Paul Bradford Sugarcraft School

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First I’d like to say that this is not a paid advertisement. All the views expressed in this post are mine alone and I’m responsible for my own opinion.

Since my last two recent post – Cake Decorating as a profession or hobby and  Which online cake decorating School should I join, I’ve decided that I’d share my review on some of the classes and courses. I hope that it will help you when making a choice.

One of the schools I subscribed to recently was Paul Bradford  Sugarcraft School. I absolutely loved it at every level.  Not only is it good; I think it’s the best!!!

About – Paul Bradford Sugarcraft School

Paul is a great teacher. If you have read my previous post remember I said not everyone who is good at his work is a good teacher.  But Paul really is a good teacher.

When Paul teaches;  you can see his experience shine through his work. You can see his confidence and skills are a result of making many cakes and he has learned them on the job. Even the smallest little detail he does is done so professionally and skillfully.

He never skips steps and he shares every cake from start to finish. No matter how advanced the cakes he assumes you are new and he shares every little detail. Nothing is taken for granted.

You will never see him stressed or complain about anything. Having worked in advertising before I know how stressful being in front of a camera can be but he is very calm and enjoys his work.

He makes mistakes that are not edited and he shows you how to fix those. This gives you the confidence that making mistakes is normal and they can be fixed, better yet he laughs and takes the stress out of it.

He laughs and enjoys the cake decorating experience which makes you want to decorate a cake with him. Most importantly, he does make cake decorating a fun experience as it should be. I truly enjoyed watching him at work and gained so much from it.

My favorite part

One of the things I really liked about Paul is that he uses simplicity as his first approach. He finds ways to do things simple rather than complicate them. Prefers a more efficient way to use time, avoids long time-consuming methods such as getting sharp edges on a cake.
Speaking of sharp edges, I recently shared my Tip Thursday on Sharp edges. I personally learned the method some time back from a comment made by a lady on a cake central forums, but now that I see Paul uses the same method, I think it might be possible that the lady from Cake Central actually learned it from him. I’d never know but It was nice to see him do such a great job on sharp edges with such a simple easy method.

Golf Cake Tutorial 

About the cakes

There is a wide range of cakes that you can learn. And It’s amazing that he has chosen all cakes that as a home baker you would probably be asked to make. Again to me, this shows his experience and he knows from experience what are the types of cakes made by home bakers, which are the most popular and trendy cakes on the market.

He has not just a simple car or a fab race car, a simple wedding or the most elaborate wedding cake.
So, If you need a simple birthday cake for a mom or a sculpted tractor cake for a kid, the simplest three-tier cake or the most elaborate chocolate wrap cake. It’s all there!

To me, it’s absolutely amazing that one doesn’t need to go hunting for these tutorials because it’s all there in one place from start to finish. I could actually make my own cake with him on the PC from start to finish because he doesn’t skip a step.

Princess Pirate Bonny Cake Topper Tutorial 

About the videos

All videos are split into lessons so you don’t have to watch the whole video if you need to go back and watch a small section. Trust me it can be annoying when you have to watch the whole one hour just so you can watch that one particular technique again.

The lessons are all detailed so you can get information about the cake sizes, how many servings and how much of the ingredients you need. It’s all there which for a newbie is a huge advantage.

Rocking Rudolf – Gravity Defying Cake 

Advanced PRO section

For those of you that are new to cake decorating and need help with starting your business, marketing or those of you that take part in competitions, Paul often makes references to the subject when teaching and I think this section can really be of great help to you as well. I can’t say much about the PRO as I have not seen the videos. If I do subscribe then I will update this information in the future.

Baby Orangutan Cake Tutorial 

Things that concerned me

While I am thrilled with all the above I also had two concerns which I think is important to mention here for you..
Almost all cakes are decorated in Ganache not buttercream while the process is similar, I think it would be nice to see more cakes made in Buttercream.
If you are looking to learn a lot of Sugar flowers, there are not many available. You will learn the Rose, Peony and some other but the list is not many and Paul does not spend much time doing them in detail or emphasize being botanically correct. So if you are a flower enthusiast like me you may be a bit disappointed. Though I think the long list of absolutely stunning cakes makes up for this too.

60th Anniversary Cake Tutorial 

I Saved the best for last

Now for the best part! While all the above I mentioned is a paid subscription, Paul Bradford School has a huge section of free videos. Over 100 videos.
If you are new to cake decorating or not – this is a section that will help you with the basics of cake decorating.  You can learn all the basics such as toting, filling, ganching, getting sharp edges on your cakes and more from a professional for FREE!  You can check it out here.

Paul Bradford Sugarcraft school is very affordable and often have huge savings or discounts. I would highly recommend getting on their newsletter to keep up with the new course as well as offers. If you are on my Facebook Page – Keep a look as I always share these special offers too.

Well, I do hope that this and my recent two posts will help you decide on what to look for in your next search for cake decorating courses online.  Feel free to ask me any questions.

SAVE THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST FOR LATER. TRIED MY RECIPE? SHARE IT WITH ME, PLEASE.
Share a picture of your work with me by uploading an image here below my image on this board. You can also find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.

Are you wondering which online cake school should you join?

I had the same dilemma when I started as a beginner. Some I loved very much and some were… well not worth the money I spent. When I started there weren’t so many choices either. So today with so many new schools out there; it can be really confusing. Perhaps I can help.
Check out these post Which online Cake Decorating School Should I join?  and How to choose the right online Cake Decorating School for you. 

In this post, I shared my honest opinion on the cake schools out there. The one I started and am still a member, the ones I continue to be a member and the ones I frequent off and on.
Is it better to pay a monthly subscription fee? or is it better to buy a one-off class and save in the long term?
All questions answered. If you have any more questions you can ask below the post and I’m always happy to answer.
What should I be looking for when choosing a school for me? Cake Projects, Techniques?
What’s the best way to start learning cake decorating as a beginner?

Which Online Cake Decorating Schools Should I join?

Our choice of Online Cake Decorating Schools is becoming increasing competitive and a difficult choice. Often we loose sight of what we want and how much we want to invest. Here are a few schools that I have joined over the years and what I think about them. I hope it helps you when making your decision.

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