My name is Lloyd. I have a confession…I have a huge sweet tooth and it’s hard to give up! I know I’m saying there’s a problem, but to be honest, I don’t feel like it needs to change. Chocolate is my kryptonite, but if I don’t have chocolate, I’ll eat whatever else I can get my hands on!
You may remember when we went to explore a beautiful little village in the Cotswolds (and stayed at the impressively stately Wood Norton Hotel. Well, one night we (After a fancy dinner I was looking for a cocktail at a bar I happened to come across) Lisa is a Londoner and the owner/manager. Madeline’s Cake Boutiquea sweet haven located in one of London’s most beautiful areas.
We started talking about cakes, cookies, and travel (but mostly it was about cakes and cookies), and Lisa invited us to her house for a cookie decorating master class. No, I tried! Not one to shy away from a challenge (or the chance to make my own way with a bunch of cookies), I accepted it and was eagerly looking forward to seeing what she had in store.
Just before we visited here, we had been traveling for weeks on end with little time to stay in London, but this weekend the sun was shining and there was no better time to do this. There was no day. Of course we were doing it indoors, but everything is better in London when the sun is shining. Plus, I rarely get to spend time in London (and do the usual “London things”) so I was grateful for this opportunity!
As soon as we arrived, we were instantly transfixed by the fluffy cakes and other delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen, and we were just left wanting to explore more.
Oh, by the way, this is Madeleine’s place…
address: 397 Upper Richmond Road West
east scene
London SW14 7NX
phone: 020 8878 6194
Email: info@madeleinescakes.com
Website: www.madeleinescakes.com
After a quick look around the boutique and the obligatory tasting ;-), we headed straight to the working kitchen of the boutique itself to create what I expected to be a masterpiece of culinary décor. It has started.
We were a class of six equally enthusiastic cookie monsters (Georgia was with us) who started learning how to become experts at creating the perfect cookie.
As a side note, I have never taken a cooking or baking class. I love food so much (as you can see in the photos) that at the beginning of this year I decided to try harder to make it taste better, and there couldn’t have been a better opportunity.
Jaya, on the other hand, is a much more skilled cook and baker (never tell him I said this or he will deny it) and is far less skilled than my cooking skills. I wasn’t impressed (I’m pretty sure I tried to do the “disappearing act” and painted some of the cookies before I even started decorating).
I was a little careful with Yaya’s technique, but I may have bragged a lot about how much better I was than him…I can’t let him come home with better cookies than me. It was! 
The first thing I learned was to create a pretty clean line of thick sugar icing that acts as a barrier when you “flood” the cookies…
Packing up a bunch of cookies sounds pretty traumatic to me…I had never actually heard this term before, but it made perfect sense. Once I created the outline of the shape I was trying to create, I filled it with a bunch of freshly made cookies. Sugar icing! Also note that it doesn’t have to be perfect at this stage. If the powdered sugar is applied correctly, it should be able to spread naturally and fill in any gaps in the cookies.
After just over an hour of icing and steady work, I was able to create a pretty “epic” set of cookies. I use this word lightly because you may have noticed how I dented some of the cookies on Snapchat…and then forgot to add some pieces. – It turns out that powdered sugar also works as a very good cookie glue.
I really didn’t know this class would be so much fun. In a world dominated by thrill-seekers, everyone wants to climb the highest mountain, hike the farthest distance, and even visit the most countries. It’s great to just focus on the core things in your day to day life that make you truly happy. The best part of doing this Cookie Decorating Her class was doing it with Yaya and Georgia. We have a lot of fun doing whatever we do (plus, we’re all very competitive with each other, so this was a great opportunity for him to get one over on the other). 
While waiting for the icing to harden, we took the opportunity to enjoy prosecco, Madeleine’s signature tea, freshly baked cheesy scones, and a large, moist Guinness cake for lunch. (I had never had a Guinness cake before, but now I’m totally addicted).
After a delicious lunch break, I returned to the workshop to finish an epic cookie decorating battle with Yaya.
Okay, this “battle” was all in my head, but Jaya was far better than me at this stage, and Georgia was perfectly successful every step of the way. But considering the Halloween costume she came up with, it’s easy to see why.
I dotted, glittered, dusted, and added texture to the cookies while closely watching what Yaya was making.
Somewhere along the way, maybe it was the prosecco…or maybe I laughed too hard trying to design a cookie, but ended up creating a line of cookies that was pretty wonky, and Yaya was the clear winner. We have collected.
Below is his, and aside from the awful Kanye West and sunglasses blue dress, he didn’t do too badly for a newbie (again, I don’t think he did anything wrong with saying this) Please don’t say it!
Oh, by the way, the one below is Lisa!
My next goal is to decorate a cake like this bad boy below…
Given my recent display of design skills (lack of), does anyone want to bet on me creating something exactly like this?
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