Baker’s Day is the perfect time for you and your child to get creative in the kitchen.
A highlight of the school calendar, for most children, is the day they are selected to take part in Baker’s Day. That’s when children get to create delicious treats for their classmates or participate in a school bake sale.
Teachers might give children a theme for Baker’s Day, based on what they have been learning at school, or leave it up to their imagination. Here are a few helpful, tasty ideas and tips to make Baker’s Day a success.
Hot chocolate spoons
what you’ll need
- 100g milk chocolate (1 slab will make approximately 10 spoons)
- toppings – mini marshmallows, coloured and silver balls, edible glitter
- milk to serve
- 10 plastic or wooden spoons
- roll of wax paper baking tray
step-by-step
1. Place the wax paper onto a baking tray and line up the wooden spoons with the handles resting on the edge, to keep the bases of the spoon level.
2. Melt the chocolate slowly over a double boiler, stirring frequently. You can add a splash of cream to make the mixture smoother, but you must do this when the chocolate starts to melt, not afterwards.
3. Once the chocolate has melted, use a teaspoon to spoon the melted chocolate onto the wooden spoons.
4. Decorate the spoons with your toppings of choice (mini marshmallows, silver balls and glitter).
5. Leave the spoons to cool slightly before placing in the fridge. If you put the tray straight into the fridge they may turn white.
6. After they’ve set, serve the spoons with glasses of warm milk. Get the children to stir vigorously and enjoy.
Bird’s nest
what you’ll need
- instant noodles or ramen – 1 pack of noodles will make 5 nests
- 30ml fresh cream
- 200g milk chocolate
- 3 speckled eggs per nest
- 5ml peanut butter per nest
- paper baking cups
- baking tray
step-by-step
1. Melt the milk chocolate slowly over a double boiler, stirring frequently. Add a splash of cream to make it smoother.
2. Break up the uncooked instant noodles into a mixing bowl and coat with the melted chocolate.
3. Place the coated noodles in paper baking cups and shape so that they resemble a bird’s nest.
4. Place a spoonful of peanut butter in the centre of the noodle nest and top it off with a few speckled eggs. Leave to set and serve.
give it a twist
Replace instant noodles with All-Bran Flakes, and replace the peanut butter with Caramel Treat. Almond butter can also be a peanut butter substitute.
Also, try our foolproof cupcake recipe.
Banana cupcake cones
what you’ll need for the base
- 2 ripe bananas or 1 cup of mashed banana (makes 12 cupcakes)
- 125g unsalted butter
- 200ml sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60ml milk
- 5ml vanilla essence
- 5ml cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 500g or 2 cups of self-raising flour
- flat bottomed ice-cream cones
- paper muffin cups (optional)
what you’ll need for the icing
- 100g unsalted butter
- 100g cream cheese
- 500g castor sugar
- 5ml vanilla essence
step-by-step
1. Mash the bananas.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Mix unsalted butter, mashed bananas, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla essence together in a mixing bowl.
4. Sift the salt, cinnamon and flour into a separate mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients. (Cheat – use a vanilla cupcake premix, follow the instructions on the box and add the mashed banana and cinnamon.)
5. Option A – place the flat-bottomed ice-cream cones on a baking tray and fill the cones ⅔ full with the cupcake batter. Option B – line each muffin cup with a paper baking cup and fill full with the batter. Place the ice-cream cones upside down onto the batter.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow the cupcakes to cool before removing the paper baking cups.
8. To make the icing, beat all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
9. Generously apply the icing at home, or place the icing in a piping bag and take to school for the children to decorate the cupcakes themselves.
Robot jellies
what you’ll need
- 3 packets of jelly powder – one red, one yellow and one green (1 packet makes 15 shot-glass sized jellies)
- water
- small glasses
- drinking straws
step-by-step
1. Place the small glasses on a tray.
2. Empty the green jelly powder into a mixing bowl and add 250ml boiling water. Stir until the powder has dissolved and then add 250ml cold water.
3. Fill each small glass one third (10ml) of the way with the green jelly liquid and place in the fridge. As the glasses are small the mixture will set faster than usual.
4. Repeat the process with the yellow jelly powder and, once set, with the red jelly powder.
5. Cut the drinking straws in half and insert in the glasses after you’ve poured in the red jelly mixture.
6. Allow to set and serve.
give it a twist
Add pieces of fruit to the glasses before placing them in the fridge.
Flower fruit pops
what you’ll need
- fruit (watermelon, melon, spanspek, pawpaw, green grapes)
- skewers
- flower- and round-shaped cookie cutters
step-by-step
1. Create medium-sized slices of the fruit, taking into account that you are going to cut out shapes from the slices so you don’t want them to be too thin or thick.
2. Use the flower cookie cutter to cut out shapes in the watermelon and spanspek. Cut out the centre of the flower shape with a small round cookie cutter and replace with a round shape from a different fruit.
3. Dip the skewers in water before using them, to stop them from splintering. Skewer a green grape first. Skewer it near the bottom and tilt the grape so that it faces upwards.
4. Combine the flower and round shapes and skewer above the grape.
Helpful tips for Baker’s Day
- When coming up with ideas, be mindful of any allergies among the children at your child’s school – try to come up with alternative ingredients.
- Know that there will be a mess. Minimise your stress by prepping your work area for the inevitable puffs of flour, dollops of dough and sticky sauce. If you are lucky enough to have a low-lying table, set up your work station there. Cover the floor under the table with a sheet, cover the table with wax paper and keep all the sharp implements on the kitchen counter. If this isn’t an option, just ensure your children are on a stable stool or secure in a high chair.
- If you are baking with many children, give them each a task to complete or make sure they take turns.
- Ensure the handles of pots and pans are angled away from the edge of the stove so that children don’t bump them or pull them off the stove.
Did you know?
Preparing for Baker’s Day has the added benefit of being a bonding exercise for you and your child. Plus, a baking session in the kitchen is a fun way to work on your children’s maths skills, colour recognition and food knowledge and expand their creativity and practise reading.
Simone Jeffery
