MOV Parent: Get baking with kids!
Stawberry Shortcake Layer Cake
Birthday Cake Bar
Stawberry Shortcake Layer Cake
Birthday Cake Bar
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For some fun time at home baking, comes "Food Network Magazine: The Big, Fun Kids Baking Book" by Maile Carpenter and the Editors of Food Network Magazine.
This cookbook gives kid bakers and their parents of fun, fresh and easy recipes that are delicious too!
There are more than 100 recipes of sweet treats that everyone can share, plenty of photos, tips and tricks and fun facts. There is also a chapter dedicated to Fun and Games for kids to enjoy.
There are six chapters of recipes: Muffins & Quick Breads, Brownies & Bars, Cookies, Cupcakes, Cakes and Fake-Out Cakes, all with lovely photo illustrations that will make you want to lick the page!
Muffins and Quick Breads have recipes like Salted Caramel and Chocolate Muffins, a special Banana Bread that let's the baker customize their loaf, and Blueberry-Almond Quick Bread to name a few.
Brownies and Bars has recipes such as Red Velvet Brownies, a special section on Brownies with their own customizations, and Triple-Decker Bars as a few.
Cookies has recipes for Snack Attack Cookies with Bacon, Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies and Whoopie Pies with special customization ideas.
Cupcakes includes recipes for Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes, Sundae Cupcakes and Milk and Cookies Cupcakes.
Cakes has recipes for Chocolate Candy Bar Layer Cake, Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake, S'Mores Cake and more.
Fake-Out Cakes has recipes for cakes that look like other foods, such as Ants-On-a-Log Cake that look like the popular celery sticks, Egg-in-a-Hole Cake that looks like toast with an egg and even a Chili Dog Cake!
I made the Cookies-and-Cream Cake for my book group with some help of my teenager, who is used to helping mom. It was a fun and easy cake to make from scratch -- my favorite kind -- and everyone loved it!
This is a great illustrated guide for kids to start baking and parents to help as well.
"The Big, Fun Kids Baking Book is published by Hearst Home. It is $19.99.
Amy Phelps can be reached at at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com.
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STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE LAYER CAKE
From The Big, Fun Kids Baking Book by Maile Carpenter and the editors of Food Network Magazine (Hearst Home Kids, $19.99)
ACTIVE: 50 min
TOTAL: 1 hr 40 min (plus cooling)
SERVES: 8
FOR THE CAKE
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or seeds from 1/2vanilla bean)
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
FOR THE TOPPINGS
AND FILLING
1 1/2 quarts strawberries, hulled
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon strawberry jelly
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper; butter the parchment. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk. Whisk the melted butter, vanilla bean paste, beaten eggs, milk and lemon zest in a medium bowl until just smooth. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
3. Scrape the batter into the pan using a rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven with oven mitts. Put the pan on a rack and let cool 10 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake with a small knife, remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on the rack. Remove the parchment.
4. Meanwhile, make the toppings and filling: Halve 16 strawberries. Whisk the water and strawberry jelly in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the halved strawberries and toss to coat; set aside. Thinly slice the remaining strawberries with a paring knife. Toss with 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in another medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream, the remaining 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate the whipped cream until ready to assemble.
5. Carefully slice the cake in half horizontally with a long serrated knife. Place the bottom half cut-side up on a platter. Drizzle the juices from the thinly sliced berries over the cut sides of both cake halves. Using a rubber spatula, stir a few tablespoons of the whipped cream into the sliced berries, then spoon them over the bottom cake layer. Cover with the other cake layer, then top with the remaining whipped cream. Top with the halved strawberries and their juices.
Tip: To cut a cake into thinner layers, mark around the sides of the cake with toothpicks so you know where to cut. Then use a long serrated knife to slice it.
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BIRTHDAY CAKE BARS
From The Big, Fun Kids Baking Book by Maile Carpenter and the editors of Food Network Magazine (Hearst Home Kids, $19.99)
ACTIVE: 25 min
TOTAL: 50 min (plus cooling)
MAKES: 24 to 30
Cooking spray
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles, plus more for topping
Vanilla frosting, for topping
FOR THE
FROSTING
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Coat the foil with cooking spray. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with a whisk. Stir in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in the sprinkles with the spoon.
2. Spread the batter in the pan with a rubber spatula or press in using damp or oiled fingers. Bake until the edges of the bars are set but the center is soft, about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven with oven mitts, then put the pan on a rack and let the bars cool completely.
3. Lift the bars out of the pan using the overhanging foil, then peel off the foil. Spread frosting on top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with more sprinkles. Cut into squares.
Tip: You can use store-bought frosting for these bars, or try our frosting recipe. You can skip the frosting, too. The bars will still taste great!