Inside the Bake From Scratch Retreat: A Weekend of Cake, Cookies, and Creative Magic in Birmingham
There’s nothing quite like gathering in a sunlit test kitchen, surrounded by the scent of fresh butter and vanilla, to spend three days baking and decorating alongside a group of passionate, curious, and endlessly creative students. This April, I had the immense pleasure of joining Brian Hart Hoffman and Lauren Jacobs at the Bake From Scratch Test Kitchen in Birmingham, Alabama, where we hosted a three-day Cake and Cookie Decorating Retreat that was as joyful as it was jam-packed with hands-on learning.
From the very first morning, we dove into the heart of baking. This wasn’t just a demo-style retreat—each attendee rolled up their sleeves and got to work, learning to bake everything from scratch before diving into the decorating techniques. I taught the cake portion of the retreat, guiding our group through the full process of making Swiss meringue buttercream, stacking and crumb-coating cakes, and then exploring all sorts of decorative effects to transform their cakes into true showstoppers.
We didn’t stop at smooth sides and sharp edges. I shared a full toolkit of buttercream flower techniques (think delicate roses and hydrangeas), and we finished with one of my favorite touches: hyperrealistic fondant carrots that could fool just about anyone. Once the techniques were in place, the students got to work bringing their own creative vision to life—and the final cakes they produced were breathtaking.
What made this retreat especially meaningful was the range of backgrounds in the room. Some attendees had years of baking experience, while others had never baked a cake from scratch before. But every single one of them created something beautiful—and watching their confidence grow with each step was the very best part of all.
We laughed, we learned, we made a mess (the best kind), and left with full hearts and cake boxes brimming with creativity. I’ll be thinking about this retreat—and the stunning cakes that came out of it—for a long time to come.
