Kenzie's cupcake baking 101

THIS TURNED 

INTO THIS↝  

From Vacuum pick up 

to cupcake baking with Kenzie

I asked my friend Adam if he would help me pickup a vacuum cleaner that I ordered.  It was at a hardware store about half way between where both of us live.  We talked about picking it up maybe after work and then just picking up dinner maybe but the vacuum cleaner finally came in on a friday so we made plans to pick it up saturday afternoon.  Saturday morning I get a text that his 3 year old wants to bake cupcakes because we talked about it the last time we baked and I guess she asked him about it.  She remembers everything.  We made plans to pick up the vacuum cleaner while she napped and then we went back to his place to bake up a batch of Vanilla Cupcakes.  He pulled a recipe out of Magnolia Bakery (NYC) cookbook and it seemed pretty easy to make.

 When I arrived at his house Kenzie was sitting on the couch with her Ipad coloring a cake.  So from screen to real life, time to get off the couch and bake for real Kenzie.

We propped her up on a bar chair in front of the mixer and we let her help dump and stir while her dad measured and got the ingredients ready and I took the photos and helped her put it all together and do the decorating afterward.

Here are the photos of her helping in the process.  

You are never too young to learn.  She is only 3 and this is the third time we have baked or decorated cookies together and she thinks it's like a fun party and takes it very seriously as you will see from the photos.  It's kind of funny since she is a very fussy eater and only ate half of the cupcake that she made but I think she likes the process of baking more than the actual eating which is probably good.

The benefits of baking with young kids as they learn how to take direction, to focus, to understand ingredients, to understand what goes in their food and most of all the develop food memories and baking and cooking skills that will serve them for their whole life.

Check it out.  I will post the recipe at the end.

 

Kenzie wanted rainbow icing and since that would take a lot of time and icing we settled on rainbow colored sprinkles.  This is the one I decorated and Kenzie is eating the one that she decorated.

 Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing. (Food Network)

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

• Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Vanilla Buttercream:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Icing:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream:

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

P.S.  The vacuum cleaner works great and I had the cupcake above after cleaning my carpets with the new vacuum cleaner.  I deserved it. :)