Cakes, cookies and other tempting treats from the home kitchen are usually a family secret.
However, local baking guru Toni Tenorio has an array of family and time-saving dessert recipes she wants to share with the community via an upcoming continuing education course at Laredo Community College.
Tenorio, who developed a fondness in cooking and baking at the tender age of 10, plans to offer various course sections for an eight-hour Cake Baking and Variety Desserts class at LCC in July and August.
Tenorio said that her culinary interests were born from a family tradition.
“I was reared in Indiana, where wintertime was year-round with temperatures sometimes below zero and the ground covered with a white sheet of snow,” Tenorio said. “To keep warm, my mother always had something special for us to enjoy when we arrived from school.
“Mom’s kitchen always had the beautiful aromas of cakes, cookies, atole (Mexican hot beverage) and much more.”
Tenorio credits her mother for showing her the basics of home cooking. Today, she enjoys experimenting with different recipes and changing them to suit her taste.
“I always am trying out recipes, watching the food channel, attending baking classes, buying recipe books and equipment for baking,” Tenorio said. “But many of the recipes are from my mother’s kitchen and from relatives.
“I try to simplify the recipes without losing the taste to them. My cakes, especially the chocolate pecan cake, are enjoyed by many.”
Tenorio added that she baked 80 cakes during Valentine’s Day.
“Cake baking can be a great hobby or it can become a profitable business,” she said.
In Tenorio’s class, students will learn how to make a birthday cake, a bride’s cake or any kind of dessert using time-saving techniques.
Students will learn how to bake delicious and attractive semi-homemade cakes, which Tenorio said is the answer to anyone who wants to bake, but does not have the time to accomplish this feat through traditional baking methods. Semi-homemade baking reduces the time spent in the kitchen.
Tenorio will encourage students to participate in many hands-on learning experiences.
“Students will be encouraged to bring their own supplies to bake a cake or make some cookies in the classroom. I can let them know what ingredients they need,” Tenorio explained.
LCC will offer four sections of the course, including:
Saturdays
July 9 to July 30 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Aug. 6 to Aug. 27 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays
July 19 to July 28 8-10 p.m.
Aug. 9 to Aug. 18 8-10 p.m.
The course fee is $45.
Interested persons may register online at www.laredo.edu/ce, as well as in person, by telephone or fax machine. For more information, contact the LCC Continuing Education Department at 721-5374 or ce@laredo.edu.
Upside down pineapple cake
Caramel pecan torte
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