Fall has arrived in San Diego, and though we’re not breaking out the parkas and wool mittens, we can still embrace the season with the food—and we’re not talking pumpkin spice lattes. At the East Village’s Bake Sale Bakery, head baker Jenn Reinhart leads classes in everything from bread-making to cake decorating, with holiday-specific classes on pies and cookies. In her Great Pumpkin class, she recently showed us how to make a pie, cake roll, cheesecake bars, and chocolate chip-pumpkin seed bread. (Owner Terryl Gavre, also of Café 222 and Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant, also leads many of the classes.)
Bake Sale’s classes are small groups of about 10 students who delve into a three-hour, hands-on tutorial. Between the sifting and mixing, there are plenty of baking tips offered, too. Trying to achieve a mousse-like consistency for your cheesecake? Try blending in a food processor. Having trouble getting stiff egg white peaks? Make sure you’re using a clean bowl with room temperature eggs. Want to make a pumpkin cake roll to impress guests this holiday season? Try this recipe we made in class:
Pumpkin Cake Roll
Makes about 10-12 servings
Cake:
3 Eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup pumpkin purée
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
10 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
For cake:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line a 15-inch x 10-inch x 1-inch baking pan with parchment or waxed paper; grease the paper, dust with flour, and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, whip egg yolks on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Turn mixer down to medium and gradually add ½ cup sugar, and then stream in pumpkin purée. Turn mixer back on high until sugar is almost dissolved, 3-4 minutes. Gently scrape into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Thoroughly wash and dry stand-mixer bowl and whisk. Place egg white in bowl and whip on high until soft peaks form. Turn down mixer to medium and gradually add remaining ½ cup sugar, then turn mixer to high and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold egg yolk mixture.
Sift the flour, baking soda, spice, and salt onto a piece of parchment or into a small bowl; gently fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan using an offset spatula.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Gently remove paper. Roll up cake in the towel, jelly roll-style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat butter on a medium speed to pomade consistency. Scrape bowl and add cream cheese. Beat on medium high until homogenous. Scrape bowl. Add powdered sugar and zest and mix on low to incorporate, then beat on high until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
To assemble the cake:
Gently unroll cake onto a piece of parchment paper on a clean work surface. Using an offset spatula, spread filling evenly to within ½ inch of cake edges. Gently reroll the cake using parchment paper to keep the roll tight. Keep wrapped parchment, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze until firm. It will hold in your freezer like this for up to 6 months. Remove from the freezer 15-20 minutes before slicing. Dust with a sifting powdered sugar if desired.
Classes are $75 per person. For more information, go to bakesalesd.com.
Holiday Classes at Bake Sale Bakery
Photo by Bake Sale Bakery
