Hobbies And Interests
Cake Decorating Contest
Have a cake decorating contest. Give your children complete artistic freedom to decorate the cake however they like, though provide gentle parameters. For example, if it's a Halloween cake, tell them it's their job to decorate the cake so that it's as scary as can be. Alternatively, if it's a birthday cake, tell them they have to make the cake as festive as possible. Or, if it's a cake for Valentine's day, tell them they have to make it as romantic as possible. Provide them with every possible decoration they might want to use: frosting, icing, candy flowers, M&Ms, gummy bears, sprinkles, candles and fruit. Tell them they can use anything that they think helps incorporate the theme, even if you didn't provide it. Vote together on the best cake to determine a winner.
Secret Ingredient
The "secret ingredient" game is best for older kids who already have some basic understanding of cake baking and can already bake a simple cake with minimal supervision. Tell children that they must include a secret ingredient in their cakes that is not mentioned in the recipe. Tell children that the goal is for their secret ingredient to enhance the overall flavor of the cake. Provide suggestions for the kids: strawberry or raspberry jam, peanut butter, extra cinnamon, maple syrup or chocolate hazelnut spread. Tell the kids that they are free to think of their own ideas. Allow the kids to bake their cakes with their secret ingredients. When cooled, let everyone taste each cake, seeing if they can guess the secret ingredient and assess how well it incorporates into the overall flavor of the cake.
Substitution
A substitution game is for older kids who have basic baking skills and is a tool to help kids learn to improvise when baking. They learn an important lesson: sometimes when you're baking and you don't have an ingredient, you don't always have to run to the store to fetch it. Put kids into groups and supply the ingredients they need to bake a cake in front of them. Walk to each group and take away one ingredient and replace it with something else. For example, take away the eggs from one group and replace it with a banana. Take the oil or butter away from another group and replace it with yogurt. Take the brown sugar away from another group and replace it with white sugar and maple syrup. Naturally, there are some ingredients you can't take away completely, such as flour. Tell the kids that it's up to them to determine how much of the substitute ingredient to use. When the cakes have cooled, let everyone taste them and determine how well or poorly the substitutions worked and if they should've altered them slightly or not.