It’s swirly! – JD, 4
As regular readers will know, JD and I love cooking together, and since he is now preparing to start school in September, I’ve been making an effort to give him more and more independence in tasks and resisting the temptation to take over rather than scaffold.
So, we bought some cupcake icing in a can and set to work making some cakes.
Here are the results (more pics at the end of the post) and I think they’re pretty impressive for a four year old (I did the lattice one and heart one).
We found the icing a little softer than we would make ourselves, but I guess that’s so it can get out of the nozzle. JD found it quite hard to press the nozzle as guide the can at the same time as his hands are small, but once he got the hang of it he was away and I think it makes a really nice, simple activity to try without the fuss of icing sugar clouds and filling piping bags.
Here’s the recipe, if you’d like to try them
Ingredients
- 175g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200g golden granulated sugar
- 200g self raising flour
- 2 medium free range eggs, beaten
- 12 coloured cupcake cases (we got a big pack from Co-op for 59p)
- A 12 hold cupcake tray
- A can of ready icing (we used Dr Oetker Easy Swirl Cupcake Icing – Vanilla)
Instructions
- Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and pulse until pale and fluffy (JD LOVES being in charge of the pulse button – under supervision, of course)
- Add the beaten egg and pulse until well combined
- Add the flour and pulse until combined
- Line the baking tray with teh cupcake cases, fill evenly with the cake mix
- Bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes
- Cool completely on a wire rack, then decorate with the icing
Let me know if you try it!
Update: Since publishing this article it’s been pointed out that ‘icing in a can’ isn’t terribly healthy as it contains things like ‘Potassium sorbate’ to keep the icing from spoiling. I would recommend if you’re going to try something like this, do so in moderation as you would with any ‘treat’ food – the vast majority of the recipes published on this blog are made from fresh, natural ingredients.
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I don’t really care about the additives and health aspect but I found that this stuff tasted really VILE. Very chemically tasting, I’m wondering if it’s fake vanilla. I didn’t look at the ingredients that closely, I just iced a few cakes and then threw it out.
Imo, the Betty Crocker stuff you can get in a tub now is much much nicer. I tried the chocolate fudge and when smeared on thick with a teaspoon, actually looks quite acceptably swirly, the can stuff has too thin a nozzle and too runny consistency to get a nice swirl anyway.
How did it taste? Surely that’s the most important bit?
Good point – it tasted like…vanilla icing. Honestly rather nice :)
Gosh, I had to go back and read the blog post again to make sure I didn’t miss the bit where you must have listed BLEACH, DOG POO AND DRAIN CLEANER as ingredients, since some people seemed to be under the impression you were poisoning your children.
*MASSIVE EYE ROLL*
Emily i use the chocolate version of this a lot and the Betty Crocker buttercream. I make all my own sponges and i can make buttercream but sometimes I haven’t got the time or cant be arsed so this is an great product and I can pipe without piping!!!
and as you say great for kids to get involved with as easier than a piping bag x
‘icing in a can’ isn’t terribly healthy’ what, as opposed to icing in a box? *laughs head off*
Really, do people have that little to do that this bothered them?
Maybe they stick joss sticks on their cakes instead?
I think you should change the word healthy to natural because let’s be honest if we were going to try to be healthy we wouldn’t be stuffing cakes let alone worrying about whether the icing has got a mould inhibitor in it, although in fairness I just cut the mould off cheese so I guess that would work for icing too. Soooooo just saying if your going to eat cake rather than bean sprouts you may as well go the whole shebang and just chuck on a pot of mono sodium glutamate :) hope I’m helping…..I’ll get my coat!
Thanks so much for all the comments, everyone. Viva la convenience! ;)
I use the morrisons stuff in a tub with the granddaughter, and it has it in as well, cant say as I am bothered. 30 odd years ago I gave mine Ribena as it was The Healthy drink, …hmmm how times change…..
Baking is fun, getting them baking is a life skill , and if they slap a bit of this on top dont see the harm. btw icing sugar contains junk as well (Icing Sugar,Anti-Caking Agent: Tricalcium Phosphate (E341))
This actually looks a lot more fun to use with kids than plain butter icing. They can have hours of fun making pretty patterns and it saves time making the icing with the kids waiting impatiently. Your cakes look lovely
I’ve tried to make icing swirls and failed every single time. Think I’ll give the canned stuff a try next time we decide to play Chefs! :)
This is a fab idea! Saves time making it yourself, when you have kiddies they do not understand the words you have to wait! Chester has always been offered everything food wise (even things that others would class as bad foods) and the result is he is not fussy and does not over eat!
My kids would love having a go with that, and as someone else said, you can find something wrong with most foods….even bottled water is supposodly bad for you. xx
This looks great fun, and anything that can save me a little bit of time where my baking skills are concerned is worth a try once in a while :-)
This looks like good fun, I wouldn’t worry about icing in a can either you could pick any ingredient in the world and find something wrong with it in certain quantities. I have been known to buy ready made fairy cakes and ice them at home. My children are still happy and healthy. Now I am off to read your other foody posts x
Oh GOD do some people have nothing better to do? there are a LOT of things that aren’t healthy, the trick that I’ve taught my children is that NOTHING is bad for you in moderation. So you made cupcakes with icing out of a can?
I made cupcakes out of a packet!!! And burnt them still :-)
It’s the hellidays and I’m just trying to survive each day
Whispers, help me, they are outnumbering me and bring mean to me
Great post babe. Am taking notes x
Agree!
I’d love to meet these mothers who manage to feed their children nothing but freerange organic knitted tofu and fucking mung beans 24/7. Life must be SO MUCH FUN for them.
Sounds like a good fun activity! It’s brilliant that you and JD love cooking together :)
Have to agree with Liz re your final paragraph. Surely anybody with half a brain would realise this is a treat and not to be eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week!? Give me strength…
That looks like great fun and a brilliant way for him to practice baking skills. x
mmm, they look delicious! I would certainly consider buying one of these for a quick fix for the kids! I love that there is no messy icing bags!!
I read this, liked it, and then was a bit ?? at your update at the bottom TBH. It’s the holidays – relax, enjoy icing in a can :-) Life is too short to try and be super healthy all the time, surely?
Whenever I bake with the boys, it’s chocolate chip cookies from a mix where I add in egg and water. And that’s it. I don’t do weighing or cleaning up. It’s still cooking together. If I did baking and used icing in a can, I’d expect a round of applause for letting the kids get involved in icing full stop!
Awwwh I think they look lovely .. Myself I used this once I think its fine for a once in a while treat. Its not like kids are having cakes breakfast dinner and tea.!