THANKS to continual requests from their avid customers, The Patissier is finally going to offer some baking classes and demonstrate how they make their famous light and fruity mousse cakes.

'We'll have the classes at the basement of our Ann Siang shop, but we're keeping it small, with no more than 12 students at a time,' says Tan Siang Oon, who runs the bakery with her sister, Tan Siang Yee.

'We had a class at Shermay's Cooking School, which was very well-received. So we decided we could try to hold classes of our own,' says Ms Tan.

The Patissier's Kitchen will have a teacher's table and an island workstation for 12 people. Equipment will include Kitchen Aid mixers because that's the only type of home mixer which can beat egg whites to a fluffy texture for making meringues and other cakes.

The instructors will be The Patissier's own pastry chefs, Frances Wong, who is Shatec-trained, and Hannah Wong (not related), who picked up cake-making at The Patissier itself. Lessons will cover ingredient functionality, cake mixing methods, cake and pastry bases, cake assembly and presentation.

Special emphasis will be placed on 'understanding the delicate balance between the various flavours, aromas, textures and visual elements that go into creating innovative and gorgeous desserts' as explained in the website.

'Our classes will be intensive, with six to eight hours a day over consecutive weekends,' says Ms Tan, and cost between $500 and $600.

While there are other baking classes in Singapore, The Patissier's draw is that it specialises in mousse cakes. But aren't they afraid that their students won't buy cakes from them anymore after they learn the technique? 'The thing is, we teach them the techniques, and they're able to create their own flavours. So they won't necessarily make the same flavours as the cakes we sell,' says Ms Tan.

For now, courses in January and February are open for registration. Look up www.thepatissierskitchen.com for details, or call 6220 5565