At long last, I was finally able to try a baking session at Bakespace. I had been thinking of something fun to do with my family that weekend, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Bakespace boasts of being the first “experiential baking studio” in Cebu. The concept is that you book a slot in one of their classes, which are 2.5 hours long. Then, you pick what pastry you want to make, and you just show up for the class. Bakespace provides all the ingredients and equipment. It’s a pretty unique idea, I must say. I do recommend that you pre-book a session because they’ve been pretty busy. If you just go without an appointment, there’s a good chance you’ll end up walking into a full class. The booking process was really easy; I just sent a direct message through their Facebook page, and they quickly responded to my queries.
We arrived a few minutes before our schedule to find the previous class had finished on time and the staff was giving the place a thorough cleaning. We had chosen to bake a classic ube cake and a dozen chocolate cupcakes. The rates depend on your chosen pastry and whether you’ll be working on it yourself or with a partner. The rates are as follows:
We made the payment upon arrival and the staff immediately started preparing the stations. Each station was set up with the pre-measured ingredients the bakers would need for their chosen pastry. Most of the guests were families with children, so the staff provided us with footstools. That way, the kids could reach the countertops and participate.
The owner, Tess Gonzaga, was a very enthusiastic host. She welcomed the class, explained how it was going to go, and even invited everyone to sing a Happy Birthday song to the celebrants (including me). We didn’t need recipes because Tess gave out instructions step-by-step. She explained why things had to be done a certain way, and why each ingredient was important. Even the kids found it easy to follow the instructions. Our four-year-old son, Daniel got a real kick out of working the electric mixer and putting the cake pans in the oven.
Tess Gonzaga, owner of Bakespace
Once the pastries were baking in the ovens, we got started on our buttercream frosting. This was my first time to make buttercream so I was pretty excited. Once the cakes and cupcakes were out of the oven and cooled, we got to the best part — decorating. Our eldest son, Job, chose to fill his chocolate cupcakes with frosting instead of just putting them on top. Cupcake Wars, here we come…?
By this time, Daniel got a little tired from standing up so he wanted to sit down… I was secretly pleased because I reeeeally wanted to decorate the cake by myself. Haha! Man, frosting a cake is not as easy I thought it would be. I think I did a pretty decent job for my first time though. I guess binge-watching Sugar Rush on Netflix sort of paid off. Tess let everyone go nuts on the toppings. When she saw what I was making, she offered some pearls for me to add. When Daniel exclaimed he wanted a Lightning McQueen cake, she went and found a topper for it. She also gave us sprinkles and candles. The top of our cake was so full! By the end, we were covered in flour, sugar, frosting, and food coloring.
Our baking session at Bakespace was such a fun experience. It was a really nice bonding opportunity as a family, and a good way to encourage kids to try new things and get creative. I imagine that this would also serve as a really fun date idea. Even my husband, who has never really had any interest in baking, enjoyed himself.
I highly recommend that you guys try it if you haven’t already.
Bakespace is located at Paseo Arcenas, Banawa, Cebu City. Check out their social media pages here: Facebook or IG.
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