Sweet Success across the Food Room

Year 7 to Year 11 pupils have been busy creating delicious caramel shortbread, while developing a range of important cooking and food science skills.

The Year 7 pupils learnt how to use a bain-marie safely to melt ingredients gently and practised the rubbing-in method to create a crumbly shortbread base. Their focus was on mastering basic preparation skills and understanding how ingredients combine.

Year 8 pupils explored the role of shortening in baking and developed their ability to make a high-quality shortbread. They investigated how fat affects texture and learnt how to achieve a crisp, melt-in-the-mouth finish.

Year 9 pupils delved into the science behind caramel, learning about the Maillard reaction and how heat changes food to develop colour, flavour and aroma. They applied this knowledge while making the caramel layer for their shortbread.

Year 10 and Year 11 pupils combined all of these skills as part of their practical revision programme. They demonstrated excellent independence while revisiting key techniques including shortbread production, caramel making and caramelisation, producing finished products that looked and tasted fantastic.

The food room was filled with the aroma of freshly baked shortbread, and pupils showed impressive creativity, resilience and technical skill throughout the project. The results were truly delicious!