn't until recently). I’m sure depending on where you attend your class, there will be slight modifications to the supply list, but you’ll need the Course 1 student kit at a minimum (I’ve seen a few people upgrade and decide to get the 50pc kit tool caddy that covers some supplies needed for both course 1 and 2). I did a little price comparison between the two stores and this is my conclusion: Michaels has more variety of Wilton products and their prices were generally $0.40 cheaper than Joanns. I bought my student kit the day before class and used a coupon, because I was afraid they’d sell out of the kits on the day the instructor gave us the full supply list (yes, I’m paranoid like that!). With the coupons and price comparing, I spent about $60 , but saved over $40. I bought many optional items, so here's the breakdown of what was required and what was optional (optional items marked with an asterisk).

Wilton course 1 student kit which contains:

- flower nail

- tip brush

- 2 standard couplers

- decorator brush

- 7 tips (round tips 3 & 12, star 16 & 21, rose 104, leaf 67 and drop flower 2D)

- small straight spatula

- 2 featherweight decorating bags 10in.

- 1 disposable decorating bag

- practice board set (board + stand)

Additional couplers * (I hear buying an extra set helps when using different colours of icing during class)

Disposable decorating bags (12 ct) *

Cake icer tip #789 *

Round tip #1

Cake circle boards *

15" angled spatula *

8oz Meringue powder (they have the smaller 4oz size, but go with at least the 8oz, especially if you're gonna make your own buttercream for class)

8 colour icing set * (icing colours vary depending on what cake you're making - my minimum was 4 but I thought having 8 would help)

2 additional icing colours

16" featherweight decorating bag (to use w/ the cake icer tip #789) *

Piping gel

Clear vanilla extract *

Trim 'n turn plus cake turntable (I bought one that was a notch up from the basic one needed for class)

Bake even cake strips *

Parchment triangles (100 ct)

8" round cake pans (it was time I added some 8"s, as I usually bake with 9"s) *

Ultimate cake caddy * (I've wanted one and since I'm taking a cake to and from class, might as well keep it nice and covered, right?)

Yikes, eh? I know :) This is gonna be so much fun! Next week we're going to have to bring an iced cake to class with extra buttercream frosting, so the 2nd class is where it gets hands-on!