What's Cooking for CTE Month & Valentine's Day?
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Chocolate Swiss Roll are on the menu in Mount Si’s Baking 2 Class this week! To celebrate CTE month, we made a sweet visit to another Career & Technical Education program that provides our students with hands-on experience using baking tools, techniques, and recipes resulting in delectable desserts made from scratch.
Mount Si’s Culinary Arts program, a popular CTE elective among students, has continued to expand with the addition of Teacher Monica Nelson, a former professional baker/pastry chef who teaches Creative Cooking, Baking 1 and Baking 2.
Working in teams of four, the advanced Baking 2 students got right down to business, making the most of their class time. They followed the assigned recipes, measured flour using a scale (for a more precise outcome), sifted dry ingredients using a sieve, separated egg yokes, whipped egg whites and folded them into batter, piped frosting and hand-crafted edible roses, lined baking sheets with parchment, operated electric mixers and ovens, carefully rolled hot sheet cake to prep the Swiss Roll for filling, and expertly washed their dishes and tools. At the end of the period, all enjoyed sampling their sweet red-velvet creations.
Additionally, a few students are also making future plans that involve baking:
- Two students were practicing techniques they will demonstrate at the Skills USA State competition March 28. Congratulations to Zack Graham who placed 1st at the Regional Baking contest, and Faxon Zeigler who placed 3rd.
- Also, Zeigler, a junior, is considering a college in France that offers a three-year culinary program, among other contenders for her plans after graduation.
- And, Senior Hailey Blodgett shared her plans to major in business at Boise State, then return to the Snoqualmie Valley to pursue her dream of opening a bakery! Based on photos of stunning cakes she recently made-to-order for a birthday party, she’s already off to a promising start!
What’s your favorite thing about baking?
Student answers:
“The process of baking -- following each step of a challenging recipe. It’s very rewarding to get great results and to know I can do it."
“Learning something new, that I never would have known how to do before taking this class.”
“I like that I can make things during class. I’m so busy with school, homework and a job, that I would never have the time, or the equipment, to make these things at home.”
Baking for CTE Month
