Junior chefs take to chocolate, cupcakes and truffles

The best part about attending a class at Sparkle Cupcakery is the icing on the cake, according to at least one young aspiring baker. And it turns out you don't even have to wait until the baking is finished.

''Not after! The icing is so yummy,'' says six-year-old Ruby Barnett, licking a dollop of pink icing off her finger. ''And the silver balls and the heart sprinkles.''

Ruby and her 10 friends made six cupcakes each at the company's Surry Hills kitchen on Saturday, as will 120 other children over these school holidays.

They are the lucky ones whose parents have nabbed a coveted spot in a cooking class, an increasingly popular way to entertain and educate kids over the holidays.

''We've been running classes for five years and now the classes fill so quickly. There has been a definite growth in demand from parents,'' said Kathryn Sutton, director of Sparkle Cupcakery.

''The point is to be fun, creative and educational.''

At the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, more than 650 children have enrolled in free cooking classes over five days. The classes will be run by the Sydney Cooking School, which plans to teach tweens to teens how to make pizza dough, calzone and bruschetta.

''We teach the healthy options to get kids excited about fresh produce and veggies,'' said Morenna Burn from the cooking school.

The emphasis on fresh food is also important for Sheridan Rogers, who hosts cooking classes for eight to 12 year olds in the kitchen of her family home in Cammeray.

In her leafy backyard, children are encouraged to roam around the sprawling vegetable garden where chillies, artichokes and cauliflower flourish.

''Junior MasterChef had a huge influence, it made cooking cool. Especially for the young boys, watching the male cooks compete made them want to learn,'' said Ms Rogers, who has taught a couple of the show's finalists.

Children's cooking schools are also presenting a larger variety of classes, with Kids Pantry, based in Canberra, taking a group of five to 17-year-olds to Terra Preta Truffle Farm in Braidwood to learn how to hunt and prepare truffles.

While it may take children some time to truly appreciate truffles, that is not the case with chocolate.

''Oh they love it,'' said Rebecca Kerswell of the Sydney Chocolate School in Middle Head, where the children hand temper chocolate on marble, and create chocolate freckles, bars and raspberry stars. ''At the end we'll give them a big goodie bag that will sort them out for the rest of holidays,'' she said.