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    Home Inspiration Recipes Baking for Kids

    Family Recipes

    Baking for Kids

    Baking with kids is a fun and enjoyable bonding experience that parents and children alike love. So, grab your child’s mini apron, get the mixing spoons out and fire up the range cooker because it’s time to teach your child how to bake some sweet treats.

    But, before you start, just remember that baking for kids is all about getting messy and playing with the ingredients. This means you need to choose recipes that are suitable for their age and ability. To help you decide which recipes are best for you and your child to perfect together, we’ve leafed through our favourite cookbooks to find a selection of mouth-wateringly good puddings.

    Below, we’ve outlined three of the very best bakes for kids. As an added bonus, each of the fun and creative recipes we’ve selected will get your kids excited and will teach them a different baking technique.

    Chocolate and vanilla cake

    Chocolate and vanilla cake

    Baking with kids is so much fun when you select bakes they love to devour. Help your kids master their mixing skills with this super-easy cake recipe. They can even experiment with food colouring as they decorate.

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    Ingredients

    For the cake

    • 225g butter, at room temperature
    • 225g golden caster sugar
    • 4 large eggs
    • 225g self-raising flour
    • 3 tbsp whole milk
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 2 tbsp cocoa powder

    For the icing

    • 150g butter, very soft
    • 300g icing sugar, sifted
    • Food colouring

    Method

    1. Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan assisted/Gas Mark 4.
    2. Butter a pair of 18cm loose-based cake tins and then line the bases with baking parchment.
    3. Beat the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Once the eggs are incorporated, fold in the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
    4. Divide your mixture equally between two bowls. Then, sift the cocoa powder into one of the bowls and stir well.
    5. Scrape the vanilla mixture into one buttered tin and then add the chocolate mixture into another and level both of the tops.
    6. Bake both for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know that your mixture is thoroughly cooked when you can insert a skewer and it comes out clean.
    7. Cool both mixtures for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack until they’ve cooled completely.
    8. While your cake is cooling, make the icing by beating the butter and adding the icing sugar a little at a time. When you have a smooth, creamy icing, add the food colouring.
    9. Sandwich the two cakes together with the icing and spread the rest on top using a palette knife.
    Simple iced biscuits

    Simple iced biscuits

    Baking for kids is all about fun and enjoyment, so get the cookie cutters out and let their imagination run wild. By making iced letters and numbers with your kids, you can improve their coordination while also working on their spelling and maths skills. They’re the perfect sweet treat to devour, too.

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    Ingredients

    For the biscuits

    • 200g unsalted butter, softened
    • 200g golden caster sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract or 1 lemon, zested
    • 400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

    To decorate

    • 8-12 x 19g coloured icing pens, or fondant icing sugar mixed with a little water and food colouring

    Method

    1. Heat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan assisted/Gas Mark 6.
    2. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with a whisk until it’s soft and creamy (use an electric whisk if you have one). Then, beat in the sugar, then the egg and vanilla or lemon. Finally, add the flour until a dough is formed.
    3. Cut your dough into 6 pieces and roll these out on a floured surface until they’re 5mm in thickness. Then, cut out the letters and shapes using cutters. If you have excess dough at the edges, you can re-roll these and repeat the process.
    4. Transfer the biscuits onto pieces of baking parchment and then place the first piece of parchment on a baking tray and bake the biscuits for 7-10 minutes. Your biscuits will be baked when the edges are just brown.
    5. Leave the first batch of biscuits to cool completely while you bake the second batch. Repeat the process until all of your biscuits are baked and cooled.
    6. Ice the biscuits using the pens to make stripes or dots. Or, if you like, you can colour the whole thing in.
    Unicorn meringues

    Unicorn meringues

    These fun, rainbow-swirled meringues are sure to capture the attention of your kids. Although meringue is usually a hard baking skill to master, this recipe for baking with kids makes it a breeze.

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    Ingredients

    • 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
    • 100g caster sugar
    • 100g icing sugar, sifted
    • 4 food colouring gels or pastes
    • A small amount of white and black ready-to-roll fondant icing for the eyes and mouth

    You will also need

    • 4cm round cutter or circle to draw around
    • 1 large piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle (1cm)
    • 4 small paint brushes

    Method

    1. Heat your oven to 120°C/100°C fan assisted/Gas Mark ½ and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
    2. Using a 4cm cutter as a guide, draw 22 circles on each piece of baking parchment before turning the parchment over.
    3. Whip the egg whites until they form peaks
    4. Add the caster sugar one spoonful at a time, whisking after each. Then, repeat with the icing sugar. Your mixture should be glossy and stiff.
    5. Place the piping bag nozzle down in a jug or glass and fold the top of the bag over a rim. Then, place a stripe of each food colouring down the side of the bag before spooning in the meringue mixture.
    6. Pipe your meringue onto the baking parchment using the circles you drew as a guide.
    7. Put your meringue swirls in the oven for 20 minutes and then turn the oven down to 100°C/80°C fan assisted/Gas Mark ¼ and cook for a further hour. Leave them to cool in the oven.
    8. While your meringue swirls are cooling, mould small pieces of fondant to create eyes and a mouth. Stick these on with a small dab of royal icing.

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