baking rainbow {cup}cakes with kids

One of our favorite activities from rainbow week was baking rainbow cakes! The children love cooking and/or preparing food in our classroom so I try to arrange something a couple times a month. Baking rainbow cakes came about after a lively reading of Bunny Cakes. The children decided we should bake a cake, knowing the following week would be our rainbow week, I asked if they would like to bake rainbow cakes. The cheer was affirmative and so I planned.

For this activity we used a box mix. The children all sat together at our main activity table while we discussed the ingredients used in cake-making. Some of the children remembered that Ruby used milk and eggs to bake Grandma's cake and so I showed them the eggs I had brought and talked about the niftiness that is a cake mix. We sat at our tables and reviewed ingredients before I began mixing. The children took turns passing the bowl of dry cake mix around for a whiff. They were quite excited.

After I had mixed the batter up, we portioned out the batter into some white classroom bowls purchased from the discount store. I prefer to use real dishes as opposed to disposable when we can. The children took turns picking out one of the colors from the rainbow, with the last two colors being happily claimed by the last two children (we had six that day so it worked out perfectly!) They quickly got to mixing. I forgot our wooden spoons so plastic it was, drats!

When we bake in our classroom we use our Baby Cakes cupcake maker. I found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $5 after a big sale and some coupon magic! The maker does not heat up until you plug it in and there are eight mini cupcake wells inside. We have used it for cupcakes, muffins, and pie. I love it! The children waited patiently for their turn to drip, drip, drip a rainbow of batter into their cup. I made a quick diagram of whose cupcake was whose on a piece of scratch paper.

After 10 minutes the cupcakes were done! The cupcake maker does get hot so make sure there is an adult near it at all times or that it is tucked away from anxious little hands. The first batch of cupakes were gently scooped out with a silicone spatula and placed on a place in the order they baked and set aside to cool. The remaining batter (there was a lot of batter, I wonder if I could hack the recipe on the box with one scoop of cake mix) was scooped in by the teachers and enjoyed after class.

 
The children were presented with their very own mini cupcake on a plate with a dollop of whipped cream and a smattering of sprinkles. Had we had more time, we would have made the whipped cream in class but we were pushing it.

The verdict? Delicious!

three bears baking

For our week of The Three Bears we created a porridge muffin recipe using our cupcake baker. For ingredients I set out all of the usual suspects along with three measuring spoons and three measuring cups.

 

We bake a lot in class so the children know that we use flour, sugar, oil, eggs, and sometimes milk. I held up the measuring cups/spoons and named them...Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear. We began with flour and the children got to decide how many cups and which cup at that, of flour we needed.

 

After flour, we added oats, then sugar, eggs, backing soda, baking powder, and a dash of cinnamon for good measure. The children really favored the Baby Bear measure and I decided to pose question about quantity once we had mixed everything up "Do you think this is enough batter for everyone to enjoy a muffin?" After a few rounds of negotiation, the children decided to add more oats and just a little more flour.

 

We mixed and mixed and added one heaping cookie scoop to each cupcake well, closed the lid and plugged in the baker. The children know that the baker is off limits once the lid is closed and went about playing in the classroom until it was snack time.

 

 

The children were so proud! The muffins were super dense and surprisingly NOT sweet and they ate every last crumb.

easy baking with kiddos

This Valentine's Day take on the classic magic bar recipe is far from healthy. It is however something your kiddos can easily help make and of course, eat up!

See how to make them over at scrumdillydilly! Make sure to stock up on sweets, sweets, and more sweets. I may add oats next time.

bake: Welcome to Fall cake

 It's Fall here in the States and if yer like me (an many others out there) you might, might, might have pumpkin on your mind. Pumpkins to carve, pumpkins to paint, pumpkins to sip and pumpkins to bake. Here is a super easy pump[kin bar/cake recipe you and your kiddos can turn out in a jiffy.

INGREDIENTS:

*1 box yellow cake mix

*1 15oz can of pureed pumpkin

*1 egg (optional)

*assorted chips and sprinkles

Dump your cakemix and accoutrements into a bowl. Hand your kiddo a wooden spoon or fork and have them mix it all up.

Dump the pumpkin, crack the egg and mix some more.*

 

Pour into greased baking pan (I think mine was about 9X13), top with more sprinkles and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

 

Allow to cool and enjoy with a cold cup of favorite milk. I enjoyed mine with an iced coffee, cream, no sugar. SO GOOD! I then brought the batch to family dinner night and they were gobbled up...lickety-split.

*you can totally omit the egg but your cake will be a bit flat...more dense which is a whole other kind of good. These bars, with the egg were puffy and fluffy. A tiny piece goes a long way.

make an animal parade

This project is super simple and just as tasty. Older kiddos can whip up a whole batch mostly by themselves. Younger kiddos can stir the melts and add the sprinkles Kiddos of all ages can eat them up! I made them green with rainbow sprinkles for St. Patrick's Day, but you can use any color you choose.

*1 pack of green candy melts

*animal crackers or cookies 

*sprinkles

*wax paper

*cookie sheet

*two forks

*heat proof bowl

 

Candy melts are super easy to melt in the microwave. If you choose not to microwave or do not have one, you can melt the candy using a double broiler or heat proof bowl over a saucepan. The green melts are kinda dark so if you want a lighter green you can try the white melts with a drop or two of food color mixed in.

Once your candy is melted, drop an animal cracker or two into the melty goo until coated. In my house, we really like these animal crackers. Use one fork to lift the cookie up from the melty mess. Tap the fork against the edge of the bowl so that the excess candy drips off the cookie. Use the other fork to gently nudge the cookie onto the cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.

Add sprinkles. Don't wait too long for this step. The candy hardens quicker than you think. I waited too long, so my first four or so cookies are sprinkle-free.

Allow cookies to harden, place in a happy bowl and enjoy with a glass of your favorite milk drink!