I have always enjoyed baking. Before children, it was one of my favorite hobbies– relaxing, and naturally rewarding. When I had children, I wanted to instill that same ability and love for baking in them. This is more of a challenge than I intended. Though they enjoy the process, it takes the relaxation out of baking for me.
Enter Baketivity. Baketivity is an all-inclusive baking activity for kids (with a little adult help). On their website, there are pre-designed kits for kids to bake anything from cookies to cupcakes to gluten-free granola bars. Each kit comes with everything the young baker needs to make their own fun baked goods and it is shipped right to your door.
I looked through the kit options with my eight-year-old daughter. She was interested in the cupcake options, so we chose the Bug Cupcake Baking Kit.
Our kit arrived quickly, and my daughter dove in eagerly. The kit included all the dry baking ingredients required to make and decorate the cupcakes. It even included an apron and a chef’s hat! We did have to furnish the wet ingredients, milk, oil, egg, and the cupcake papers and pan.
My daughter was mostly able to make these cupcakes by herself. I only helped measure the liquid ingredients because let’s face it, I don’t like a mess. I was also responsible for the actual baking of the cupcakes.
The batter itself seemed off. The recipe indicated that the batter should be liquidy, but ours was rather thick. I decided to add more milk and oil to loosen up the batter a little bit.
The cupcakes came out looking nice and rounded, and my daughter and four-year-old son could hardly wait to decorate them!
This was the best part. The instructions offered a couple of ideas on how to transform the cupcakes into bugs, but they also stimulated my kids’ creativity. The kids made ladybugs, butterflies, caterpillars, and even a slug! With all of the sprinkles, chocolate chips, and chocolate candies, it was easy to be creative.
So, the cupcakes were fun and easy to make, but what about the taste? I must confess, I am a pretty skilled baker. I often make cupcakes and frosting from scratch and was a little leery about the taste of these.
The cupcakes were a little dense. I don’t know if this is because of my recipe additions or if something else was wrong. The frosting was yummy, though, and was my kids’ favorite part. I could not keep them from licking the knife as they were frosting.
To my surprise, the baking kit also came with an educational activity. It was a little pamphlet filled with information about all kinds of bugs. This totally interested my kids — they love trying to gross me out with creepy crawlies.
All in all, we loved the Baketivity kit. My daughter loved baking them (mostly) on her own. She also thought the decorating was “super fun,” and she loved the professional-looking apron and hat. It would even make a nice gift as it can be shipped anywhere. Monthly subscriptions are also available.
The mess and stress were minimized. Mom-win. The cupcakes were fun to make and eat. Kid-win. Overall, Baketivity is a family win.
