Baking need not be a holy mess when young children are involved. The key is simplicity – and aprons. Here are a few easy recipes to bake with children.
Peanut butter biscuits
My mom discovered this recipe (I don’t know where so I can’t credit the creator) but it has become a staple in our home to introduce young children to the joys of baking.
Ingredients:
⋇1 cup of peanut butter
⋇1 cup of sugar
⋇1 egg
Method:
Mix all ingredients together and cut into shapes or roll into balls and press flat.
Bake on 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Lemon cheesecake
Another recipe discovered by my mom and which is being passed into a third generation. Not only is this recipe super simple but it’s great to do with children because you can split it up into sections, according to the child’s baking skill level.
Ingredients:
⋇One packet of tennis biscuits
⋇100g of butter or margarine
⋇One tub of cream cheese or cottage cheese
⋇One small bottle of cream
⋇One can of condensed milk
⋇One tablespoon of concentrated lemon juice
Method:
For the base:
Crush tennis biscuits until fine. (a good activity for young children to do – after they have greased the baking dish. Put the biscuits in a plastic packet and seal. Then roll with a rolling pin or bash with a mug).
Melt the butter and mix into the biscuit crumbs.
Press into the greased baking tray
(while a younger child is making the base, an older sibling could make the filling).
Filling:
Whip cream until stiff. Add the cheese, lemon juice and condensed milk and mix well. Pour onto base and bake on 180 degrees for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool before putting in the fridge to set.
Microwave chocolate cake
A friend who home-schooled all her children introduced us to this super-easy recipe. There are internet variants galore.
⋇4 tablespoons of flour
⋇4 tablespoons of cocoa
⋇4 tablespoons of sugar
⋇3 tablespoons of milk
⋇3 tablespoons of oil
⋇1 teaspoon of baking powder
⋇1 egg
⋇ Chocolate slab or chocolate chips
In a large, microwave-safe bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add oil, milk and egg and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix or stick a sliver of chocolate into the centre of the bowl.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes and serve warm.
Tips for baking with children
⋇Spread out:
A young child can take a simple thing like stirring and turn it into a mess that takes hours to clean. Create a space where the child can be as messy as they need to be by laying down a plastic table cloth or maybe using a children’s plastic table. As they child grows their movements will become more controlled.
⋇Pre-portion:
If the recipe has many ingredients, portion them out beforehand to make it easier when the actual baking begins.
⋇Use a teaspoon:
Baking can be a good way to practice maths. Besides learning how to measure and time correctly, children learning their times’ table can get some practice if you swap out the tablespoons for teaspoons. One tablespoon is equal to three teaspoons so if the recipe calls for many tablespoons of different ingredients, the child can practice multiplying by three.
⋇Let them decorate:
The decorating can be as fun as the baking. Squeezing a piping bag can be a good tactile learning experience. If the recipe is too complicated for younger children, put them in charge of the decorating instead. Mixing icing and adding sprinkles is easy enough for even very young children to do.
