Shakin’ and Bakin’

The folks at Dr.Oetker’s have a full line of shakers that they want the world to know about, and last month they invited a number of moms to come out and test them with our kids.  

With muffin flavours from chocolate chip to buttermilk blueberry, and cupcakes in vanilla and chocolate, there is something to fit every taste. To make the testing process even more interesting, Dr.Oetker threw in a few additional ingredients and made a competition out of it (thereby appealing to not only my four year old daughter, but my eight and ten year old sons). The kids were shown a demonstration of how to bake these treats (consisted basically of tap, add milk, shake and pour) and then they went to town! 

The say a picture tells a thousand words, so I’ll let the pictures from that afternoon tell the story of how much my kids enjoyed the fun and convenience of shaking and baking with Dr.Oetker.

Here’s my daughter demonstrating proper shaking technique…

And all three of them showing off their finished creations…

All in all, a very fun afternoon of family time, and the kids loved how independent they could be with the baking and decorating. The finished products all tasted good, too (this was not like the episode of Just Like Mom where kids could create their own concoction, but in order to have their concoction identifiable as their own, by their mothers some kids vowed to use only tobasco, prunes and breadcrumbs). We enjoyed the cupcakes and muffins, and served them to friends and family, too.

All that said, it’s one thing to let your kids loose in someone else’s kitchen to bake, and quite another to let them do the same at home. I’d been putting off writing this review of the products because I really didn’t want to let my little bakers take over my own kitchen.  Finally this weekend I succumbed and let my daughter don her apron and join me in preparing Easter dessert.

Again she was able to measure the milk all on her own and shake it baby, shake it. Check out the adorable Easter cupcakes we created together.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that five minutes after this photo was taken these cupcakes ended up face down all over my dining room floor, but that had absolutely nothing to do with Dr.Oetker and everything to do with a certain four year old’s displeasure at having her photo taken (ahem).

So, Dr.Oetker’s a hit in my household, not only for hosting us to a fun afternoon of baking and decorating, but for creating a product that saves time and makes for a very easy clean up. I’m not abandoning my recipe books forever, but when I’m in the mood for a quick activity in the kitchen with the kids, this fits the bill!