I think somewhere we have lost that baking from scratch ease that our grandmothers had...
Now it's premade, preboxed, into the oven without a thought... but stop and think for a moment... what is Modified Food Starch, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, and Maltodextri and why is it in YOUR CAKE?
Today's little girls need the same baking from scratch confidence that our grandmothers had and I started yesterday with my baking class for six of the cuties, silliest and giggliest girls around!
I had done a little "pre measuring" for the cake and explained the ingredients for a simple cake from scratch... they were curious!
Everyone took turns putting in the sugar, butter and eggs while Reese and Alexandria manned the mixer. Then we blended until light and fluffy and added vanilla. {smells good so far}.
They added baking powder, salt then a scoop of flour, mixing between additions and adding milk. They made the perfect batter!
We talked about pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees and preparing our baking sheet for the cake by greasing and flouring the surface. They all tried shaking flour around!
We then moved on to buttercream... which produced a hysterical wave of giggles when someone turned the mixer on to a high speed after confectioners sugar had been added... you can see the results and we learned a valuable lesson of why it's important to have quick on-off bursts until it's mixed with the shortening and butter.
Each girl picked their favorite cake to work on... then their favorite frosting... and everyone tried using the piping bag. I was impressed with their technique!
Miss Alexandria frosting her cake
Miss Ella was excited about chocolate frosting
Miss Claire created a vanilla on lemon cake
Miss Reese opted for Red Velvet and lemon buttercream
Miss Kelly loves chocolate on chocolate and has mad piping skills
My daughter, Miss Emma, showcasing her embellishments
Once our cakes were complete we headed out to the "Secret Garden", a peaceful little spot on the side of our home where all the little girls love to hang out and spend time playing.
I had already set up and table topped with fine bone china tea cups and saucers, my array of antique English bone china plates and my grandmother's sterling. It was Tea Time!
The girls took turns describing their works then shared their cakes with each other {and the Mom's as well}. They enjoyed lemonade, tea and cakes while a gentle breeze kept us cool while under the shade of an oak tree.
The girls took turns describing their works then shared their cakes with each other {and the Mom's as well}. They enjoyed lemonade, tea and cakes while a gentle breeze kept us cool while under the shade of an oak tree.
The girls were so proud of their cakes and it gave them such a confident demeanor. It's my belief that if we can "keep this up" we will instill a baking from scratch faith in our children that will produce self-assured, knowledgeable and capable adults that care about what they put in their mouths!
The girls and myself after a great day
You can find all my cake and frosting recipes here http://www.fourpointsfoodie.com/2012/04/cupcake-craze-recipes.html
6 comments:
I wish I had parties like that when I was a kid! This looks like it was so much fun!
Kudos for you doing this! Such a great idea...kids do need to learn how to do things from scratch for sure!
What fun! I'll bet this was such a great day for all the little girls and particularly for yours because she has such a cool mom!
Absolutely Adorable ... love the cake and tea idea for little ones!
Great idea...great post! My daughter loves to cook and bake with me too!
This looks like so so much fun. You sure have one lucky daughter. I wish my mom did this for me. Glad to participate in this event with you xx
Post a Comment