Event: Christmas Baking Workshop with Chef Ryan Witcher

Last week I was really lucky to be invited to a baking class with Chef Ryan Witcher, the Executive Pastry Chef of Marina Bay Sands. It was a really small event with less than 10 of us, so we were able to gather around the chef while he demonstrates 3 desserts. Some of us even have some hands-on fun!

Joined Marina Bay Sands (“MBS”) in May 2012, Chef Ryan Witcher is the man behind the sweets! He oversees the entire pastry and bakery production for the MBS, including SweetSpot and The Chocolate Bar. He is nice, easy-going and funny, and he kept telling us that all the baked goods are “fat-free” as he adds the butter into the mixture. How I wish I can believe that, heh!

The first bake is a Stollen, a Christmas fruit cake/bread containing dried food and often marzipan. Stollen is often slathered brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven then sent back into the oven for the sugar to caramelize and crisp up – and this is no exception. The loaf is finally dusted with a thick layer of icing sugar after it has cooled completely. It does not have a soft and fluffy texture, instead the loaf is a little dense, moist, buttery and chock full of dried fruits. If you are looking for one, do check them out at SweetSpot, the chef mentioned they are selling a smaller sized Stollen there.

Guess what are we making?

The second is a Spiced Hot Chocolate – probably the most sinful chocolate I’ve ever drank. Combining chocolate, sugar syrup, cream, butter (yes, butter!) and spices, this forms a thick base for the hot chocolate which can then be diluted with milk and/or half-and-half into a cup of thick and creamy goodness. We had the hot chocolate with a piece of homemade marshmallow – it’s so good that I cannot resist and took another piece of marshmallow to dip into the hot chocolate.

The last is a simple yet classy mint truffle pop – a minty chocolate ganache is piped into tiny chocolate shells before being dipped in tempered white chocolate and crushed candy cane. They can be made in advance and the crushed candy made them look so pretty! Mint and chocolate – definitely a great Christmas combination!

Left: Omnomnom; Right: Gift before we head home!

Before we left, we were also gifted with a box of macarons each – mmm! A big thank you to Philicia from the MBS team for the invitation and also to Chef Ryan Witcher for sharing his expertise and the recipes!