A fantastic lesson learning how to bake a proper carrot cake! This was an enjoyable and very different way to spend a Sunday afternoon with my friend in Beijing.
Without a proper specialist oven or utensils at my apartment in Beijing, it was a real treat to do a bit of homecooking and to be able to proudly say I had created! Unfortunately, they didn't last that long as they tasted so nice.....even if I do say so myself.
On arrival at The Fig Tree, we were warmly greeted by Lin Zhong, founder, and Erin Henshaw, Marketing and Product Manager. There was a nice sized team of participants with enough space for us each to prepare and combine the ingredients. My first impression of the Fig Tree is that it has been very well designed and Lin is very passionate about cooking and sharing her knowledge.
The lesson began with the basics of baking and Lin patiently talked us through the stages of preparing and baking our own carrot cakes. As a teacher, I was impressed with Lin's style and she was able to tailor her delivery to the needs of the group according to their own experiences of baking. Within this group, there were several experienced bakers and those who hadn't done any baking.
I felt enlightened by the techniques that Lin showed us, which included (to note a few things) the art of creaming the sugar and butter together, correctly folding in the flour, importance of timings and the final stages of presentation. I really like that she also gave us the options of whether to make individual small cupcake style carrot cakes or produce one large carrot cake.
I especially liked the final stage of decorating the cakes which was a lot of fun and everyone participating produced interesting toppings on their own creations!
I noticed that another review mentioned the cost of buying the ingredients, and I would agree that it is much better value for money spending time with Lin and her team being shown how to make a cake and producing one than buying the ingredients. Although having said that, Lin is very keen to build confidence and for customers to practise what they learn! I am definitely going to have a go at making these in my apartment!
Lin gave me lots of useful tips on how to use an table top oven and where to find and buy key utensils in Beijing.
The actual surroundings and overall environment of The Fig Tree are extremely pleasant and I would definitely consider hiring this as a venue for a birthday or function to bring friends to experience something different!
Thanks Lin and Erin and I will be back soon to register as a student! And to properly look at those fab cooking books!

I think this is a new concept in Beijing.

Learn to cook pastry in a world class modern kitchen for less money than it costs you to buy the same stuff from a bakery. AND, I think you get to keep the pastry you cooked!

Why go buy fish when you can learn to catch fish and keep it for less money?

They have class schedule on the website (which incidentally is better than most other websites in China). http://www.thefigtree.cn/