Central Arizona College offering students an opportunity to decorate their cake and eat it too

COOLIDGE, Ariz. – If your pineapple upside down cake has ever come out right side up or the decorating of your child’s birthday cake resembles a poorly plowed driveway, then Central Arizona College has a trio of culinary arts classes designed to help prevent those nasty dessert faux pas.

Starting in January, Central will be offering a pair of cake decorating classes and a professional baking course designed to turn rookies into Betty Crocker – or at least one of her apprentices.

Beginning Cake Decorating is a one-credit culinary arts class that will run every Thursday evening Jan. 24-Feb. 14 from 5-8:50 p.m.

The follow-up up one-credit course, Advanced Cake Decorating, also will run each Thursday evening beginning Feb. 21 and running until March 13 from 5-8:50 p.m.

“In these classes, you can eat your homework,” Carol Bennett, Central’s culinary arts coordinator/preceptor, said. “And, you get to take a fully-decorated cake home each week.”

Additionally, Central Arizona College will offer a 16-week Professional Baking class during the spring semester taught by Bennett. All three classes will take place on the Signal Peak Campus.

“We do everything from cookies to Danish pastry to artisan breads,” Bennett explained of her professional baking class. “First you can learn to bake the cake, and then by late January when the initial cake decorating class begins, you can sign up for those classes.”

Bennett has been teaching culinary arts for 15 years. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, NY, and is a registered dietitian who has an associate’s degree from Scottsdale Community College’s culinary arts program.

The two cake decorating classes will be taught by Debra Haught, a native of Casa Grande who has spent 28 years teaching culinary arts to the students of Casa Grande Union High School.

She also has run her own catering business in Casa Grande for two years and has created wedding and specialty cakes throughout the area for the last two decades.

“I love cake decorating and started my training with a Wilton Cake Decorating Class,” Haught said. “Since then I have attended multiple culinary training both locally and abroad.”

Haught has been trained at the Phoenix Art Institute, Scottsdale Community College, Cordon Bleu in London and the Culinary Institute of America in California.

Her advanced cake decorating class at Central Arizona College will offer techniques using fondant icing.

For more information about the class, please contact Bennett by phone at 520-494-5029 or toll free at 1-800-465-1016, or contact her by e-mail at carol.bennett1@centralaz.edu.

Central Arizona College’s culinary arts classes fall under the institution’s dietetic education program. Dialing the 800 number will connect potential students to the dietetic education program for more information about all of its degrees, certificates and courses.

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