Easy Party Treats for Children - book review

Published Jan 22, 2013

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Easy Party Treats for Children

Author: Janette Mocke

Publisher: Random House Struik

Price: R180

My first impression of this book is that it features party treats that look very easy to make, so it’s definitely aimed at busy moms.

You don’t need to bake everything – you can buy some items and then add your personal touch with decorations. Kids will appreciate that their mothers made it for them.

That’s the upside. The downside is that I wouldn’t make all the things in the book because cooking shows like Cake Boss have given us a much higher standard of cakes.

I bake cakes to sell and I remember chatting to a seven-year-old child who had watched an episode of Cake Boss and wanted a moving pirate ship cake.

So some of the treats will appeal to younger kids. Older children are far more fussy these days – they see all the different, intricate types of cakes out there, and that’s what they want.

I made two little princess doll cakes from the book and they worked perfectly. They’d be ideal for small children still interested in dolls. A caveat: be sure not to use any non-edible decoration on the cakes as children tend to put everything in their mouths.

PRINCESSES

Makes 10

10 plain cupcakes or muffins (home-made or store-bought)

pink and white butter icing

10 small paper plates or Marie biscuits to fit the base of the cupcakes

10 small dolls, legs removed

sugar flowers

cake beads

Remove the cupcakes or muffins from their paper cases. Slice off the tops to make them flat, then turn the cupcakes or muffins upside down and use a little butter icing to stick them to the paper plates or Marie biscuits.

Make a hole in each cupcake and place a small doll inside.

Fill an icing bag with a star-shaped nozzle and cover the cupcake and bodice of the doll with stars. Finish it off with flowers and beads.

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