Tips for baking with 4 or 6 hands
Baking with your kids

What ? You want me to make a cake with my kids ? It’s not like I don’t have a lot of cleaning to do or that I’m not annoyed enough or that my patience level is at its highest (usually it’s in level red, like a Sims character right before a breakdown).

Well yes I do. Sometimes, for an unknown reason, we crave a cake. Unless you have $ 20 to go to your local bakery, you have to make it ! With 3 kids I have to say that I make a lot of cakes and such. It’s probably the “eat your feelings” effect.

To get going, let’s remind ourselves of the advantages of a homemade cake :

• the 4pm snack is cheaper,
• you know what you are eating,
• you have the best excuse to get the last piece (I made it ergo I get it),
• it makes your house smell nice (unless you forget the cake),
• it can be relaxing…

 

Let’s stay on this last point shall we. This is less likely to happen if your minions are involved. And that is why I will be giving you a few tips and tricks to try to manage this flour explosion session in your kitchen.

 

 

And for those who manage to read the entire post, I will be giving you a basic easy brownie recipe.

 

1st tip : Do not bake with your kids…Everybody cover up !

Gotta be real : it’s going to get messy. It’s inevitable. It’s like giving birth, you are going to have to prepare yourself for pain. So just give yourself a little pep talk, Rocky-style looking into your mirror “Yeah you can do this ! It’s only going to last 20 minutes* !” 

* You wish.

In our house, your typical mess would consist of an egg litteraly exploding in someone’s face and on his clothes (not to mention anyone but it’s my son’s MO), the flour misses the cup, or a sneeze in the bowl with dry ingredients.

 

 

SO : cover up ! Isn’t it convenient that kids adore getting dressed up, putting on costums ?! So everybody puts an apron on (and if you don’t have one, well it’s a pretty nice idea for a gift…), or one of dad’s old T-shirts. Any hair should also be contained.

 

2nd tip : To each one’s own assignment.

 

Here, there are often 3 cooks. 2 “expert” hands, and 4 octopus ones. Bickering is bound to happen. So we will simply :

• either divide everything equally : everyone has their own material (a spatula is usually enough), every one has an egg to crack (in their own bowl before adding it to the dough, this will prevent you from picking up all the eggshells in the aforementioned dough – dip your finger in water to “catch” the annoying eggshell piece more easily), everyone has 1/2 cup of flour to thrown on the ground measure…

 

 

• either assign a task to each one before starting : Onedude will cut the butter and melt it, Lily will butter the pan (in France it’s pretty hard to find an oil spray can thing, so we do it like they did in the good ol’ days. I use a piece of paper towel in which I put a tiny piece of butter, that way I avoid having little oily hands touch everything after they are done).

 

 

3rd tip : Promise a little treat at the end of the torture baking session.

 

The easiest thing to promise is that they will be allowed to lick the bowl or the spatula once the mission is complete.

I know that certain people don’t allow it, for fear of possible food poisoning because of the eggs or flour. My children are allowed to do it after 3 years old and if I am sure, for example, of the origin and date of laying of the eggs.

 

One can also give them a tiny piece of chocolate, or anything remotely related to the recipe (a piece of fruit…).

To be honest I usually end up alone to finish the recipe. My children’s participation is frequently as short-spanned as their level of attention.

In any case : the cake is in the oven !! We/You did it !

 

In my household, that time coincides with my third child’s cue to wake up from her nap. When I think that soon we will be baking with 8 hands…a spider baking, that will be interesting !

 

 

 

 

Hey ! Am I forgetting something ?

 

 – Easy brownie –

Recipe based on Bon Appétit’s collection of essential recipes.

 

A promise is a promise – yes I am doing like all those bloggers, I am putting my recipe at the end of my looong post – you can click here to download it in pdf, or here to view it on the blog.