We recently heard about BKD, an award winning children's baking company, and loved the idea of their little baking kits as stocking fillers and Christmas presents. I strongly believe in getting kids involved in cooking as much and as early as possible to really understand food and where it comes from. OK so these BKD kits are not the most healthy of foods but they are a lot of fun and who doesn't love a bit of cookie and cupcake making (especially licking the bowl!).
The good news is the kits are made with natural flavourings such as freeze dried raspberries, ground Madagascan vanilla pods and dehydrated lemon juice, giving you home baked yumminess. They are handmade in the BKD bakery and come with everything you need, just add eggs and butter. No need to buy special equipment like piping bags, it's all covered. They come in really beautifully designed packaging and easy to follow instruction booklets. They make baking with the family easy, tasty and super fun! A great idea for a rainy day or playdate activity.
We were kindly sent some mini baking kits from BKD to test out recently. We had a lot of fun in the kitchen cooking these treats up, first up was the gingerbread kit....
The gingerbread was made in a few stages - making the dough which then needed to go in the fridge for an hour, followed by rolling it out, cutting, baking then finally cooling completely before decorating. It was good to get out of the house in between in each stage to avoid little fingers trying to ice before cooling or eat them before finishing! I have to say the quality of the ingredients was really good and they were DELICIOUS!
Next up were the Pirate Cupcakes....
Yes there was a lot of spoon and bowl licking! The cupcakes were really rich and chocolatey with raspberry icing, the best bit was the decorating where you can really put your own stamp on a pirate! It only made 6 but actually that was enough and it meant they all got eaten, no waste.
Verdict: The kits are great time savers for busy parents who want to get creative in the kitchen with their children, especially if you are looking for some indoor activities over the Christmas break. A great gift for a little one. There are 8 designs - including a Christmas Tree Gingerbread Biscuit Kit. We are tempted by the Graffiti biscuits and monster cupcakes as well.
Above are the 2 boxes we tested. Mini Baking Kits £9.99. Larger baking kits also available at £19.99. Available online here but also at Harvey Nichols (all UK stores), Fenwicks (multiple stores), Harrods, the Design Museum and Southbank Centre.
Finlay Fox readers get 10% off with the code FOX10 if you order direct from their website www.bkd-london.com (valid for the next 7 days) and pop the code in at checkout.
They also offer some fun, messy baking events across London, I've not been yet but would love to test one out next year...watch this space...