Learn to Bake Delicious, Boozy Sweets with Quirk author Krystina Castella on Craftsy.com

Fans of boozy-flavored cake: are you ready for more? Quirk author Krystina Castella is launching a class on Tipsy Cakes for Craftsy.com, based on her and Terry Lee Stone’s fabulous book Booze Cakes. The class paired with the Booze Cakes book is now the most comprehensive assemblage of technique and tested recipes on baking with alcohol out there. Check out what Krystina has to say, and how to get a discount on the class, after the jump!

Click here to visit the class and enjoy a 50% discount on the registration fee!

Krystina says:

I had been noticing ads for craftsy.com popping up in my browser over the past several months because of my 3-year-old son's obsession with watching sewing videos. So when a food anthropologist friend of mine who currently works for the company asked me to develop a course based on the Booze Cakes book, I jumped at the chance. I was excited to have the opportunity to give Booze Cakes book fans more and something different. The class will enhance the collection of already creative and tasty recipes in the book with a behind the scenes focus on technique.

I worked out the curriculum and tested new recipes for months to get the techniques down. In the dead of winter I left the 87-degree temperature of Los Angeles for a week of the beautiful snowy streets of downtown Denver. The space where we baked and shot the class was great old cooking school.  The support team from Craftsy that I was provided for the class was top notch. Although I have written 8 cookbooks (7 on baking) and have worked as a professor teaching in front of people for over 20 years, shooting an on-line cooking class was something new for me! When on a photo shoot for a cookbook, I am the producer—the behind the scenes person—and the food is in front of the camera, not me! I was a bit nervous, but after a day of practicing, my jitters faded away, I got the hang of it, and loved every minute.

My goals for the Tipsy Cakes class are:

1. Take the mystery out of baking with alcohol, even for a beginning baker.
2. Teach how to incorporate almost any alcohol into a cake.
3. Show students how much flavor can be added with alcohol and discover what flavor profiles are the best with different alcohol types.
4. Offer base recipes with endless variation possibilities so students can adapt their own recipes to include their favorite booze.

Each of the seven classes will focus on techniques for things like baking, soaking, adding to frosting, or making garnishes. Students will learn how to get the most flavor in their cake from specific classifications of alcohol. In the Rum Lesson students learn how to make a soak. In the Fruit and Nut Liqueurs Lesson students learn to add sweetened fruit- and nut-flavored liqueurs into fillings and frostings. In the Coffee and Cream Liqueurs lesson students learn how to retain alcohol in baking while still giving the cake enough time to bake through. In the Hard Alcohol lesson students learn to exercise moderation (!) and incorporate small amounts of hard liquor to create surprisingly subtle flavors. In the Beer Lesson I discuss different types of craft beer and explore some exciting flavor combinations that work with each. In the Wine Lesson students learn the benefits of reduction and how to create powerful and complex flavors. Finally, in Cocktail Cakes, the most fun lesson, I pull together the techniques demonstrated throughout the class and show a collection of cakes based on favorite mixed drinks.

Along the way students learn about flambé sauces, how to make a poke cake, an ice cream cake, and edible cocktail garnishes including chocolate and strawberry shot glasses. Also, on craftsy.com you can ask me any questions you have about baking with booze and post your creations. I hope to hear from and see what you make there—happy baking and good eating!