Cake Decorating Courses

I've been looking into some cake decorating/baking courses around the area and have found a couple options I thought were worth sharing.

L'Academie de Cuisine - This Academy of Culinary and Pastry Arts located in Bethesda, MD offers recreational courses to those of us who just want to have some cooking fun. Their Cake Decorating 101 and 201 courses fill up very fast. 101 teaches you how to fill, frost, and decorate with a pastry bag, as well as how to make classic buttercream. 201 focuses on the use of fondant, teaching students how to create satin coverings, roses, ribbons, and other decorations. CD101 is $65, and CD201 is $75. Click here http://www.lacademie.com/Calendar.aspx for their calendar of course offerings.

Michael's Craft Store - Michael's offers Wilton Cake Decorating Courses at four different levels. Course I (Discover Cake Decorating) focuses on basic skills & techniques from icing prep to simple borders and roses. Course II (Flowers & Borders) teaches more intricate flowers and borders like pansies and basketweave. Course III (Fondant & Tiered Cakes) introduces rolled fondant, advanced borders and flowers, and tiered cake assembly. Lastly, there is a Fondant & Gum Paste Course that teaches you how to marbleize fondant, work with a ribbon cutter, make gum paste flowers, and more! Right now Michael's is running a special, register for a class for the month of July and you'll get 50% off your tuition, plus save an additional $10. In addition, you'll receive the 2009 Wilton Yearbook for free. Courses are anywhere from $15-$30 (before the discount offer) and usually run for 4 weeks (1 class each week). You have to contact your local Michaels for dates and times. To find a Michael's by you that offers the Wilton courses, click here http://www.wilton.com/classes/classlocator.cfm