Springtime on Westminster Means Decorating Pretty Cakes

My mindless scrolling of the ‘gram came to a screeching halt one evening in early February. The culprit: a photo of a frosted two-layer cake embellished with a fanciful upward sweep of richly pigmented pressed flowers. The gasp-inducing square on the Ellie’s grid, served to announce the return of the bakery/cafe’s monthly Baking Classes series, which runs through May. February’s inaugural class in Ellie’s new location would be decorating a Raspberry Rose Champagne Cake with Pressed Flower Design. Spaces are limited to 10 per class so I acted quickly. 

My adoration for Ellie’s can be traced back to a blog post I submitted to GoProvidence, titled Pursue Pretty Providence in 2016, back when proprietor Ellen Gracyalny’s sweet sibling of her restaurant Gracie’s was located on Washington Street. The OG spot was “as big as a minute,” as my mom might say, but this, its third location, boasts a 40-seat dining room along with all of the details that make Ellie’s Ellie’s – from mismatched China that give Parisian brocante vibes to toile wallpaper and mugs in cerulean blue.

Eager and excited, I was the first student to arrive. Each ticket includes light snacks and one glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage; I opted for mint tea to stay focused. The large oval dining table was prepped for 10 participants, with aprons on each chair and implements like icing spatulas and a bench scraper tool surrounding each cake turntable. There were also large tubs of house-made champagne buttercream, a champagne-soaked vanilla cake pre-cut into layers and sealed in cling wrap, and cups of raspberry rose jam and raspberry rose buttercream filling. There was also a table covered in edible pressed flowers. Once we were all seated, Gracie’s pastry chef Mikaela Rose introduced herself as our instructor.

Chef Rose graciously provided a clear overview of what we’d be doing. She reminded us that Ellie’s no longer sells cakes, making teaching the class a special treat for her as well. She started by leading the group to the open-concept pasty-finishing kitchen to show us how she sliced all of our cakes into four layers prior to the session. A fun camaraderie quickly developed and we learned that one participant from Maine had planned an overnight stay based on attending this class.

Back at the table, next steps included learning to fill a piping bag and how to expel the buttercream onto the cake surface, using the spatulas to gently spread the fillings on, and how to apply a thin layer of frosting to act as a “crumb coat” before slathering on a final coat and rotating the cake slowly as we hold a bench scraper at a 45-degree angle to smooth the sides. When most of us, including myself, asked for Rose’s help for this part, it was pure magic to watch how deftly she used each tool, and somehow found extra frosting to fill gaps, as she spackled our cakes smooth. With our layer cakes frosted, it was time to select the dried edible flowers, which we gently pressed onto the buttercream. This final step was deceptively difficult as each flower is extremely fragile.

Once all cakes were complete, Rose was happy to take photos of everyone proudly holding their confectionary masterpieces. The final stop was at the counter, where Stephanie Pajak, Ellie’s hospitality and service leader, boxed up our cakes and placed them into brown paper handled bags for us to take home and enjoy. Speaking on behalf of my family – we did! If you enjoy beauty, details, and cake, this class is for you.

Find a Reel about my experience on Instagram: @elliesprov February 20. Learn more at ElliesProv.com/classes.