Kids Can Bake : A Review

#Gifted

Esther Coombs, illustrator of Kids Can Cook, has come up with this rather delicious sequel, Kids Can Bake.

Kids Can Bake / RRP £12.99 / Ages 4 - 11 / ISBN 9781787081109

With simple easy to follow steps and illustrations to follow, this book is ideal for any budding baker.  In fact, with a mum who can't bake, my son (aged 10) managed to pull off the rainbow cake (with minimal adult supervision).

Baking is a great all-rounder for learning, from baking to measuring, counting and maths thrown in too, without them even realising it.  We had to measure out 100ml with measuring cups of 75mls, 15mls and 10mls - I wanted to "wing-it" but my son worked out how much of each cup we needed.  For the record, I would have thrown 2 cups of 75mls in and this is part of the reason that I can't bake!  Apparently, you need correct measurements for cakes!

Following on from his success of the rainbow cake, we then ventured into the dark chocolate of the devil's food cake, this one was a bit too rich for me but clearly wasn't for the others in the house who  devoured the cake in 2 days.

Thanks to Esther's book, there seems to be a pattern emerging on a Saturday afternoon, we seem to be picking out random goodies from the book to bake.  I'm not complaining, as I see this as an investment in my son's future and I am looking forward to the days when I come home from work to find him baking me a cake.   This is my goal anyway.

The book also contains instructions for vegan and gluten-free variations but unfortunately, does still state the size of eggs needed rather than "an egg".  Hopefully, in later additions, this can be changed and something as an industrial as a whole is looking at.

If we can cook a six-layer rainbow cake, complete with outer decorations and have it taste scrumptious - you can too!

Let's all get baking and eating cake.

About Esther Coombs

Esther Coombs is a professional illustrator based in rural Kent.  Her work often starts with observational black drawings, embracing a slightly wobbly quality of line, with a view to creating a polished but unique end result.  Esther’s other illustrated books include Kids Can Cook, Plant, Sow, Make & Grow, New York Activity Book and London Activity Book (all published by Button Books).