~ Every aspiring cook’s dream: a culinary vacation. A week away to learn, learn, learn! And eat! My week at Sullivan University’s Baking and Pastry Camp was full of food, friends, techniques and recipes I can’t wait to bring back to THK. Feel free to drool a little while I tell you all about it … ~
Hey everyone — it’s Amy! I’m back to share a delicious adventure I had this summer: a culinary week at Sullivan University’s Baking & Pastry Arts Camp in Louisville, Kentucky. I went to sharpen classic baking skills, learn technique, and pick up inspiration for healthier twists on indulgent treats.
If you’ve ever checked a box to receive college information, you know what happens next: a steady stream of mail from schools and summer programs. Among those brochures I discovered Sullivan’s baking camp and decided to sign up after they learned I’d taken culinary classes in high school.
I wasn’t at camp to focus on “healthy” baking. I wanted to learn classic techniques — the kind of foundational methods you can later adapt and “health-ify.” My goal was to spend a week having fun, building skills, and maybe sampling more sugar than necessary. I came home with new techniques, recipe ideas, and some wonderful friends.
The camp atmosphere was upbeat and social — after classes we took field trips, attended parties, and even played Color Wars (my friends and I were Team Green). Many of the campers already attended career-track culinary high schools and had impressive skills. It was inspiring to bake alongside peers who might one day be running pastry stations in a top bakery.
One highlight was teaming up with my roommate and another camper for a Cupcake Wars competition. We crafted raspberry-white chocolate cupcakes with lemon curd filling and a thick, fluffy white chocolate buttercream. The combination — rich raspberry cake, bright lemon curd, and decadent frosting, finished with a fresh raspberry and white chocolate swirls — earned us the win, even beating campers from the advanced program.
I loved decorating those cupcakes — and finally had an excuse to try chocolate “swirlies.” The result tasted as good as it looked, and I’m already planning healthier takes on that flavor pairing.
We also assembled and decorated strawberry cream cakes. For my first full cake-decorating attempt I was really pleased — it brought back memories of my mom’s elaborately decorated birthday cakes and gave me confidence to try more complex designs in the future.
Other classes included Bavarian pretzels, fougasse and brioche breads, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pizzas, and elegant pastries like white chocolate-lemon cream puffs. I invited a friend familiar with German baking to try our pretzels, and she thought they were quite authentic — a nice compliment!
Even seemingly simple items revealed tricks worth remembering. When we made banana-chocolate chip muffins I assumed they would be a “healthier” choice, but I quickly learned how easy it is to load sugar and butter into a muffin recipe. Still, they were delicious and straightforward — and they sparked ideas for THK-style, cleaner versions I’ll be testing soon.
I’m excited to apply the methods I learned to upcoming Crash Course Cooking posts and to develop healthier recipes that preserve classic flavors. Expect some experiments in the kitchen as I adapt techniques and transform indulgent pastries into more nutritious options suited for an active lifestyle.
For now, I’m grateful for the new skills, the tasty memories, and the friendships I made at Sullivan’s Baking & Pastry Camp. Keep breaking eggs — and watch for creative, healthier spins on classic pastries coming to THK soon!