Baking With The Grandkids

Girls and boys alike love helping Grandmommy in the kitchen. They love to mix and bake. But, they especially enjoy the fruits of their effort!

When raising my children, I thought it was important to bake from scratch. Carefully measuring every ingredient, I faithfully followed the directions seeking perfection with every recipe. The results were nearly always great, but I generally lost the kids' interest VERY early on.

Now that grandchildren have arrived we do things a little differently around here. Cake mixes, canned icing, slice and bake cookies and other such items have become regular staples in Grandmommy's kitchen. Even the boys like to slice cookie dough and place the slices on the cookie sheets. They love to watch them bake through the glass in the oven door. It doesn't take long for those little morsels to bake and we get to the eating quickly!

The results are not always perfect when grandchildren pitch in, but the experiences are wonderfully memorable.

A couple of years ago, two of our granddaughters were at the house on Grandpa's birthday. We decided he needed a birthday cake. His favorite is a yellow cake with chocolate icing, so off to the pantry we went. We took down a boxed mix and a can of frosting and out came the mixer.

They each took turns dumping the ingredients into the bowl Grandmommy cannot help with this step. They dumped in the cake, then one by one they broke the eggs and put them in. Fortunately, we needed two eggs for this cake so they each had an opportunity at dropping shells into the mix!

Next came the water and the oil. Then the mixer was turned on. The liitle ones carefully scraped the sides of the bowl as the mixer was running.
Then they used a butter wrapper to grease the two round pans and generously dusted flour in each. While the cake was baking, the girls meticulously licked the bowl and the beaters.

After the layers had baked and cooled, it was time to ice the cake! The first layer released from the pan quite nicely. The girls took turns spreading a thick layer of icing across the top of the bottom layer.

The second layer was not quite as cooperative. It stuck to the pan and the layer split--right down the middle. The girls and I were devastated! What to do?

What to do, indeed! We used icing as glue and pieced that cake together. Then we spread icing very thickly across the top and sides. The girls spread quite a bit on themselves, too!( Did I mention it usually takes two cans of frosting when the kids help?)

The cake was delicious. The girls and I had enjoyed a great time in the kitchen and Grandpa was beside himself with delight.

It was not the prettiest cake ever baked but the time spent together will not be forgotten