Happy first week of November to you! I hope the fall weather is treating you well and that you have (some) Halloween candy left. I'm eating the teeniest of Twix (or three) as I write this! #TreatYoSelf
Not too long ago I posted about Disney Springs – a complex on Walt Disney World property with a wide array of restaurants, entertainment, and shopping for tourists and locals alike. It's a quick ten-minute drive from my house, so we frequently go to lunch or the movies for some weekend fun. One day while booking a lunch reservation, an experience caught my eye. A cake decorating class at Amorette's Patisserie.
“What in the (Walt Disney) World is that?”
Is that what you were thinking? That's what I thought at the time, too! Well…let me tell you about it…
Amorette's Patisserie offers five cake decorating classes a week for up to fourteen guests per session. Three of the lessons feature their traditional Mickey Mouse confection – chocolate cake and mousse with orange pate de fruit. The other two are “Pastry Artist” choice which could be a seasonal option or another beloved Disney character in cake format.
Umm…yes…please…sign me up!! Welp…I tried to reserve my spot, but with such a small class size I had to make a reservation SIX MONTHS in advance! But trust me when I say it was worth the wait and the relatively hefty price tag ($149 plus tax for two guests).
The Art of Disney…and Pastry
It was an early Sunday morning when Nicole, my best friend, and blogger behind An American Introvert in London met me outside of Amorette's. We were quickly met by a Pastry Artist and whisked (not with an actual whisk!!) inside our “classroom.” We were offered a beverage to sip while we waited for our class to begin. Mmm…Bellinis…
Our Pastry Artists leading our experience – Ally and Lauren – gave us their culinary (and Disney) backgrounds, as well as the story of the Amorette sisters that started the pastry shop – one being an artist and the other a pastry chef. The sister's influence is seen in the store's decor, as well as the intricate pastries behind the bakery case.
Glaçage, Glaçage, Glaçage
And then it was time to commence the decorating!! Each table was provided their dome-shaped cake covered in creamy Italian buttercream, as well as Mickey's ears, buttons, and tail made of white chocolate.
We were then given a pitcher of deep red glaçage to pour over the cake. Glaçage is also known as “mirror glaze.” The key ingredient? Gelatin. The result is a glaze that is incredibly shiny that also provides a seal to keep the cake moist (sorry…I hate that word, too, but it is contextual here.)
The Mickey cake required three coatings of glaze. After each coat, the cake was taken away to “chill out” in the fridge for a bit. During the “cooling off” period, we painted Mickey's ears, buttons, and tail with paint made of colored cocoa butter.
Cool insider information – the molds for Mickey's ears were designed by Disney Imagineers!
Let Them Decorate Cake!
After we were finished with the cake glazing and the painting of Mickey's “parts,” it was time to put it all together. Black strips of fondant were provided to create the belt. Honestly…I sucked at putting Mickey's belt on and broke it in two different sections. Ally and Lauren asked if I wanted to try to “belt him” again. I said I'd like to keep it “authentic” with the imperfection. Doesn't he look good???? A little-broken fondant is charming, right? Right??!!
That Oh So Special Disney Touch
Amorette's over-delivered the Disney magic! We had a blast decorating our cakes while learning new facts about the pastry shop. They also allowed us to store our cakes in their fridge while we walked around Disney Springs. We were also given a “thank you” card, a Mickey-shaped brownie, and macarons with our cake. This was a first class experience from start to finish…and totally worth the wait!!!
What are your favorite Disney memories? This is definitely going to be high up on my list! Let me know in the comment section below!
Work Hard. Play Hard. Drink Chard.
Laurie
P.S. I brought the cake to work. It's gone. My co-workers are happy and so am I!
That is so darn cute. Love it.
I can’t believe the cake decorating time has come and gone!! Where is 2018 going??????!!!!
These are seriously sooo sooo cute! Would love to get one for my niece as she loves the ‘mouse’
I love the ‘mouse’, too! They have little itty bitty Mickey Mouse pastries in addition to the cakes. If they did an afternoon tea, I would go in a heartbeat!
This looks like a lot of fun for a family. My daughter still likes Mickey Mouse (mostly Minnie). She would love this.
I would have loved this kind of activity as a kid! Between the painting with chocolate and pouring “goo”, it would be kid heaven. And eating a bit of cake first thing in the morning wasn’t too shabby, either. 🙂
Oh my gosh, yum. This cake looks incredible! I would love to do this one day. I need to get to Disney Springs.
My co-workers were very happy to taste test the cake the next day. 🙂
It was definitely a very entertaining and informative event. All in it took a couple of hours. I am so glad I signed up for it. They are thinking of expanding from five days a week to six.
This Mickey Mouse Cake is absolutely adorable! I did some mickey cupcakes a while back but haven’t tried a cake yet!
Ooohhh!! I want to see the Mickey cupcakes! I bet they were super cute!!!
I love these Mickey Mouse decorations, they look really spectacular. 🙂 I bet all kids would be happy to get such a cake for their b’day. 🙂
The cakes were really something else! And they tasted soooo good. I am trying to figure out if I want to order the Minnie Mouse cake for my birthday next year. The inner kid in me says, “Yes, please!!”
Oh my goodness these look so good! What a different thing to do as well when you are at Disney Springs! I had no idea they offered cake decorating.
I didn’t, either! I stumbled upon it completely by accident. I’m so happy I found it. 🙂
I loooove this! I dislike baking, but I would love to try my hand at making that dessert.
The good news is that you don’t bake a thing in the class. All you do is decorate the cake!
Wow this is so fancy! I am always blown away by peoples creative skills and imagination!
I am blown away by creativity every single day! The shop did a great job making what seemed so fancy ever so approachable.
I would love to do this! I had to idea they offered this!
I truly stumbled upon the class by accident. It’s a hidden gem that shouldn’t be hidden anymore!!!
The cake is so cute! What a fun experience, I would love to take part in such a decorating class.
The class was so well done! I absolutely recommend it. 🙂
ahh i love disney everything! this cake is so cute i want to make one for my son!
I love Disney everything, too!
Oh my gosh, I feel like I’ve missed living– I never got to do this! What a treat! Thanks for sharing!!
OMG! this looks so interesting and yummy. Although, creating this is an art and i would love to taste it.
The cake is definitely a piece of art but we were giving the components and easy to follow instructions to construct it. Even though I jacked up his “belt” I am really happy with the results!
The cake itself disappeared quite quickly when I brought it to the office the next day. 🙂
Ooooh looks like such an amazing experience! That is something I would love to do! i love baking so much!
I love baking, too! The shop actually has a “production bakery” upstairs. I would love to check that out someday!
This looks amazing! Would definitely love to give it a try!
This sounds like such a fun time! I need to find an activity like this where I live! It won’t be quite as cool as Disney, but still haha.
xo Chelsea
https://completelychelsea.com
That looks like such a lot of fun there. I know I have seen those shiny glazes before but have been scared off by anything which smacks of fondant as I don’t like that much. But I imagine this is so much better tasting with that gelatin in the mix. And it looks awesome.
Thank you!!! There was minimal fondant on the cake. Just the belt that I jacked up with my clod-like hands. 😀
I don’t like fondant, either. It’s great for design/looks but the flavor/texture is beyond “meh”.
The mickey mouse cake looks cute and yummy! I am thinking of baking a mickey mouse themed cupcake this weekend!
Hello!!!!! Did you end up baking the Mickey Mouse cupcakes???
This looks like a lot of fun! And so cute, too!
I have a friend who is into cake pastry decorating, I have shared this with her, and she is so excited 🙂 She has become an instant follower. 🙂
Hi, Ashley!!! 👋🏻 👋🏻 That’s so cool! Thank you! Has your friend ever taken a cake decorating class before? If so, are there places she recommends? I would love to try out some more designs!!!
You are amazing! I wish I can decorate as beautiful as this. Great job!
Thanks!! The directions were so easy to follow. Had I tried this at home it would have been a Pinterest #NailedIt. 😉
You got some amazing baking and decorating skills. The MM cake seems something from masterchef. Keep up the excellent work.
You are so kind! I wish I could say I was the “mastermind” behind the design but all I can say is that I follow directions really well. 😀
Great job with the cake! It looked very cute! The colors are perfect with those mickey ears wow!
Haha, that looks pretty darn good – was it particularly difficult to resist the temptation to EAT it… cos GET IN MA BELLEI hahaha