The one I am most excited about is my first official wedding cake that I am making for Saturday. I have had fun planning it and now it’s in the oven baking, I just hope all goes well and that the bride-to-be will be happy with it.
I will post an update with pics once it’s all done.
Have to brag
Both my kids, Lollipop (10) and Mini-Chef (12), have always loved helping out in the kitchen, but lately they have become more insistent on wanting to bake 'on their own' (except for putting things in the oven - that is mom's job).
On Wednesday Lollipop decided to she was going to make oats crunchies - she took my favorite recipe, got all the ingredients together, measured and mixed it all by herself (with mom being allowed to supervise from the other side of the kitchen counter). I was only allowed near her baking when it was time to go into the oven and to take it out again.
They were delicious, not to crunchy and not to chewy - just perfect.
Mini-Chef on the other hand has been begging me to let him try and make a 3D cake for quite some time now. Yesterday was my friend's birthday and he grabbed the opportunity by offering to make her an eye-ball birthday cake.
He had a ball in the kitchen, not only did he bake a vanilla sponge cake from scratch but he also decorated it to look like an eye-ball (brown to match my friend's eyes). Everyone at her party was very impressed and now he is already planning his next creation.
I am one very proud mommy, I love to see how much joy they get from baking and cooking and I am so glad that they would both rather make something at home than to buy ready-made from a shop.
I often hear people say the art of cooking is lost on the younger generation and that they are more interested in take-aways and fast food than learning to make things for themselves. I don't think this is true, kids love to get dirty in the kitchen and try out new things, all we have to do is nurture their natural curiosity and allow them to experiment - so what if they want to make a peanut butter and Bovril sandwich with cheese? How will they ever know what flavours work well together if they are not allowed to try it for themselves?
Kids love to touch food, let them get their hands in there making a fruit salad or a batch of oats crunchies, it will build their confidence in the kitchen and make them much more willing to try out new foods if they actually helped prepare it.
Here is a recipe to get you started.
Oats Crunchies
These easy to make crunchies are always a great treat with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
Ingredients:
1 cup flour (250ml)
1 cup coconut (250ml)
2 cups oats (500ml)
1 cup sugar (250ml)
180g hard margarine
3tbs syrup (45ml)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda (5ml)
To make:
- Mix all the dry ingredients (except the bicarb) in a bowl
- Melt margarine and syrup together in a pot (or in the microwave), once melted take it off the heat and add the bicarb (it will foam up)
- Mix butter mixture into dry ingredients and press into oven proof dish
- Bake at +/- 180C for about 20 min
- Remove from oven let cool slightly and cut into squares, remove from baking dish and leave on cooling rack to cool. Keep in airtight container and hide away.
Note: For crunchier squares use slightly more margarine and for chewier squares use less margarine and more syrup.
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