“Let them eat [low-sugar] cake”…Sometimes!
March 14 may be the Day of Pi, but November 26 marks National Cake Day. Another turn around the sun, the 100th Day of Kindergarten, a colleague's retirement party. If these milestones have anything in common it's likely cake, the celebration staple that is made to be shared. There's something about this confection that lends itself to creativity and any self-proclaimed cake bosses can proceed directly here. However, we promise that you don't need to be a cake boss to bake with kids, especially if the fate of your dessert is getting smashed and mushed at a first birthday party.
Getting kids in the kitchen has numerous benefits from building basic math skills to growing a child’s confidence and taste palette. Keep initial explorations in baking short and sweet and a child's capacity in the kitchen will grow.
Baking with Preschoolers
Preschoolers can don a chef hat and mix, stir or sprinkle. They can flip the pages of your cookbook and help set a timer.
Tips to share with blossoming school-age bakers:
- Gather up all your ingredients first.
- Read a recipe straight through before you begin.
- Baking is a science, cooking is an art. In baking, measurements can't necessarily be approximated the same way as in cooking.
It has been said that Ancient Greeks baked round cakes to honour the goddess Artemis and the addition of candles represented her connection to the moon. Maybe when we blow out the candles, we are practicing a tradition that originated with the age-old belief that smoke carries our prayers or wishes to the heavens.
Birthdays, Bake Sales and Bananas, oh my:
Baking with Dad by Aurora Cacciapuoti (Ages 4-7)
Bears and a Birthday by Shirley Paren'teau (Ages 2-5)
Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake by Jeff Mack (Ages 4-8)
Everyone Loves Cupcake by Kelly DiPiucchio (Ages 3-8)
Bake Sale by Sara Varon (Ages 8-12)
Classic characters also share their adventures in cake baking like Spot, Corduroy and Amelia Bedelia.
Where a fancy loaf ceases to be bread and masquerades as cake is entirely up to you. We have you covered with cookbooks for the next teddy bear's picnic, fancy tea party or school bake sale.
Getting Bake Sale ready:
The Junior Baker Cookbook by Williams Sonoma
Kids Bake! 100+ Sweet and Savory Recipes by Good Housekeeping
My Cook Book of Baking by Laura and Jess Tilli
Baking Kids Love by Cindy Mushet
The Lemonade Stand Cookbook by Kathy Strahs
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