With a crowd around a whirring 6-quart stand mixer, the kind people have at home, Basant Paradis scooped shortening. She was making a batch of buttercream.
But it wasn’t a home cook making cupcakes for her children. No, Paradis, owner of Cake Concoctions in downtown Bangor was teaching a class of children ages 8 to 11 as part of a science summer camp at her bakery. After all, baking is more chemistry than art.
“We’re gonna whip this right up, just like we did with our batter before,” Paradis told the children, who each wore a Cake Concoctions apron.
“Do oil and water mix?” Paradis asked the children. “They don’t, do they?”
And that’s where the lessons come in. After the children all responded by shaking their heads no, they watched her add water to the mixing, along with butter flavor, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Paradis explained the process of emulsification to them — the process by which the oily shortening and water can actually be mixed into a smooth frosting. The secret? Adding them slowly to each other and constantly stirring them.
“We use 21 pounds of sugar to make a big batch of this [for the bakery],” Paradis said, motioning over to a large mixer in the corner.
They all looked at her, their mouths agape. That’s a lot more than a home cook — or the campers — would make.
Paradis started the Science Behind Baking Summer Camp this summer. She teaches children about the chemistry behind creating their favorite baked goods, while also having them cook with her.
On July 18, during the first camp session, the children baked three different kinds of chocolate chip cookies — cakey, soft and chewy, and thin and crispy.
“I showed the kids the differences between them and how we can adjust the recipe to get the type of cookie that they like. … The fun thing about it too is all of that has to do with chemistry — how you’re mixing things, the order you mix them, at what temperature you cook them, how long you cook them. So we talked a lot about that on Monday,” Paradis said.
The camp’s second session, this time for children ages 12 to 15, is this week. Future sessions, including nearly planned August weeks, are in the works.The camp costs $165, and much to Paradis’ delight, it has a waiting list.
“I’m a chemist. I used to do fun science experiments with kids when I taught chemistry,” Paradis said.
She arranged for the children to learn about how salt conducts electricity by using her own pickle contraption, and sprinkled in other experiments throughout the week, always trying to relate them back to baking.
Nuthi Ganesh, a 9-year-old from Brewer, participated in the program for ages 8-11.
“I like cooking, but usually I feel like when I’m helping my mom cook I would mess it up,” Ganesh said. “I came here to learn how to cook and bake and have fun.”
Paradis, an Old Town resident, came to Maine in 1999 to obtain her master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Maine. She attributes her baking and cake decorating start to her daughter, who, at 2 years old, requested what she called “an elaborate cake.” Paradis has two children in the age group she taught during her first session, but instead of baking with mom, they elected to participate in a different camp they’ve been attending throughout the summer.
Before she became a full-time baker and cake decorator, she taught science and chemistry as an adjunct professor at Eastern Maine Community College and Unity College, so it was important for her to bring her previous experiences to her current position in a way that would educate others.
“Nobody is doing anything like this in our area, and I think that’s what makes it so unique,” Paradis said.
