Baking for Valentines and Family Fun

This is SO much better than it looks in this photo! 

February is National Bake for Family Fun Month. Baked goods from the oven just says home and family and security whether it is the aroma of chocolate chip cookies, a hot dinner with the family around the table, or the special feeling of baking with a young family member. 

Preparing food together goes back to the earliest days of human existence; it promotes togetherness and feeds the soul as well as the body. Children not only learn how to prepare food, but learn lessons in reading, following directions, math, chemistry, and family relations and traditions. 

This recipe is from Baking With Friends, a children's cookbook by a couple of my friends, Sharon Davis and Charlene Patton. They are both Family and Consumer Sciences professionals and work with the Home Baking Association. The 31 recipes encourage baking with whole-grains, fruits, and vegetables. 

My granddaughter and I made this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake for dessert and we'll make more of these recipes in the future. This was a good beginning recipe - she enjoyed mixing by hand (no electric mixer needed), adding the ingredients (she helped me measure), and licking the spatula (no eggs, so this was ok this time!).

I hope you enjoy baking and cooking with some Littles in your life. It is a wonderful way to share time together.

HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 45 minutes

Makes: 1 cake/9 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa          

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts, optional
½ cup milk 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil                                                     

1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup baking cocoa 

1 ¾ cups boiling water

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350° F.

2.     Grease 9-inch square baking pan.

3.     Combine flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons baking cocoa, baking powder, and salt in large mixing bowl.

4.     Stir nuts, milk, and vegetable oil into flour mixture. Spread batter into greased baking pan.

5.     Combine brown sugar and ¼ cup baking cocoa in small mixing bowl. Sprinkle brown sugar and cocoa mixture over top of batter.

6.     Place pan on middle oven rack. Pour the boiling water over top of batter and brown sugar mixture. Bake 45 minutes. The cake rises and the chocolate sauce forms on the bottom! Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream and berries.

The best part - licking the spatula (no eggs)

We come from a long line of
kitchen helpers and spatula lickers!