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My love of Betty's Cookery School is becoming stuff of legend. A friend of mine recently contacted me to tell me that her friend, who works in some capacity at Betty's, was offered a 50% off friend and family opportunity for a class that had few registrants and was taking place in three days. She told her friend that she couldn't attend because she had to work that day, but that she knew someone (me!) who may want to sign up for the 1/2 price class. I looked at my calendar, saw that I could easily free up what was already scheduled, and signed up. SWEET! 

Another Betty's selfie

The class was a teatime treats class that showcased three tasty treats you could make if you were hosting your own tea party. I think the class didn't fill up like the others because you only made three things, iced butter biscuits (cookies), chocolate cake, and scones. However, there were so many components to each of these recipes, it really was choc-a-block full of information and the students were kept busy all day as usual. 

The classes are quite costly, but they certainly feed you well. For breakfast there are fresh baked croissants, butter, and jam alongside all-you-can-drink tea or coffee. For elevensies there is more coffee or tea and a slice of quick bread or a cookie. The lunches are always quite decadent; for this class we had chicken caesar salad, fresh rolls, wine, and a strawberry meringue tart filled with fresh cream.  Afternoon tea comes with more tea or coffee and more biscuits. By the time you roll out of the class, the last thing you want to do is eat all the food you've been preparing all day! 

Lunch!

Dessert!

Before lunch we had already made the chocolate cake, the fresh raspberry jelly (from scratch!) for the cake filling, and the butter biscuits. After lunch we made the flood icing & coated our biscuits and made the royal icing for further decorating once the first layer of icing had hardened. 

Butter biscuit teapots with flood icing

The head tutor, Chris, takes the students step by step through the complicated process of whatever it is you're learning that day. Here, he's showing us how to cut, fill, and ganache our raspberry chocolate cake. 

Chris, the main Betty's Cookery School tuitor

Chris, in his element

The final masterpiece!

Raspberry chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

Chocolate cake with fresh raspberry jam filling

We then got to working on making our fruit scones. While they were baking, we made rhubarb compote from scratch. 

Fuite scones with clotted cream and rhubarb compote

And while the rhubarb compote and scones were cooling, we decorated our butter biscuits with the pale green royal icing so that they could set before we had to pack everything up for the day. My piping skills aren't the greatest, but my favorite three finished cookies are below. 

Finished butter biscuits with royal icing

Another finished butter biscuit

And yet another.

Another busy and fun day at Betty's Cookery School!