Earlier this week, Crevette declared his favourite teddy’s birthday was coming up. Mister Penguin was turning five and we had to have a party, which I though was really sweet. We decided we would have our little get-together during the week-end so Beanie (3 years 4 months) and Crevette (5 years 6 months) could bake the cake themselves.
Meet Mister Penguin:
Crevette and Beanie made the cake yesterday. This is the first cake I ever baked all on my own when I was seven or eight and the recipe is so easy to follow I thought my little ones could give it a go. They had made that cake before, but it was my first time taking so much of a step back. I basically just got the ingredients and utensils out of the cupboards, helped them remember what to put in, operated the electric whisk, peeled apples and put the cake in the oven, checking it now and then. I also took pictures of the whole process to add to those I had taken when I last made the cake with Beanie just over a week ago.
The children negotiated (with a pinch of arguing and shouting thrown in) who was to do what.
Crevette emptied the contents of the yoghurt pot in the bowl.
Beanie washed the yoghurt pot and spoon.
They both measured the ingredients using the clean yoghurt pot.
They took it in turns to crack the eggs into a second bowl.
Crevette separated the yolks from the whites using the water bottle method. Let me explain: squeeze gently your clean, empty plastic bottle and place it over the yolk, then reduce the pressure on the bottle and the egg yolk will get sucked in, whilst the white remains in the bowl.
Tilt the bottle so that the yolk does not fall back in the bowl. We had never tried this little experiment before and it was great to see it actually worked. Children can be a bit rough and we ended up using more than three eggs so I would advise using two bowls: one for the whites that have been successfully separated and another for newly cracked eggs. If you do not have any extra eggs or are not prepared to make an omelette with the failed attempts, you might want to separate the eggs yourself.
Crevette folded the whites into the dough
and cut the apples with a child-safe knife
before adding them to the dough.
They both (helped by me this time) licked the bowl and spoons and Beanie did all the washing up. I know you should not eat raw dough but with this recipe, it is impossible to resist and to be fair, I have done it for years and never ended up sick. Naughty but nice!
They checked excitedly on the baking process with me, helped Mister Penguin blow his candles and ate quite a bit of cake. It really was a fun afternoon and the build up to the party all week was really exciting for all of us. I always find their enthusiasm for the little things in life is so contagious!
Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 125 g pot of natural yoghurt
- 3 yoghurt pots plain flour
- 1 ½ yoghurt pots granulated sugar
- ½ yoghurt pot vegetable oil
- ½ yoghurt pot milk
- 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 medium free-range eggs at room temperature separated
- Pinch of salt
- 3 small apples
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to gas mark 5 (190 degrees Celsius / 375 degrees Fahrenheit), line the bottom of a round 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin with parchment paper and grease the sides with vegetable oil.
- Empty the contents of your yoghurt pot in a 2L bowl and wash the pot.
- Use your clean yoghurt pot to measure out the flour, sugar, oil and milk and add them to the bowl, together with the vanilla sugar, baking powder and egg yolks.
- Mix together thoroughly.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks start to form.
- Gently fold in the egg whites with a spatula, making sure you do not break them so your cake batter is airy.
- Add your peeled, sliced apples to the batter and stir.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and place on the middle shelf of your oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. If it comes out covered in cake batter, it needs a few more minutes in the oven.
- Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool slightly before transferring it to a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!
That looks lovely, children all seem to love cooking, I’ve yet to meet a child that doesn’t!
Author
Definitely… and the good thing about this particular recipe is there is very little you need to help them with. Mel
Sounds like pupil led learning to me!
Author
Absolutely! I almost wrote something along the lines of “I only acted as a facilitator” but then decided I was going too far, haha! x Mel
So therefore we award you ‘Outstanding’!
Author
You do make me laugh! xxx
That looks so good!
Author
Thanks!
Hum! “Crevette & Gros pepere” will love to do this weekend!
Author
Haha, thanks for commenting. Enjoy! x Mel
Oh wow adore this post and all the little hands at work, I have to try this beautiful recipe with my kids. Loved that it was the first cake you made too-that passing down of recipes is such a wonderful tradition! Hope you can link up to #tastytuesdays
Author
Do try it with your boys, Vicki, they will love making this easy cake! I will definitely be linking to Tasty Tuesdays! Mel
Fab thanks, will do! Looks amazing!
Author
All done! x
Yay! Thanks x
This looks lovely! i want to try the bottle method for separating the yolk from the white!
Author
Fun method! Have a go. I wanted to make sure I was not stepping in too much this time by letting them do as much of the prep as was possible (given that they are 3 and 5). Success! Mel
Love the simplicity of this and your photos, have Bramley in the fruit bowl, will try with Boy this half term, #TastyTuesday
Author
Thanks Sarah, Bramley apples would be lovely in this cake. Hope your boy enjoys it. Mel
I love cooking with children – will have to try that egg/bottle thing, looks genius!
Author
I have to say it was quite fun when it worked (once they managed not to put too much pressure on the yolk, that it!). I would advise trying for the first time when you are planning to make an omelette, haha (seriously)! You would manage no problem if you did it yourself though, but it is a great little experiment for the kids, and it teaches them to be gentle. Mel
Looks yummy, and I’m dying to try the egg white bottle trick. #tastytuesdays
Author
Go on, try now, it is great fun!
Oh I love apple cake, I might try this one 🙂 x
Author
Try it, try it, you will not regret it! Mel
Oh I love this, I have never seen the plastic bottle method before, sounds ingenious! I know what you mean about licking the bowl too and I know you’re not *supposed* to but really it’s the best bit! I will have to try this with Monkey, though for now I think I will keep a firm hand on the reins 🙂
Author
I am sure Monkey would love baking the cake with you. The plastic bottle trick is pretty fun, too! x Mel
Oh my, I am in awe! If I left my 3years and 4 month old to make a cake with his 7 year old sister it would be chaos! My 7 year old would be fine, but my son less so. He doesn’t like eating cake, he only wants to lick the bowl clean…I love the look of the recipe 🙂 Thank you for sharing with #TheThemeGame
Author
Do not fear, Iona! They can do it… and licking the bowl would definitely be a highlight for your son. That dough is scrumptious! Mel
Not ony does that cake look amazing, but the making of it looks like loads of fun and despite, I’m sure, a whole lot of mess, your pictures have made it look like a master class in cooking with kids! I’m in awe! #TheThemeGame.
Author
Thanks, you are very kind! I do try to take pretty pictures, hihi! x Mel
They are very pretty! I am going to buy a good camera and try and take better pictures too.
Author
Thanks
This looks delicious, and your photos are truly gorgeous! x
Author
Thanks, it is really yummy. My favourite part is actually the raw dough. It has always been and will always be, no matter how naughty it is!. x Mel
Looks really tasty and easy to make. Lovely photos
Author
Both easy and tasty indeed! Thanks for commenting on the pics! Mel
What a lovely idea – a birthday cake for Mister Penguin! It looks and sounds like you all had fun, including the birthday boy 🙂 There’s something magical about baking with little ones (albeit messy!!). Your photos are amazing.
#TheThemeGame
Author
Thanks about the photos! It was not as messy as you might think actually, as they had everything in one place and pretty much stayed there for the 15 minutes it took them to make the cake. I had to clean that area of the kitchen, but it was nothing like our crafts sessions on the dining room table with glue or glitter flying everywhere. Mel
The craft sessions sound like the ones that you have to *breathe* through lol 😉
Author
Haha, lots of breathing before, fun during and scraping rubbish off the floor afterwards! x Mel
Ah, thanks for linking this up with #TheThemeGame – looks so yummy! X
Author
Thanks
What a lovely recipe for the children to bake. The cake looks gorgeous too.
Author
Thanks Julie, it is one of our favourite cakes at home as it is so easy to make (and it reminds me of my childhood). Mel
Wow adore this! Thanks so much for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Author
Thanks Vicki!
Wow, that look fun and very yummy! I never knew about the water bottle egg yolk trick!
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBekids
Author
Thanks Karen. Have a go at the egg yolk trick, it is a fun activity in itself! Mel