lost art.

As I was baking cupcakes the other day I was reminded of an assigment I gave my third graders this year. We were making books for Mother's Day and each page had a sentence they had to complete and then a place for an illustration. The first page said, "My mom taught me..." One of my students completed the sentence by writing, "how to bake a cake." Then, down below in his picture he listed these steps for baking a cake.

1. Ingredients: cake mix, water, oil, egg
2. Mix together
3. Bake in oven

I will admit I got a good laugh out of it and I'm sure his mom did too, but it also revealed something to me... most children today are growing up with a whole new perspective on baking. I think there are many advatages to baking from scrath...

1. It's less expensive. Usually, you can find the ingredients you need in your cupboard.
2. You know exactly what's in the food. There are many more ingredietns in the box mixes...many of which we can't pronounce.
3. It tastes better. There is a distinct difference in taste!
4. It's more fun and provides opportuniy for experimenting. I know Brittany and I loved baking along side Cindi when we were little, creating our own "recipes."

I will admit I have used box mixes before, but they just don't compare. Here is a delicious chocolate cake recipe that I turned into cupcakes along with a recipe for white frosting.

Chocolate Cake
3/4 cup butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350.
Combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder add alternatively with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into pan.
13 x 9 x 2 takes 30-35 minutes The cupcakes took 20 minutes.

White Frosting (half of this recipe is plenty for the cupcakes)
4 cups powedered sugar
1/4 cup milk (vanilla soy milk is great)
1 tsp. vanilla or almond
1/2 c. butter

Beat all ingredients until smooth and creamy. This will make enough frosting for a 2 layer 9 inch cake.