A Festive First Bake

Posted onAuthorMrs Lighty46 Comments

It doesn’t matter where Baby and Mrs Lighty go, if there is a play kitchen there, Baby Lighty will find it and he will play with it. It’s no surprise to hear, therefore, that this was at the top of the list of gifts we asked Father Christmas for on his behalf. He loves all kinds of imaginative play, but when it comes to real baking, well, at 18 months in, I must admit that I haven’t done any with him so far. So when it did come to that all important first bake, why not make it festive, I thought?!

Especially so, when I saw the fabulously easy recipe for slow cooker fudge by Pink Pear Bear. I mean, it only had two ingredients, what could possibly go wrong?!

Well to start with, remembering that most sprinkles have wheat in them, 15 minutes after walking home from the shops. Not good for gluten free Mrs Lighty. And yep, the sprinkles I’d picked up were the wheaty kind. But that was ok, I’d just make sure that not all of the fudge was covered in sprinkles, so that I could ‘test’ some of it. You know, just to make sure it was edible.

What else could possibly go wrong with two ingredients plus wheaty sprinkles? Forgetting to buy grease proof paper, that’s what. But that was ok too, we’d use one of Mr Lighty’s super-duper special cheesecake tins with the bottom that you push upwards so as to easily remove the contents.

Off we set, therefore, Baby Lighty and I. At first I sat Baby Lighty in his highchair because I wasn’t quite sure I trusted him to be steady enough to just stand on a kitchen chair. But that did mean that when I was asking him to put the broken pieces of chocolate into the slow cooker, he couldn’t reach in and therefore decided that the next best thing he could go was to just sit and eat the chocolate.

A Festive First Bake

“Why make fudge when you can just eat the chocolate, Mummy?!”

Hmmm. This meant that if I wanted him to actually get the full baking experience, I’d have to let him stand on a chair. One of the rickety old chairs, one that is part of the hand-me-down set from my parents that was given to them as a wedding present. But that would be ok, I’d just hold on to him while I stirred with the other hand.

A Festive First Bake

“Just keep stirring!”

Then I realised that I hadn’t thought through the fact that slow cookers get quite hot. And Baby Lighty still wasn’t quite tall enough to properly reach over the top of it, even standing on a rickety old chair. And so I had to make the decision to let him stir the mixture until the pot started to get hot. This actually worked well, he quite happily stood there for a good ten minutes or so, stirring the chocolate and condensed milk. He was even singing a little tune to himself as he mixed!! And he wasn’t stood there long enough so as to get bored. It just meant that for the two hours that followed after that, I had to make sure to keep stirring it every ten minutes or so until it was finally done.

And what did it need once it was finally done? Those blooming sprinkles of course. And Baby Lighty could help me with this bit, too. Guiding his hand, the two of us sprinkled a reasonable amount onto his very first bake before leaving the fudge to set. You could see from his little face that he was so pleased with himself. So pleased, in fact, that he decided to pick up the whole pot of sprinkles as I popped it on the side and dump the whole lot of them on the fudge. Oops.

A Festive First Bake

Enjoying adding the sprinkles!


A Festive First Bake

Oops…

But, I have to say, that once as many of the unnecessary extra sprinkles had been extracted from the top and the fudge had been left to set, Mrs Lighty remarked to Mr Lighty that it tasted yummy! Who knew Mrs Lighty could actually cook something edible?!

But, as Mr Lighty pointed out, this wasn’t something that Mrs Lighty had cooked. It was Baby Lighty’s festive first bake. And that was the magic ingredient.

 

For the full recipe for slow cooker fudge from Pink Pear Bear, click here. Alternatively, watch the video on her YouTube channel:

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46 thoughts on “A Festive First Bake”

    1. Haha, the look on his little face too! He was so pleased with himself!! Definitely give it a go if you get time, the bits I had without sprinkles were yummy!! xxx

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        1. It would make excellent favours for the table on Christmas day! Glad I’m not the only one that makes Christmas table favours!! Thanks so much for popping back and for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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    1. It was an experience!! If I remember rightly the Popple and Baby Lighty are pretty much the same age…I think he really enjoyed it, and I’m sure the Popple would therefore too, but it’s got to be the ‘right’ thing. Think I’ll try something like rice crispy cakes next!! Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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  3. I’m hoping to make that fudge before Christmas – as presents for the unsuspecting! Cooking with little ones can be so stressful, but it sounds as if you both survived with a smile 🙂 Have a lovely Christmas. Alison x #DreamTeam

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    1. Thank you, you too! I think the fudge makes great presents, go for it! 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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    1. Yes I can quite see this becoming a recurring theme for years to come!! Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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    1. Ha! I may also have to stop once he hits the terrible twos judging on this first attempt!! Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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  7. I can’t wait to get my bake on with Sophie when she’s a little bit older! Bring on the mess and chaos! Might pin this and then come back to it in a few months as it looks like a good recipe to try! #DreamTeam

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    1. It’s definitely a good recipe to try, simply because it is so easy!! If I can do it, anyone can!! Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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  8. Oh this is my kind of baking! It looks like a successful bake and the best thing is you had fun doing it! I love that he gravitates towards the play kitchens and wants one for Christmas – he could be the next Jamie Oliver! 🙂 #DreamTeam

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    1. To be honest, that is my hope!! He loves all things cooking: play kitchens, ‘helping’ us make the dinner, baking, the kids’ TV programme about cooking…let’s hope he grows up to be a chef and makes a lot of money!! Thanks so much for linking up with #DreamTeam 🙂

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  11. We made this yesterday for the school teachers and nursery staff! It turned out really well and it tastes delicious! I’m just hoping they will eat it as someone commented on my post saying that they wouldn’t want to eat it without knowing what state my kitchen was in…..!! #awkward #dreamteam

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    1. I know, I saw!! It’s made me worry too as I’ve made some for the Childminder!! Let’s hope that’s an exception rather than a rule!! Thanks so much for linking up to #DreamTeam 🙂

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    1. Haha, especially for a non-baker like me!! Thank you! It tasted alright too!! Thanks so much for linking up to #DreamTeam 🙂

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  16. I think your little man definitely has the right technique. If all else fails just stand and eat chocolate. Works for me! We love this recipe and have made three batches so far this month. It’s gone down a treat as a little gift for people. xx #DreamTeam

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    1. And the slow cooker pot can go in the dishwasher too, win!! Thanks so much for linking up to #DreamTeam and Merry Christmas! 🙂

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    1. Oh that sounds like a nice club, I’ll have a look to see if there’s one near here, thanks for the tip! Thanks so much for linking up to #DreamTeam and Merry Christmas! 🙂

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    1. Yep I tried to ensure that some of it was sprinkle free for me to “test”!! Yes it was so cute how he was singing to himself, I think he was just in his element!! Thanks so much for linking up to #DreamTeam and Merry Christmas! 🙂

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    1. You should definitely give the fudge a go, it was so easy and so yum!! Thanks for having me host, I loved it and hope to be back soon! #DreamTeam

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