From — Sunie Pope, Innkeeper Captain Freeman Inn
Donna, Abbi, Lisa and I attended a 3 hour pastry class at Upper Cape Tech in Bourne, MA (the very beginning of Cape Cod). We drove up a steep hill to reach the school doors at sunset, the view of the Sagamore & Bourne Bridge from up there was awesome!
Our teacher, Joyce Krystofolski, a pastry chef with over 20 years experience and owner of Delicious Endeavors, was a riot! We got down and dirty with pastry flour, eggs and sugar (the basic ingredients for any pastry chef). We re-explored the basics in baking. Joyce had us preparing mini-almond cakes, 
chocolate shortbread cookies, shortdough crusts with lemon filling, pate a choux, 
creme patissiere and pecan tassies. The most important thing, she stressed, was to measure all of our ingredients in weight. Otherwise everyone’s measurements will be different. We had quite a fun time learning new recipes and relearning the basics. Always a good way to spend an educational evening when you’re a chef.
My favorite recipe was the almond cake, a variation on a recipe I have been making for years. I adore nut flour based cakes as opposed to wheat flours, the flavor is so much more intense and the texture is thick and moist. Although this recipe included a bit of white flour, it was mostly made of almonds. You can always replace white flour with whole wheat pastry flour for those health nuts out there (like me). Delicious and nutritious!
7 oz. almond paste
7oz butter
7 oz sugar
7 oz eggs
3 oz cake flour
Cream almond paste, butter and sugar until completely free of lumps and fluffy. Slowly add in eggs, beat well. Add in flour and mix until combined.
Spread in a 12″x18″ (1/2 sheet pan) lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool in pan.
Cut cake into 3 even strips (12″x6″) spread first layer with jam, stacking, ending with the last layer without jam. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top. Chill the stack. Roll out about 8 oz of marzipan very thinly, apply to top of stack. Cut into 1″x1″ squares. Perhaps top with fresh fruit. Can be kept in freezer well wrapped for up to a month.
Come to our Cape Cod Bed and Breakfast and Chef Sunie and Chef Lisa will be sure to serve you some pastry goodness similar to what you find in this yummy recipe.
