Baking Supplies for Kids' Birthdays

Cupcakes are easy to make and fun to decorate.

Birthday parties are a great time to do a little baking. Kids also enjoy participating in baking and decorating. If possible, include kids in the baking process as a birthday party activity. Your kitchen might get a bit messy, but the kids will have a good time. Have a variety of basic ingredients on hand for whipping up a cake or batch of cupcakes. Provide fun ingredients like frosting and sprinkles for the kids.

The Basics

Basic cake and cupcake recipes will all call for similar ingredients. Stock up on items such as eggs, flour, milk, sugar, brown sugar and butter. Purchase canned frosting or keep powdered sugar on hand for an easy homemade frosting. Purchase several colors of food coloring so kids can dye the frosting their favorite color. If you allow kids to be involved in all stages of the cake or cupcake baking process, consider purchasing boxed mixes from the store. This will cut down on the mess left behind by little hands trying to measure many ingredients.

Utensils

You will need cake and cupcake pans. Cupcakes are ideal for kids' parties where the kids will participate in the baking. Give each child several cupcakes to decorate. You will need cupcake liners, which can be found in a variety of styles and colors in the baking section of your grocery store or at a party decorations store. If you are baking more than one cake, consider using both round and square cake pans. A fun party gift idea is to give each kid a spatula to take home at the end of the day. You can decorate spatulas with the kids' names or curls of ribbon.

The Fun Stuff

Kids love to decorate. Frosting and sprinkles are a good place to start birthday decorating fun. You can also use small candies and chocolate chips. Place an assortment of toppings in small bowls on a table so that kids can pick and choose what they'd like to use. In the baking section of your grocery store you can find small tubes of decorative frosting. Kids can use these for writing their names or drawing pictures on the cake or cupcakes.

Special Recipes

If you are baking a special birthday cake recipe review your recipe beforehand to make certain you have all the ingredients you need. Some recipes call for baker's chocolate or cocoa, peanut butter or caramel. You may need certain extracts, such as vanilla or peppermint. When kids are helping keep the recipe simple, leaving complicated recipes to the adults. Or make your cake made ahead of time so it is ready to be decorated when kids arrive for the party.

References

• Easy Kids Recipes: Easy Homemade Icing and Frosting Recipes
• Birthday Party Ideas: Cooking Party