I just finished course 1 at my local craft store and although I enjoyed it, I didn't particularly like that we were given directions on making a particular cake.

For example: We have to make a rainbow cake, so we had to bring in certain colors etc and make a cake that looked just like the example. Then we had to make a cake with roses, etc.

We spent 2.5 hours in each class for 4 nights for a total of 10 hours.

I think the time could have been spent on just teaching techniques with different tips and practising then throwing the icing away. Just learn the craft and go home. It was really quite messy having cakes, cupcakes, all over.

I decided not to take course 2 or 3 because I've already been experimenting at home and really doing fine just reading directions out of books.

So I guess my thoughts are: The classes aren't as productive as they could be.

I would agree with you about Course I. However in Course II, you bring a cake for the first class and a cake at the last class. The two middle class are about learning different flowers and different techniques. I found it to be a lot more interesting then course I. Don't give up just yet. I think the reason that I was bored in course I is because I had already been decorating for a while. So I knew most of the stuff in the course. But course II was totally different.

Good Luck!

I have read on here alot of good things about these classes. You and i must have got the short end of the stick i didn't get anything form my class either. The teacher always cut the class short, she knew some of the girls in there and sat down and chatted with them almost the whole time and even cancled one of the classes. But thats of i learn way more here then i ever would of there I would like to take the other classes but i guess i will have to wait till someone new comes along to teach it.

I have to disagree with you. And I guess it depends on the person. I have been practicing at home for a year and really didn't need to take course one. I took it anyway and learned extra things about the techniques like how to keep the points out of your stars and how to do a perfect shell. I also learned to weigh my sugar for my icing versus using a measuring cup. I think taking the classes you learn more than just doing it at home. I learn well on my own but you also learn better from others. Just like we do on cakecentral. Each cake that you did you learned techniques or at least my instructor taught us different things we can do. I also asked alot of questions. We learned to use popcorn salt versus regular salt in our icing. Little tips like that you can only learn from others. I think you should take the course 2 and 3 classes and any other classes because they can only better your craft. GOOD LUCK!!!

That's a bummer. Could have been your instructor as well... mine instuctor didn't care what kind of cake we made as long as it used the techniques we learned in class. I didn't make the rainbow or the clown cake in course one.

Like the others said course 1 is the only one where you make 3 cakes... I think they concentrate a lot on the cakes because a lot of people may never go on to course 2 or 3 and are just looking for the basics. course 2 was really heavy on techniques.

GOod luck however you continue... it looks like loads of people on here are self taught and do fantastic. It's all what's best for you.

I took my first cake decorating class from my Cake store, NOT a Wilton Course. It was 4 hrs, once a week, for 5 weeks. We took a cake every week and decorated in class. They taught me so much in that class. I then went on and took course II and III from Wilton and learned several more techniques, like fondant. I had no skill whatsoever when I started. I'm very pleased that I skipped the Wilton I course and did the other....I learned sooo much more. What I didn't like about Wilton was that I always felt rushed.

In course one we made our own design out of stars (not the rainbow), clown cake which I really enjoyed, and the final cake was an outdoors type well one incorporated with making water on a cake I made a man fishing in the pond, some made golf courses and some made barns another women made a swimming pool we all used our on ideas with the techniques we learned I personnally enjoyed it.

Maybe you could take a class at a different store. It really seems to depend on the instructor. Some go exactly by the book and will not deviate from it. I'm finishing course III tomorrow night and several of my cakes have been different from what the book told us to do. For the week of the clown I made cupcakes, took a few in and froze the rest. I think they have you make the cakes so you get comfortable icing them and can ask questions if you have them. Just learning the rose in Course I was worth the money for me. I also learned what consistency icing is supposed to be for everything and that was a HUGE help. That was how I knew I was making my icing too stiff for covering the cake.

I started out just wanting to learn flowers and I've learned so much more. I could have learned most of it on my own but man, it would have taken forever!

I went through all 3 courses..
I would love to take an advanced class on gumpaste and fondant flowers etc.
They don't offer anything like this in my area, so I turn to the people on here to try and pick up what pointers I need...

I am like cindy and I took courses (well I have one class still to go ) at a cake store. They do beginner and Advanced classes but you cannot skip over beginner - she makes you take it. The beginner course cover wilton levels I and II, and the Advanced course is wilton level III. But I noticed the cakes we did were not what I have seen from the wilton classes. The instructor is fantastic and covers so much! The first class we did not bring a cake but learned tons of techniques on the board. I had been dabbling in decorating for a while and am so glad I took her courses - she teaches you all the cool tricks you can't get out of a book. She also does seperate classes in fondont and gumpaste. Plus she has a candy making demo for christmas that covers a ton of candies that I am going to take with some friends. So I guess if you are unhappy with your class you might be able to find a cake store that offers something different!

My classes were fantastic. I just finished I, II, and III back-to-back at Michael's. Consider it like this...three months ago I knew nothing about cake and sugar craft. Nothing at all. I had never touched any decorating equipment and had only made the odd boxed mess. Have a look at my album and you can see my progress. All of my Wilton cakes are there. 12 classes later, I'm taking orders and turning out some pretty good looking stuff.

But, of course, your mileage may vary. It all surely depends on the instructor and other factors.

You should consider taking course II & III. II is so different than I. You learn so much more. III you work with fondant, and you also learn some great tips.


Good Luck.

Don't get me started...instructor was a trip

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of my Wilton courses... I had wonderful instructors... I just finished taking a petit four class lass night and it was GREAT!!! We had an awesome instructor.. she was so good, they're giving a candy making class in a couple of weeks and I signed up for that .. I just missed their cookie decorating class, however, if offered again, I will take it too ... she was and is a wonderful instructor!

I'm sorry that you didn't get what you thought you would out of the class, TickledPink.

Course I is to teach the minimal basics -- how to properly bake, level, torte & fill and ice a cake. Then of course, the minimal amount that you need to decorate a cake.

THis course is and was primarily created to be an introduction at a low price to teach people interested in cake decorating. The people who created this course understand that the majority of attendees are moms who want to bake their kids B'day cakes, and those who just want to try something different.

You may have felt that you didnt' need the refresher course on how to ice a cake, but maybe others do.

I wouldnt' give up on it completely. I can honestly tell you that trying to read the books and learn how to make something isn't the same as doing it in class with an instructor. I read how to make a fondant rose a ton of times, and in class found out i was still misunderstanding part of the instructions.

Maybe I had a phenomenal instructor who made everything seem fun as well as educational (she was named Wilton Instructor of the year in 2004 or something like that) .... but i have a different instructor now (my other one has another commitment on Friday nights and can't teach this course) and I still learn something new each course.

Also, there is no reason that you can't deviate from the lesson to fit your own style. My "present" cake for my Course 3 isnt' like the one in the book -- theirs is square, mine is round; theirs has little balls of fondant as a border, mine has leaves.

I really think that if you give it another chance, you may find that the courses do have a lot to teach and can be a lot of fun!


good luck to you!!
Jay

I think you need to find a new teacher. If you didn't have fun and enjoy the class, there's no sense taking any more. But if you can find a good teacher and some great people to go with you and share in your experience, it will be well worth it. Maybe you just need a friend to go with you. I'm a Wilton instructor and have some students that use my class for a ladies night out. They even call it their 'anger management' class. They chat and have a blast talking about their lives and have fun making cakes at the same time.
The reason you're supposed to bring cakes to the first classes is that most people need to see their work on a finished cake in order to feel like they are learning and accomplishing something. They need people to tell them how great their cakes look and taste so they will be encouraged to keep going. I know that I needed to practice leveling and smoothing the cakes in order to feel like I had learned something. Practicing with icing on a plastic board and doing a real cake are very different.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

I agree with infields. Find some girlfriends to go to class with you and enjoy yourself. You may want to find another instructor since you've already had a bad experience with this one. My mom took courses I and II with me. I'm waiting to take III. It was GREAT spending the extra time with my mom without kids or husbands around! She's not able to decorate because of a nerve disorder in her hand, but is still considering taking III with me, just to have the "girl time." We laughed and cut up the whole time during our class. It was actually very therapeutic for both of us! Anyway, before you give up, see if you can get someone to go with you. Some of the stores in my area also offer buy one get one free tuition, so 2 can go for the price of 1. Good luck in all you do.

I'm taking course 1 in a couple of weeks and am looking foward to it. I can kind of understand your point but for me am thinking that bringing cakes to decorate is so that you can see and incorporate the techniques they are showing you. Put them to practical use. For me I am brand new at this so while I'm sure learning the basics wont be as exciting as cours2 or 3..but will definately help me to fine tune the basic knowlege I already have. I've looked at so many of the pictures of peoples course cakes and seeing the results and improvments from course 1-3 is evident to me. I guess I see it as learning to walk before you can run. A friend of mine took the course and she explained it as having a lightbulb moment..little things that she kinda knew but that suddenly became clearer and improved the end result.
It sounds a little like some that had bad experiences may have had the basic knowlege to begin with and would be better suited to the more advanced classes or just had the wrong instuctor. Like everything else..sometimes we click and sometimes we don't so perhaps give it another shot with a dif instuctor or location.

I would take course II and III they are different. I was like you and had an instructor who was not the best. She kept forgetting how to do things and had to keep reading the book over and over again was a bit of a pain. She also insisted on following the cakes in the books which was kind of boring. Tomorrow is my last class for course III. She is letting everyone pick out which cake they wanted to do but it had to be from the ones in the book. well DH was not a fan of fondant so I changed my cake up a little. Instead of doing all the roses in fondant I did half of them in chocolate leather, which he does love. So what I did was rotated the flowers so one was fondant was was chocolate. I will post the picture of it when I finish it up tomorrow.

I agree w/ Jay.
I am an Instructor. I always give my students options. Ie: rainbow or something from a coloring book. I also will suggest they look through yearbooks.Mine or stores for their grand finale cake. They need to have there own creativity. Not just the course books. Sounds like your instructor liked to go by THE BOOK
Michelle

I just had session 1 of course 1 last night and I learned a ton. Mind you, I'm a newbie to all of this and really, that's part of the disconnect some might have with the class. Some people have more experience than others and Course 1 might be somethings they already know but for the vast majority, you learn a lot about cakes and decorating in general so it's beneficial for a base for the future classes.

I loved the class and I'm even excited about my rainbow cake. LOL! I spent about $150 at the store so let's hope I sell at least one cake in my lifetime to warrant the expense. Either way, it's a dream for me to make and design my own wedding cake. I've been married for 10 years and very much want to renew our vows so it will save us money and give me another issue to stress over. Isn't that what weddings are all about? LOL!

My ONLY issue with the classes is they can't be taken consquetively. Course 2 starts in February at my store so I have to search for another location to take it right after this one ends. Other than that, I learned how to make parchment bags and it turns out that was worth the price of admission because I HATE the plastic bags I've been using and I can handle the parchment better. I also learned about weighing my materials and a super easy way to get smooth icing with parchment. I paid half price for the class so for $12.50 really, it's a steal of a class. Personally, I thank Wilton for allowing their branding this way and for making the classes affordable for all. Mind you, they do this so they can sell a ton of products but at least they are good wares.

So that's my opinion, for the two cents its worth.

I didn't take the Wilton classes, but I did take a similar class from a local cake decorator.

I wanted to take a second class but the timing didn't work out for me. Looking back, I've learned so much from experimentation and the internet that I don't mind that I missed a follow-up class.

I know that there are some things that I may have missed, but as I need to learn them for a particular cake, I research it and learn it on my own.

I didn't hate my instructor, but at the same time i didn't like her either. I also found course 1 to be extremley stressful. I had to make a cake a night because she failed to let us know that we needed a cake every day. If she told me in advance i could have done much better. But balancing a cake a night with weeknight homework did not go well for me at all.

Don't give up!! When I took the first course my family told it wasn't necessary because I already knew the basics - and I did. (I've been doing all my family's cakes for about the last 7 years.) And while my cakes always came out okay, I what to know/learn how it was really done. Well, I may have known the basics but I learned lots of little tricks and 'shortcuts' in Course I. And, I had never been comfortable making flowers, so Course II was GREAT!!

Also, maybe I just wanted to be a 'rebel' but I purposely didn't make my cakes like the ones in the book. I figure, I'm not always going to have a book in front of me telling me what a cake has to look like, but I should experiment.

But ultimately, it depends on the instructor (mine was great! She's even going to call us directly when she does Course III), and how you learn best. I love reading, but when it comes to decorating techniques I learn best by someone showing me.

i too only took course I and i didn't really like it but after reading all this i think i might go a head and take the other two courses. thanks to everyone who gave their input.