Your Weekend Needs These Baking Ideas for Kids

If you have ever baked or decorated a cake together with your kids, you must know how the whole process goes. You will have sprinkles scattered on the floor, flour spread over the table, and fingerprints everywhere. However, this is just one of the reasons why baking with kids is so entertaining.

You’ll see your kids giggling, mixing everything, decorating and enjoying every minute of it. Have you ever noticed the smile of a kid when they taste a dish made by them? Your kid will feel so proud since it is all their creation.

You don’t have to come up with anything fancy. A couple of baking ideas for kids, cake decorating tips, and a kids baking set is all you need to begin with. After having got their hands on the baking tools, kids love getting involved in baking and actually feel that they are baking themselves.

They Learn More Than Baking

You might think your child is just mixing a batter or decorating cupcakes but they are learning new skills. And the best part is they don’t even know they are learning.

Baking with measuring spoons improves math skills. Following a recipe means learning to go step by step. Baking takes time, and waiting for cakes to cook may be difficult, but it also teaches you to be patient. Baking with kids can be especially helpful if your kid has a lot of energy.

Then comes the time they get their first bite of something they made themselves. They are proud to see something they made themselves. That confidence builds with each baking, and it stays with them long after the kitchen is cleaned up.

Choose a Recipe They’ll Have Fun With

If the recipe does not match the children’s level, then it could cause them to lose interest before they have even started having fun.

3 to 5 years old: You could let them mix, pour, use cookie cutters, and decorate the baked items with sprinkles. Some easy recipes would be sugar cookies, no-bake items, and cupcakes. It’s great to introduce a paw print cookie cutter at this age since it is just like making simple and chunky shapes.

6 to 9 years old: They could help in measuring ingredients, cracking eggs, rolling doughs, and mixing with some assistance. Some good recipes would be muffins, shortbreads, sponge cake, and iced biscuits.

10 years and up: These children would now be able to follow recipes on their own and bake layer cakes, breads, cupcakes, and iced biscuits. This is when they really start to become little bakers. You can let your child try the Wonder Mold Kit so that he can create his own doll cake independently.

Best Baking Ideas for Kids to Start Off With

If you are planning on baking with kids for the first time, make sure to keep it simple. Children love baking when they are able to contribute from the very beginning until the end, including decorating.

A sugar cookie is one of the easiest baking ideas for kids. They bake quickly and children can use cookie cutters, ice, and sprinkles to decorate. Each cookie comes out differently and it makes the process even more fun!

Cupcakes can also be a great choice for kids. Every kid will have their own cupcake that they can decorate as they want using buttercream, toppers, or various types of sprinkles.

If you are searching for easy fun baking recipes which don’t involve an oven, rice crispy treats, chocolate fridge cake, truffles, and cheesecake cups are just some of many kids desserts which they will enjoy making.

In case there is a member in your family who cannot consume eggs, then egg free baking would be another perfect idea. Many recipes require mashed bananas, applesauce, or flax eggs, so you can still let your kids participate in the process of baking.

Making the Decorating Stage Really Fun

If you ask children what stage they find the most enjoyable in kids baking, most likely they would name decorating. It means that they get to break the rules of the recipe and create something unique with their creativity.

Before the process begins, put all cake decorating supplies needed during the decorating process on the table. Get several small bowls filled with colourful sprinkles so the children would not spend much time choosing them. Pastel unicorn medley sugar decorations, star sprinkle mixes, rainbow nonpareils and dinosaur sprinkle are the easy to apply options and make your bakes colourful.

For the kids who love creating patterns, animal railway kids stencil will be perfect for cupcakes and cookies decoration. For this, they will only need some icing sugar, cocoa powder or edible colour spray. Another option is Sirene kids stencil which will suit children interested in mermaid and sea themes.

Finish with edible cake toppers in the shape of dinosaurs, unicorns, footballs or princesses. Let the children choose their own decorations and each cupcake will have a story of its own.

The Tools That Make Everyone Work Smarter

Most adult decorating tools are too big for little hands and that can make the experience frustrating and not fun.

A smaller offset spatula for spreading buttercream more easily when the little hands are doing the spreading. Drizzling of the chocolate or icing using the squeeze bottle will be more convenient compared to using the piping bag. It’s easy to use and comes precoloured and ready to roll sugarpaste so the children get coloured sugarpaste to press, roll and cut into shapes without having to do any colouring themselves.

Silicone moulds are one of the most kid friendly tools out there. The FPC bear head silicone mould, the gingerbread people mould and the sport balls cake decorating silicone mould all yield shaped fondant or chocolate pieces which children can press out and place on their bakes with little adult intervention. With a silicone moulds range you have options covering characters, shapes and seasonal themes.

Getting ready for success

Some pre-baking preparation will make baking with kids a lot simpler. Children will have fun cooking when they can continue moving rather than stopping at each step.

Before the baking begins, measure all the ingredients in separate bowls and leave them on the table. Get all your cake decorating supplies ready before the cakes or biscuits get baked, so that they are available during the decoration stage. Put aprons for all the kids and cover the table, since some mess is always expected while baking with kids.

Have edible cake decorations such as sugar flowers, edible pearls, chocolate pieces and other items that go along with the theme of the cake. This will allow them to pick whatever they want and decorate without searching for the next one.

Allergy Friendly Ideas and Egg-Free Baking

When baking for a group of children, egg free baking should always be considered. There are some children who are allergic to eggs, while there are those who choose not to consume eggs. The good thing is that they won’t miss anything at all.

There are many recipes that use simple substitutes. Flaxseed eggs act as binding agents for cakes and biscuits, while mashed banana works for chocolate cakes and aquafaba will work in light recipes.

Before you begin decorating your baked goods, it is necessary to look at the allergen warnings on your sprinkles, toppers, and other edible decorations. This will ensure that all children can enjoy their baking without any stress.

Make It a Routine Activity

No one expects children to bake a large cake on the first day they go into the kitchen. They only want to get the experience of mixing things up and decorating them and enjoying themselves. Some of the best baking ideas for kids are those which children enjoy baking.

Start with an easy baking process so that the children have fun doing it. It doesn’t matter if the cupcakes are a bit messy or the biscuits are not all of the same shape. They will definitely learn something during each baking process, and pretty soon they will come up with their own baking ideas.

With age their baking skills will improve and they will start decorating cakes using new ideas learned from their baking experience. A beginner piping supplies kit will do great when they are ready to practice cake piping skills.