Here's a simple, super tasty cake kids can bake on their own as young as age five, or so. The kids I grew up with, like me, had either European or African parents, or both, and these were parents who firmly believed kids belonged in the kitchen, alongside the adults. I have my own grandmother and my best friend's mom to thank for my love of cooking, even if my skills will always pale compared to theirs. If I hadn't learned first-hand how to prepare all sorts of food (any food we wanted to eat, really,) on my own, I would have had no idea how to start feeding our allergic daughter, and we all would have been far worse off. Instead, thanks to the years I spent hovering by the stove, mixing, peeling, measuring and licking spoons with my grandmother when I was little, I've been able to not only share delicious recipes with our child, but also to teach her very simply how to prepare her own food, at a really young age. And that's a great thing, since her life depends on eating (and not eating) specific ingredients. Here is a traditional French Gateau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake,) a cake which French kids often learn to make on their own by first grade or sooner. (Modified to exclude eggs, which we cannot eat, of course).
Ingredients:
1 cup of plain, whole fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 well-mashed ripe medium banana (or 2 eggs if you are not allergic and prefer them)
2/3 cup canola oil (or similar)
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or other) (optional)
To prepare:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the first four ( wet) ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Add in sugar, then sift in flour and baking powder and stir well again to form batter.
Add berries at very end, and pour into a buttered non-stick cake pan.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when you poke the cake.
Serve this moist, tangy and delicious cake on its own, or with a side or whipped cream. It's perfect for desert, as a decadent weekend breakfast, or as an after-school treat. Kids of almost any age will really love making it, and eating it, too.
Ingredients:
1 cup of plain, whole fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 well-mashed ripe medium banana (or 2 eggs if you are not allergic and prefer them)
2/3 cup canola oil (or similar)
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or other) (optional)
To prepare:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the first four ( wet) ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Add in sugar, then sift in flour and baking powder and stir well again to form batter.
Add berries at very end, and pour into a buttered non-stick cake pan.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when you poke the cake.
Serve this moist, tangy and delicious cake on its own, or with a side or whipped cream. It's perfect for desert, as a decadent weekend breakfast, or as an after-school treat. Kids of almost any age will really love making it, and eating it, too.
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