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The California Table

California Cuisine with a Coastal Vibe

September 12, 2012 By Lisa Dearen 4 Comments

Baking with Kids

Last week I baked a gluten-free lemon chiffon cake for the Baking with Julia challenge. Turns out, this is a great recipe to bake with kids.

What I love about baking is it’s a great activity to do with kids because it teaches them math, patience and teamwork. Gluten-free baking takes a little extra prep time on your part in terms of mixing the flours but once you’ve got that down to a science, you’ll find the workflow takes care of itself.

Here are my tips for seamlessly baking with kids:

  • Mix your dry ingredients ahead of time. Grab your scale, your flours, your starches and a sealable container, and weigh and mix. Especially if you’re just starting to bake gluten-free or use a scale, you’ll find having little ones around is a bit distracting (did I get exactly 10.25 ounces of sugar into the bowl?). I’ll do this in the morning or whenever I have 10 minutes to spare.
  • Prepare your wet ingredients. About an hour before the kids come home, separate your eggs, measure your water and your oil, drag out the measuring spoons for the lemon extract – then place everything onto a single baking sheet. Kids are visual creatures and are used to viewing lessons as a contained unit.
  • Think like a cooking teacher. Have multiples of everything: whisks, aprons, measuring spoons and cups.
  • Plot out the recipe steps per child. I had the six-year-old and eight-year-old whisking the designated wet ingredients into the dry ingredients – working together over a large bowl, they each had a whisk and therefore, equal time at the counter. Meanwhile the 10-year-old worked the stand mixer beating the egg whites.
  • Plan activities for baking time. An hour in the oven is like three kid hours, at least. The girls did their homework, played cards and built a massive tower out of plastic cups kept just for that occasion. By the end of playtime, they were ready for their treat!

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Comments

  1. Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) says

    September 12, 2012 at 6:05 PM

    I used to bake a lot with my mom (and dad), and I hope that parents still do this with their kids today … I get the feeling from things I hear and people that I talk with that many parents don’t do much cooking or baking in today’s age, and even less so with their children.

    Reply
  2. Liz @YUM at first bite says

    September 12, 2012 at 10:36 PM

    I LOVE this post. The boys are always asking to help, and I let them. In small amounts. The way you’ve broken this down has inspired me to let them get more involved.

    Reply
  3. Stephanie says

    September 18, 2012 at 2:47 PM

    awww it’s so true that one hour to us is sooo long to a kid! Smart to think of something to do while the cake is baking away in the oven.

    Reply
  4. Jersey girl cooks says

    September 22, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    Great tips. I love baking with my kids and now by daughter is old enough to make a cake by herself.

    Reply

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