Our five-day Teen Camp: Baking and Pastry is filled with fun and loads of information. The week is a complete baking experience for young pastry chefs as they navigate the world of quick breads, French pastry techniques, yeast dough and fritters, cakes and cookies, even decorating a cake.
Each day consists of three hours of baking techniques. I've outlined what the teens learn each day with photos of some truly drool-worthy treats created this summer!
Day 1: Quick Breads
- Individual Lemon Meringue Pies with Homemade Pie Dough
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
Day 2: French Pastry Techniques
- Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream and Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- Vanilla Crème Brûlée
- Everything Bagel Dough
- Berry Bomb Donut Dough
Day 3: Yeast Dough and Fritters
- Homemade Everything Bagels
- Berry Bombs (Jam-Filled Raised Donuts with Strawberry Glaze)
- Maple-Glazed Long Johns
- Apple Fritters
Day 4: Cakes and Cookies
- Jelly Roll Cake with Fresh Fruit and Cream
- Individual Devil's Food Cake
- Lemon Macarons with White Chocolate-Lemon Ganache
Day 5: Frosting, Filling, Cake Assembly and Decorating
- Chocolate Buttercream
- Cookies ‘n’ Cream Frosting
- Assemble, Fill, Frost and Decorate Devil's Food Cake
I have also included one of the most popular recipes from Baking and Pastry Camp - Everything Bagels.
Everything Bagels
Yield: 8 bagels
Active time: 35 minutes
Start to finish: 2 hours, 10 minutes
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon light brown sugar or malt syrup
1 1/4 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 egg white, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
- Place the yeast and brown sugar (or syrup) in a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Pour the water over the yeast, gently stir, and wait about 5 minutes. The yeast should bubble up, which indicates it’s alive.
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl. If using a stand mixer, knead with the dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes on low speed. If mixing by hand, knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
- Place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two sheet pans with silpats or parchment. Lightly grease the silpats or parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and divide into eight equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Use your thumb to punch a hole through the center of each dough ball, and then gently twirl to stretch it so the hole is 1 1/2 to 2 inches across.
- Place the bagels on the prepared sheet trays and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- While the dough rests, fill a wide, heavy pan with 2 inches of water, and add the granulated sugar and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- In a small bowl mix together kosher salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, celery seeds and minced onions.
- Poach the bagels in the simmering water for 1 minute on each side. Drain well, then return them to the sheet pans, using the same greased silpats or parchment.
- Brush the tops with egg-white wash, sprinkle with everything mixture as desired, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is a rich golden brown.
- Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
There's good news, we have TWO spots left in our final Baking and Pastry camp that begins on Monday, August 26 at Lincoln Square. Parents, snag a spot for your teen now! We also have a few spots left in our other kids and teen summer cooking camps this month. If your child can't join us this month, check out our new Jr. Chef series. Right now, we have these class offerings:
