Measuring flour, whisking eggs, browning butter. When it comes to looking for fun activities to do with your little one, baking sure takes the cake! Not only is baking with kids fun, but you can count on teaching your child useful measuring skills as well.
Thumb through a recipe book or the internet for an easy and fun baking recipe both you and your child would like to try. Bring them shopping for the ingredients and dedicate some time on your next weekend to try one of these easy baking recipes for kids at home!
Baking with kids: Reel them in with colourful baking tools
1. Cookie cutters
Encourage your kids to carve their favourite animals from the fondant or pastry dough with these colourful cookie cutters (available on pujidao.sg)! From cute animal series moulds to transportation moulds for your little ones obsessed with trucks, buses and trains, make baking with kids the fun activity it’s meant to be!
2. Mini spatulas
Don’t let your little ones struggle with large spatulas! Hand them these nifty heat-resistant silicone grade spatulas (available on coolscenery.sg). They are non-stick and easy to use when your little one is folding and mixing batter in the bowl. And if you’re up for letting your kid try his or her hand at browning butter, these spatulas won’t heat up easily so they are safe to use!
3. Colourful measuring scoops
Get your kids to love math with these colourful measuring scoops (available on september.sg). Stackable and lightweight, these baking tools come with large handles for your little pastry chefs to measure the amount of flour required for the recipe! Did we mention they have useful scales on their handles — in cups and millilitres!
4. Kid’s aprons
Who says you can’t dress up, even if to bake in the kitchen? These cute aprons are adorable outfits! This kid’s apron and sleeve set (available on haoyang.sg) designs include Doremon and Hello Kitty. Apart from using them for baking, you can get your kids to tie these when they’re busy with arts and craft activities!
5. Mini rolling pins
That’s not all, check out these silicone baking whisks, bright cupcake liners and a sturdy 2-step stool so your little ones can reach the kitchen countertop and feel involved in the process!
Easy baking recipes to get started with
1. Animal-Shaped Lemony Biscuits
Kids will adore this easy animal-shaped lemony biscuits recipe! If you’ve been wanting to expose your kids to lemon’s tangy flavour, this is one easy way to do it. They get to put their creativity to play by decorating their animal biscuits in whichever style and shape they like!
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 biscuits (depending on shape)
Recipe Ingredients:
- 225g baking flour
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 100g salted butter
- 150g brown sugar
- Rice sprinkles to decorate
- Cranberries to decorate
Recipe Instructions:
1) Mix butter and sugar in a mixing bowl — this is for the biscuit dough
2) Crack an egg into the mixture, add half a teaspoon of baking powder and mix well
3) Squeeze the zest of 1 lemon into the mixture
4) Add 225g of baking flour and stir
5) Guide your kid in shaping the dough into their desired animal shape
6) Add rice sprinkles or cranberries for decoration
7) Pop them into the fridge to set them
8) Place them on a baking tray and bake at 180 degree-Celsius, for 12-14 minutes until they’re golden brown
9) Dig in!
2. Vanilla Cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes serve as a great starting point for other cupcakes. You can easily transform them into any other cupcake later on with coloured icing and other cake decor.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 17 minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Recipe Ingredients:
- 200g self-raising flour
- 200g castor sugar
- 4 eggs
- 200g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- Vanilla essence to flavour the cupcakes
Recipe Instructions:
1) Pour castor sugar and butter into the mixer
2) Blend for about 30 – 60 seconds till the mixture is light and fluffy
3) Sift in the self-raising flour and add four beaten eggs into the mix
4) Mix it again on low speed for 30 – 60 seconds
5) Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix it for 30 seconds, at low speed
6) Scoop two spoonfuls of the mix into each cupcake liner
7) Bake the cupcakes at about 175-degree celsius for about 17 minutes
8) Once baked, let them cool on a cooling rack
8) Your kids can choose to add on any type of frosting or sprinkles they like
3. Mug Brownie
Do you already make it a point to bake with your kids? Let them take over the reins with this easy mug brownie recipe!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 1 mug
Recipe Ingredients:
- 2 packets or 6 tbsps of a hot chocolate mix
- 4 tbsps of flour
- 2 tbsps of canola oil
- 3 tbsps water
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 fork
- 1 mug
- A handful of chocolate chips
Recipe Instructions:
1) Add the hot chocolate mix and flour into a microwaveable mug
2) Stir the dry mixture using a fork
3) Add in canola oil, water, vanilla extract and a handful of chocolate chips
4) Stir the mixture till it’s of gooey consistency and microwave it for about 30 minutes
5) Carefully remove the hot mug from the microwave and dig in (You can top it with a scoop of ice-cream too!)
4. Coconut Biscuits with Smarties
Easy baking recipes for kids don’t always have to involve sugared everything! Coconut biscuits with smarties strike a perfect balance between healthy and sweet recipes and make for great additions to your child’s lunch box meals.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: about 24 cookies
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 125g butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Smarties chocolate for topping
Recipe Instructions:
1) Pre-heat the oven to 180-degree Celsius and line two baking trays with baking paper
2) Sift some flour into a mixing bowl and add in the desiccated sugar and coconut
3) Mix well to combine
4) Add the egg and melted butter into the bow. Then, mix in all the ingredients till they become moist.
5) Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball
6) Place it each ball onto a baking tray with some space between each
7) Pop them into the oven for 12 minutes
8) [Optional]: Press in one Smartie (or any other chocolate topping) into the middle of the ball
9) Place on a cooling rack and they’ll be ready to serve in no time!
5. Rainbow Cupcakes
What’s the point of baking with kids without using tons of colour? Make some rainbow cupcakes with your little chefs. Bedazzle your kid with the colours in this cake and watch how they come together to form a beautiful, even layers.
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 24
Recipe Ingredients:
Cake batter
- 2 cups plain flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125g butter, softened
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- Yellow food colouring (liquid)
- Pink food colouring (liquid)
- Green food colouring (liquid)
- Orange food colouring (liquid)
- Blue food colouring (liquid)
- Red food colouring (liquid)
- Purple food colouring (liquid)
Buttercream Icing
- 2 tbs vanilla extract
- 2 tbs milk
- 200 g butter (softened)
- 2 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
Recipe Instructions:
1) Preheat the oven to 180-degree Celsius and line 2×12 cupcake tins and set aside
2) To make cake batter: place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl
3) Use a hand mixer and beat in milk, vanilla, butter and eggs into the mixing bowl. Beat the entire mixture for four minutes.
4) Next, divide the mixture equally between seven bowls
5) Tint each bowl of mixture with each food colouring
6) Distribute a teaspoon of each coloured mixture into the cupcake liner. Take note to layer each colour on top of one another so the colour below is no longer visible
7) Pop the cupcakes into the pre-heated oven and let them bake until the centre of the cupcakes feel bouncy.
8) For the icing: Beat the butter with an electric mixer, until it’s pale and fluffy. Gradually pour and beat in the vanilla extract and icing mixture, half cup at a time. Finally, pour in the milk and thoroughly beat it in.
9) Frost each cupcake with icing and serve!
Have a fun time baking with kids!
There are bound to be some accidents in the kitchen as baking can be a messy process. Teach your kids that mistakes are normal in the process and find a solution together! It’s important to let them know their help was appreciated. You can do this by praising them when they complete a task, no matter how simple it was. Reward your kids for their hard work by bringing them outdoors for playtime! Have you brought your little monkeys to all of the outdoor playgrounds in Singapore or enrolled for a class at a climbing gym in town? What are you waiting for? Get moving!
