If you have children who like to cook, you may want to look at “The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs” published by America’s Test Kitchen. (Available at Amazon, $11.85)
Our granddaughter Grace, 10, got the book for Christmas and with a little help from Grandma, made several dishes out of it during our visit with her family, including cupcakes, breakfast tacos, pancakes, scrambled eggs and the delicious Chocolate Sheet Cake from the recipe below.
The cookbook lists the ingredients, then lists the cooking equipment needed so the young cook does not start cooking before knowing that everything needed is available. Terms and processes that may be unfamiliar are explained; for example, Dutch-processed cocoa and how to soften butter. Snacks recipes and foods for meals from breakfast to dinner are included.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Vegetable oil spray
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup whole milk
34 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan with vegetable spray.
In medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large saucepan, combine chocolate chips, milk and cocoa. Place saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking often, until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is cool, about 5 minutes.
Turn off heat. Slide saucepan to cool burner and let mixture cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Add oil, eggs and vanilla to saucepan with chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Add flour mixture and whisk until smooth, making sure to scrape corners of the saucepan.
Use rubber spatula to scrape batter into greased baking pan smooth top (ask an adult for help because the saucepan will be heavy).
Place baking pan in oven. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.
Use oven mitts to remove baking pan from oven (ask an adult for help). Place baking pan on cooling rack and let cake cool completely in pan, about 2 hours.
Use icing spatula to spread frosting evenly over cooled cake. Cut and serve.
Vanilla Frosting
2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened
1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Place softened butter, cream, vanilla and salt in large bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat ingredients until smooth, about 1 minute.
Reduce speed to medium-low and slowly add confectioners’ sugar a little bit at a time. Beat until sugar is fully incorporated and mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes.
Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
