Summer Fruit Pavlova and Butter Sponge Cakes with Jim Dodge

Join celebrated pastry chef and author Jim Dodge, as he shares four decade’s worth of experience and stories each month at the Artisan Baking Center.

During the summer months when there is an abundance of seasonly fully ripe berries and stone fruits, butter sponge cakes and vacherins are ideal for showcasing their flavors and wonderful lush lectures.

We will focus on the three key skills for successful sponge cakes and meringues are; beating & aerating eggs, folding and baking. Besides time, one needs to know the visual and feel of the eggs. Folding is like a steady rhythm, holding the spatula just right and lifting the flour from the bottom of the bowl over the top of the beaten eggs. Baking is not just time and temperature, one needs to recognize the visual and touch in determining when is done baking and not under or over baked, this is especially true caking moist sponge cakes.

This is a demonstration and hands-on class. To maximize the hand-on portion of the class the ingredients will be pre-measured. Each student will leave with each of the desserts that they make.

Products Made in Class:

Butter Sponge Cake
Vacherin/Pavlova Individual Shells or Layers
Crème Pâtissière
Macerated Fruits
Fresh Berry Purees, quick and delicious

COVID-19 Protocol

The Artisan Baking Center follows all current local guidelines regarding Covid-19. At this time, mask wearing and vaccination confirmation is not necessary, however masks are encouraged to help stop the spread of illness.

If there is a change in these requirements, attendees will receive an update one week prior to the course, and asap up to the course start time.

Please stay home if you’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. Email us at [email protected] if this occurs. 

For Californians you can get your digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record here.

Jim Dodge is an award winning pastry chef and author who comes from seven generations of hoteliers from the lakes region and white mountain of New Hampshire. After early training and direction at his parents’ luxury resorts, he began a two year Swiss pastry apprenticeship with chef Fritz Albicker, at which time he decided become a pastry chef instead of a hotelier. The Swiss influence with his New England heritage, resulting in unique methods of preparation and styling. In 1978, Jim moved to the West Coast to be the executive pastry chef at the Stanford Court in San Francisco for 10 years, during which he became one of the first pastry chefs to be nationally recognized.

In 1991, Jim made his home in the Pacific Rim and opened The American Pie, a restaurant and pastry shop offering modern American fare in Hong Kong; a wholesale bakery and a second American Pie followed. In 1993, Jim returned to the States and left retail baking for education, joining the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT, as senior vice president.

He is the author of “The American Baker” and “Baking with Jim Dodge”. Besides teaching pastry domestically for over 30 years he has taught in the Japan, Korea, Mexican and Panama. Jim is an advisor to the Julia Child Foundation and jury chair for the Julia Child Award.

Categories: Baking Class, Beginner, Cooking Class