When I was a kid, I remember my mom baking cakes and just slathering them with frosting. I would sit back and hope that I would at least get to lick the spoon or even…the jar. My mom was never into decorating a cake. I always wanted to help her out, but never got that chance.
My children are always in the kitchen when I am baking. They have those same frosting eyes that I had and I always let them have a taste or two. I’m certainly no artist, but I do try my hand at occasionally decorating a cake for a birthday or holiday. Those decorating tools sit unused for the rest of the time, so why not break them out to have some fun with the kids?
The important thing to remember about decorating a cake with children is not to take it too seriously. What ever plan you have for the picture or words just isn’t going to happen. Your words are going to end up looking like gibberish and all the pictures are going to look like an upside down horse. Don’t ask me why, it just does.
To get started, you’re going to need a decently large area, like a dining room table, and some newspapers to put down. Frosting is going to go everywhere. One good squeeze and frosting shoots out of the decorating tool like a yummy bullet. Give each child one of the frosting shooters, that’s not the technical name, but it’s what I call it. You can try and have them actually create something, and if that works, congratulations, you’re raising prodigy dessert chefs. More often than not, it’s going to turn into a free for all, and everyone is going to be covered in frosting, which, while messy, is an awesome photo opp.
Well, you just created a memory that they are going to cherish for ever. Really, that’s what it’s all about. In 40 years, your kids will be in their kitchens with their children doing the same thing. As they take out the decorating tools, they’ll look back at all the times you did this together and smile. When it’s all over and the cake has been eaten, you’ll get a phone call from your son talking about how much fun everyone had and thanking you for not worrying about the mess.
We don’t have a lot of time with our children in the grand scheme of things. They grow so fast, and this is one way you can create a lasting memory.
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