My older two kids and I have been watching the cute show Kid’s Baking Championship for years now. It has been going since 2015 and they are on their 9th season. It is hosted by Duff Goldman, who is a famous pastry chef and bakery owner, and Valerie Bertinelli, who is an actress--you might remember she used to be married to Eddie Van Halen. These two judge young bakers between the ages of 10 to 13 over the course of 10 episodes each season to declare a champion. Both of these judges are so sweet and fun, and give such great feedback--they are so positive and encouraging, even if the young baker really struggled in their finished product. I have always been so impressed by that. Duff is pretty much the opposite of Gordon Ramsay ha! It is such a fun show to watch together with my kids.

My daughter has always been inspired and in awe that these kids are about her age and can whip up things like eclairs and cakes from scratch, with the recipes (usually special family recipes) memorized! So we were so excited when we came across a kid’s baking cookbook from none other than Duff Goldman at the library. 

My daughter couldn’t wait to come home and dive into the book. She was so inspired and wants to make tons of his desserts. The thing about Duff is he is so charming and adorable. He is so great with kids and even his cookbook is a testament to that because it is full of funny stories and pictures in it that kids would love. What a perfect person to get kids interested and excited about a future of fun and adventures in cooking and baking.

Anyway, I told my daughter to pick out a recipe and she was going to be solely in charge of making this recipe for our family. She is a very responsible nine year-old and I knew she was at a perfect age to try her hand at some things she’s never tried before like using the stove and putting something in and out of the oven by herself. She decided to bake his cherry cheesecake tart and she did amazing!

She baked a graham cracker crust, made a delicious filling with cream cheese, sweetened with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and plenty of fresh squeezed lemon juice, and finished it off by making a cherry glaze with tart cherries for the topping, made from scratch. 

You’ve got to have a taste tester, right? :) It was a complete hit and so fun to see her joy in her success at making something so delicious to share with us all.

My seven year old son is also very interested in making a few recipes in this book as well. I will be there to help support and give tips, but I am excited to let them have a bit of new freedom to create in the kitchen and I’m so glad they are excited to get into baking. Baking is such a positive hobby for kids that boosts their mood, gives them confidence, challenges them with trying new methods or recipes, and they get to reap the rewards of their efforts right away, which is very satisfying and encouraging. 

At what age did you start letting your kids get into cooking or baking? Do you have any tips to share about encouraging them to get into the joys of cooking and baking?