When a copy of Jean Parker and Rachel Smith’s cookbook, Baking Wonderland, arrived at our doorstep, my daughter was overjoyed because this baking book is geared towards kids, and she knew she would be the one trying out recipes. Looking at the cover of the book, we were immediately enticed through the colourful design, delicious-looking bakes as well as the playful illustrations by Angela Chao. The book is designed around and approaches baking like a visit to a theme park: adventurous and imaginative, I think the cookbook does an excellent job of appealing to kids (and families) who are interested in baking.
In her first flip through of the book, Katie started to bookmark recipes that she wanted to try and, as I looked over her shoulder, I was impressed at how the book is laid out. Over the first thirty pages, young bakers are given crucial information about baking: how to read and understand recipes, how to measure ingredients to ensure good results, tools and equipment required to get the bake done, essential safety information, and guidance on techniques (i.e. kneading, whipping, separating eggs, cake decorating, etc.). The explanations are succinct and easy for kids to understand. Each recipe gives young bakers information in chunks, starting with a checklist of tools needed to make the recipe and a list of ingredients. Flipping the page, the directions are listed, with each step numbered along with a corresponding symbol to alert bakers to the key element of that step. For example, when you see a whisk symbol, Parker and Smith tell kids, “Any time you see this picture, it’s time to whisk. To whisk, use your whisk just like you would use a mixing spoon but make smaller, quick circles or figure eights in the centre of your bowl.” (10) Parker and Smith have usefully scaffolded the information so that through each step kids can build on their skills and knowledge.
As for the recipes, they’ve provided a wide range of bakes to appeal to different tastes (the mix-and-match element is key!) along with recipes that offer different levels of difficulty. The recipes are organized into 5 chapters: 1) Cookieland, 2) Cupcakeland, 3) Wonderpark (i. Fillings, ii. Frostings, iii. Glazes and More, iv. Toppings, and v. Milks), 4) Donutland, and 5) Cakeland. As Katie and I read through the recipes, it was clear where/when kids completed steps on their own and when an adult could assist – since my daughter is 10, I found that we worked on the recipes together, rather than her working at it completely independently. Baking together was fun and I loved seeing her build her skills and confidence.
The first recipe on her list was to make the Moo-vellous Strawberry Milk. While the recipe wasn’t difficult, it did involve using the stovetop (the instructions were clear, so I wasn’t worried about it and, this is where they tell bakers to “Find your person”/the adult who’s helping with trickier aspects of the recipe). As Katie made the strawberry syrup, she could barely wait to mix it into the milk! I think her favourite part was following the instructions on how to decorate the rim of the glass with melted chocolate and sprinkles! We also found that the strawberry syrup had other uses as well – it’s great mixed into plain yogurt or drizzled over our morning oatmeal.
There’s something special about making your own doughnuts and, Parker and Smith make excellent use of doughnut pans in their book. Katie chose to bake up the Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice Donuts, then used the recipe for It’s Good, Eh? Glaze to top them with (also, sprinkle use was essential). The doughnuts were so moist and had the perfect amount of spice – definite autumn-vibes! And the maple-flavoured glaze felt like the perfect choice as a topping for spiced doughnuts.
Creaming can be a bit tiresome as the minutes tick by as the electric mixer is beating together the softened butter and sugar, but Parker and Smith have found an excellent work around for this: whisking melted butter and sugar together! A whirring electric hand mixer can be a bit of a challenge for little noodle arms to manage so using a simple whisk to accomplish the same job makes the whole process less daunting for younger bakers. When Katie tried the recipe for Goldilocks’s Oatmeal Cookies, she got them mixed up in no time and she also decided in favour of using little coated chocolate bits in the cookies instead of raisins (which, apparently, are “ew” LOL). Also, as a side note, a few weeks back when Halifax was snowed in, I went looking for a quick and simple chocolate chip cookie recipe which I found in Baking Wonderland. The recipe for 7th Street Chocolate Chip Cookies was exactly what I was looking for and, as we ate them after a stint of shoveling, they reminded me of the cookies my Auntie Mary used to make: moist and chewy. It’s funny how a cookie can feed both a need for a treat and our nostalgia. It was in trying this recipe that I also thought about how this book might harken to the child bakers in all of us – this is a book I’ll be glad to keep on the shelf long after Katie has left childhood behind.
Cookbooks, like Baking Wonderland, really emphasize to kids that they’re capable of so much in the kitchen! I found that the book provides kids and parents with all the knowledge they need to get started and, I appreciated that while the book is designed in a fun and colourful way, the recipes aren’t cutesy (as I mentioned, as an adult baking from the book, I appreciated the pared down instructions and simplified bakes). Jean Parker and Rachel Smith have written a cookbook for kids but one that can grow with them then continue to live on the cookbook shelf ready for the years of fantastic baking to come.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Any links provided are intended purely for informational purposes.
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