Kids Cuisine

On many weekends, I try to find something fun for my daughter (who has dubbed herself the “cooker girl”) to cook in the kitchen. It dawned on me this weekend we had never made a cake, and that has the added bonus of the fun of decorating after you bake.

I asked her if she wanted to make cake, and she was quite excited. I told her we would go to the store, and she could pick out the cake mix, frosting, and decorations all herself. I decided there was a lot of delayed gratification involved in baking the cake, allowing it to cool, decorating, and finally eating, so I opted out of making it from scratch.

At the grocery store, she insisted we needed to buy candles, and also insisted we needed to get the house ready for the party. She asked who would be there to eat the cake, and I informed her it would just be for the family.

It was clear to me she’s decided cake is just for birthdays. That’s when I realized we obviously don’t have cake often enough in our house.

She chose a fun white cake with rainbow colors sprinkled inside. To coordinate properly, of course, she required rainbow colored candy confetti and sprinkles on the outside. The frosting flavor selected was, naturally, chocolate (she is my daughter, after all).

She enjoyed making it of course, but the real fun was in the decorating. Well, she actually dumped the whole container of colored candy confetti right dead center on the top, but I spread it around. I suggested she spread the sprinkles all around, so they covered the decoration-less edge of the cake. She did, of course, do what all children must do on impulse. She swiped the side with her finger for a sneak preview taste of the frosting.

All five of us in the family ate it, and my 1-year-old twins were delighted by the surprise no-occasion afternoon cake. Then, I realized the only other time they have eaten cake was on their 1st birthday. So I have decided that cake shouldn’t just be for birthdays anymore. It’s just too much fun to make and decorate, and even more fun to eat.