The Homeschool Resource

• Cooking and baking with your children has many positive impacts such as instilling them with confidence; building on math, science, and health skills; teaching them valuable life-long lessons; and creating fond memories.

• Having a friendly cupcake competition between members of your family is a fun and engaging way to get everyone up and baking while learning about flavor combinations, following directions, measurements, and the art of baking.

• Please consider subscribing and liking this post so that you are notified every time I post new content. I also have a TeachersPayTeachers store that you can connect to here and I regularly post on pinterest.

My oldest child loves to bake. It has been a passion of hers since she was very young. Because she loves to bake, my younger two have always wanted to be a part of the process as well. This is how our friendly game of cupcake wars was born.

For our cupcake wars, we break into teams. However, we are a family of five, therefore we cannot break into teams evenly. I like one parent on each team, for safety reasons, so usually we will have three against two matches. Occasionally we will have two teams of two and our third child will help both teams. Each team comes up with their own idea for a cupcake including the cake flavor, the icing, the decoration, and (if they want) a filling. Each team proceeds to make their cupcakes, of course we have to take turns with the oven, and then we present our cupcakes to each other. We generally take our presentation inspiration from cooking shows and say things such as “today we present you with a bright lemon cupcake with a blueberry buttercream icing topped with fresh blueberries and mint. There is also a little surprise inside.”. By the way, the surprise was another fresh blueberry. This makes for some fun – and delicious – family memories.

Our most recent battle winner – from my eldest’s team of course – was a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing and a raspberry coulis cream filling. That is the recipe I will share with you, as we simply loved it.

Ingredients

Cupcake:

1 box chocolate cake mix

Icing:

1 ½ cup creamy peanut butter

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

milk

Raspberry Coulis Cream:

6 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)

2-3 Tbsp water

2-3 Tbsp sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Decorations:

Any decorations such as sprinkles, candied pearls, etc.

I recommend a pecan-half, or a fresh raspberry

Steps – and How to Include the Children

Step 1: Gather ingredients and utensils. The utensils that we gathered for cupcakes for each team included 3 mixing bowls, a hand mixer, a spatula, a cupcake pan, cupcake liners, piping bags, piping tips, a pot (for the coulis), and a cooling rack. Obviously we shared some of the items like mixers and the cupcake pan. I also like to gather all of my ingredients together before I get started. Laying out eggs, sitting out the milk, raspberries, and heavy cream. I skip setting out the sugary decorations until time to decorate to keep little hands out of them. This step is easy and child-friendly enough that children of all ages can easily help with this step, pulling ingredients and gathering the utensils. I have learned that for a smooth experience, especially with younger kids, make sure that you give specific instructions such as “can you get an egg out for me?” and “can you grab the mixing bowl?”.

Step 2: Prepare the cupcake mix. Though we only used a box mix for the cupcake part, it provided a great chance to let my children follow simple instructions. Generally, when making a box mix, there are few instructions, and they are not hard to follow. Let your child take the lead on this one while you watch and add input if needed. Remind them to mix gently, correct them if they are holding the spatula or mixer incorrectly, and encourage them for following directions.

Step 3: Bake the cupcakes. Preheat oven to temperature listed on the cake mix box. Most will give temperature and time for both cake and cupcakes. Place cupcake liners into the cupcake pan and fill each liner about ¾ of the way to the top. Once the oven is completely heated, place the cupcakes on middle rack and bake until cooked through (or for the time listed on the box). You can use a toothpick to test if they are done. This may need to be done by the adult in the group.

Step 4: Make the icing.  While your cupcakes are in the oven, cream the peanut butter and sugar together. Add milk about a teaspoon at a time, mixing well, until you reach the desired consistency. It should be thin enough to spread easily but not runny.The amount that you will need will depend on the type of peanut butter and your own preference. Again, your child can do the stirring, or you can take turns as it can get hard to mix the peanut butter and sugar together.

Step 5: Make the filling. Let your child place the raspberries, water, and sugar into a small pot. Have them use just enough water to ensure that the raspberries do not stick to the bottom. You can add more as you go. I start with 2 Tbsp of sugar and add more later if needed as sometimes the raspberries are more tart than others. Turn the pot on medium heat and let the moisture come to a gentle boil. This will need to be done by either yourself or an older child. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until the raspberries start to break down, stirring regularly. Once the raspberries are broken down, turn off and strain. Your child can help by using a spoon to press down on the pulp to help release all of the juices while you are holding the strainer. The resulting liquid or sauce will be a little thick. Taste test and add more sugar if needed. Let cool. While the raspberry coulis is coming to room temperature, take your cup of heavy whipping cream and whip it until it can hold a peak. Your child can do this part as well, or you may have to take turns as this can also be hard on the arms. Once the raspberry coulis is room temperature, add it slowly to the cream, mixing gently with a small spatula. Add as much of the coulis as you want to taste but not so much that it changes the consistency of the cream. You can place the filling into the fridge while the cupcakes are cooling.

Step 6: Let the cupcakes cool. Once the cupcakes are taken out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack and let them come to room temperature. This should also be done by an adult or older child as the pan is obviously very hot. Make sure to remind your smaller children of the danger of touching hot pans.

Step 9: Present. This part is also fun and helps hone presentation skills. You can take inspiration from baking shows, make a funny presentation, or just show off your dessert masterpieces to each other.

Step 10: Enjoy! Everyone can enjoy this step. Dig in!

Benefits of Cooking with Kids

There are many benefits of cooking with your children. Letting them help prep for and prepare a meal teaches them safety in the kitchen and the lifelong skill of how to properly cook food. It also helps to hone their planning skills, especially if you make weekly menus or do weekly food prep. Children are also more likely to try new foods if they are involved in the process of preparing and cooking them. This invites new experiences and encourages healthy habits. Being able to prepare a few meals, whether solely for themselves or for their family, gives them both confidence and a sense of independence.

As far as “school” type learning goes, measuring and the use of fractions, as well as conversions between the metric and US Customary System, all build on math skills. The act of cooking, adding varying degrees of heat to different ingredients, is a science skill. Cooking with your child is also a good time to review the food pyramid and discuss foods that are healthy, everyday foods versus treats. These should all build on topics already covered in other ways by bringing them into their daily lives.

On top of lessons learned, cooking together with your family will create wonderful memories for all involved. Who doesn’t fondly remember some type of cooking memories with a member of their family? And working together as a team in the kitchen will help reinforce bonds (or help create them). Not to mention the fabulous recipes that will be passed down. This can also start traditions that will continue through your children’s childhood and into their adult lives.

If you are interested in recipe cards to use with your children, I have made a set of 54 3×5 inch cards available on my TPT store. The set is split into 6 different categories: Baked Goods, Appetizers, Soups, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, and an empty customizable category. Each category has 3 different design options and includes an optional back side with additional lines to write on to be printed on each.

If you and your kids try this recipe or decide to have your own cupcake war, please let us know if you enjoyed it in the comments below.