Celebrating Into the Woods DVD release at Bake with Maria

When I picked up Baby Girl from nursery one day last week it turned out she was planning on closing the gate and I had failed to succeed in reading her mind as usual, so we ended up lying on the floor screaming for a while. I tried all my standard tricks to tempt her back on her feet, but what made her light up this time was the promise of being shown a photo of the Rapunzel hair bread mummy had made that day.

It’s not like I bake Rapunzel hair bread every day, and I was in fact pretty proud. I had been to baking lab Bake with Maria in St Johns Wood to celebrate last week’s DVD release of Disney’s Into the Woods, a film with an impressive cast which intertwines the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella.

The main character in the family film, which I’ve heard is an entertaining musical with a dark ending, is a baker, so going to hidden baking school Bake with Maria was a great way to celebrate the DVD release.

In addition to Rapunzel hair bread, we made enriched dough at the event and learnt how to prepare homemade jam. I came home inspired to start making more homemade bread, as the charming Maria who ran the class made it sound incredibly easy to fit bread making into a busy family weekday routine.

Maria and her colleague Bella are both mums themselves, and they clearly understand the needs of London families and mums who try to fit in fun activities around the school run. This is why I was excited to hear Bake with Maria is now running weekday parents classes in the baking lab, which is located on the second floor of a brick building and is not exactly somewhere you’d expect to find a baking school with a lovely and welcoming team and a kitchen fitted out by Kitchen Aid.

I know I’ll make use of my newfound baking skills too, as when we returned home I couldn’t help feeling chuffed when I sat down with Baby Girl after nursery and served her a slice of my Rapunzel hair bread and homemade jam–a treat that could clearly put a big smile on any little princess fan’s face.

Bake with Maria is running three parents classes in June, covering summer cakes on 1 June, pastry on 8 June and bread baking on 15 June. The classes start at 9.30am in the morning and finish at noon, and the course fee is £75 per class or £200 for all three classes.

Tags: Bake with Maria, Baking, Cinderella, Classes, Disney, DVD, Film, Into the Woods, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, London, Musical, Rapunzel, St John's Wood