We are delighted to begin a series of classes in the bakery to celebrate the fruit grown in the tree alleys of Wakelyns agroforestry and the seasons. Our first class of the year of course, starts with the farm’s first fruit of the year, the beautiful cherries.

Join us for a day of baking with cherries, cooking with cherries and preserving cherries. The day will begin with Henrietta Inman, founder of Wakelyns Bakery. She will introduce you to the bakery’s core values and how the kitchen works in relationship with the farm and local food producers and the work that they are doing together to build a stronger, more resilient, joyful and delicious localised and sustainable food system.

After tea, coffee and biscuits, we’ll walk the farm and see agroforestry in action. We will harvest cherries and bring them back to the bakery to wash and prepare. Using other ingredients from the farm and local producers, we will then make wholegrain YQ cakes with the cherries, and prepare some delicious dishes with them for lunch, such a buckwheat and cobnut biscuits with local cheese and cherry jam and fresh cherries in a colourful early summer salad. In the afternoon we’ll make our own jam, with the option to add extra infusions and ingredients such as fig leaves and currants or gooseberries. As it really is cherry day there’ll be poetry, music and other cherry anecdotes too.

What you will learn:

• an understanding of the agroforestry system and its diversity, resilience and productivity
• how to make cakes, biscuits and more with wholegrain flour
• how to adapt baking and cooking recipes to the seasons
• interesting flavour combinations and the tastes and textures for creating your own cherry recipes at home
• how to preserve cherries
• cherry varieties
• what is the ‘YQ’ ORC Wakelyns population wheat

What is included:

• refreshments throughout the day from elevenses to lunch to tea and cake
• your creations from the day to take home – cake, biscuits and preserve