Over the weekend, Fu & I went for a baking class in Tokyo! One happily, one less than willingly. I’ll leave you to guess who was which (although it’s not much of a challenge…)

ABC Cooking Studio is a pretty big chain in Japan, and they have a wide variety of cooking and baking classes. Classes usually range from 2,000 yen and up for cooking classes, and 4,000 yen and up for baking classes.

The nice thing is that they offer trial lessons for first-timers, and it’s just 500 yen! Better yet, if a current member of the school goes with you for the trial, it’s free! For everyone!

As luck would have it, we have a friend who’s a member, so all three of us attended for free! :D (she actually asked me last year if I wanted to go but I never got around to it ^^;;)

Arrived at the studio and changed out of our shoes into indoor slippers. They had lockers provided for us to store our belongings. It was a nice touch except I didn’t really like the thought of keeping my shoes, bag and coat altogether >__>

We had to bring our own apron and hand towel, but the school also provides a set if you forget or don’t own any.

The school was spacious and well-equipped!

As it is a trial lesson (read: session to get new members on board), the instructor showed us around the studio and introduced us to the different courses that the school offers before the actual class.

And then class started proper!

Everything was measured out for us, so all we had to do was beat, mix, fold! Super easy!

The nice thing about the lessons is that we learn tips and techniques that are usually not mentioned in recipes.

For example, do you know the best way to crack an egg? Sure, cracking it on the edge of a bowl or top of the table works, but is not optimal as the shell has a high tendency of falling inwards into the egg.

Instead, knock two eggs against each other. This will greatly decrease the chances of you getting the shell in. “But I only need one egg, not two!” I hear you say. This is where the magic is. Only ONE egg will crack. Serious! I tried it many times! Cool, ainnit?!

ps: Assuming you’re not smashing them together with Hulk strength la, because in which case not only will you end up with two cracked eggs, I can guarantee + chop (sorry, it’s a Singaporean thing) that it will be full of shell -_-

While waiting for the chiffon cake to bake, I discovered we had to wash everything ourselves D:

So lucky I brought Fu along! Finally can put him to good use! Hahaha. Please don’t be deceived by the photos above. Pose for camera only lol. Most of the time he do a bit then don’t want to do already -_- He worked the hardest (and best) at…

Even after washing, there was still some time left, so the instructor ran through some figures on how much courses would cost, etc.

As she scribbled down the cost of the smallest course of 6 lessons, my first thought was “What! So expensive?!”

I know baking classes are the most expensive, but still… 60+k yen? That’s $600+. Will I even eat $600 worth of cake in my life?! (ok, it’s actually quite possible.)

The amount includes a “club entry fee” 入会金 of 12,000 yen ($120). What this club entry fee means is that you are paying for… nothing at all. Other than the great privilege of being able to join their esteemed establishment. But these entry fees are extremely common in Japan, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. It’s just another of those things I don’t get *shrugs*

There are some classes that non-members can join though, so those are alternatives!

But oh well! Whether or not I’m attending future classes is still unknown, so for now we will enjoy the remainder of this class!

Looks quite plain and ugly hor?

But no worries, with a bit of dressing up, or magic, as I prefer to call it…

This is the final product!

This is Maple Cream Cheese Chiffon Cake, but I mostly only like the cream cheese part hehe.

All in all, it was an fun and informative lesson. I liked the tips and tricks part the best!

And YAH! I can check off one item on my 2015 goals list! ;D

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ABC Cooking Studio

Japanese website | Price list

English website
(with lessons in English)