Yum! More Cake.

Miss Munchkin #2 has had a little love affair with the kitchen that has really picked up steam since August when she took muffins and no-bake cookies to the fair. She has decided that she likes baking above all other kitchen activities, which is great for me since I like to eat stuff like muffins and cakes, but don't necessarily like to take the time to make them. It's especially great now that she's got enough experience that she's more or less self sufficient in the kitchen. I don't have to read recipes for her anymore. She doesn't need me to help measure or coach in any other way. So we get great stuff (desserts) to eat fairly often, and she likes to try to recipes so there is always something new to try.

Today, she did something she says she's been wanting to try for a long time. She made a cake from scratch, and didn't follow anyone elses guidelines. This cake was all hers (with a little side-line coaching, much of which she vetoed, from her brother).

Quite honestly, I was prepared for the worst. I'm certainly not a stickler for following a recipe to the letter, but I wouldn't trust myself to bake entirely without a road map. And while I'm sure she's made enough different cakes from recipes that she's got a pretty good handle of what's involved, I was surprised (and pleased) to see the confidence she had as she approached this project.

The end result was a "lightly" chocolate cake with a hint of cinnamon. It was a tiny bit chewy, but pretty darned good, especially considering it was a first attempt. She's already talking about writing the recipe down the next time, so that she can tweak it and perfect it with each trial.

This is one of those seemingly small things that I see as a big perk to our unschooling lifestyle. Not only do my kids have all this time available to explore their world, from the far out to the most practical, down-to-earth things... but they know themselves as capable and competent enough to approach life without a recipe.