Sponge cake for quasi-cooking with kids

Having wrote an article about Family Cooking Day, it got me thinking about how Japan is a great country for introducing children to cooking at an early age. Not only in how it is encouraged, but also in how there are many foods that can be made simply. And better still, before you get to the point of having to cut anything or use a hot stove, there are ways to gently introduce children to 'cooking' with quasi-cooking as I call it!

One such example is sponge cake. In Japan, you can buy ready made sponge layers that can be used straight from the pack. That is, they require no cooking. When my children were very small, toddler age, I would 'make' cakes with them using store bought sponges. I'd also buy whipped cream, fruits and toppings and let them make their own cakes. All they had to do was decorate the sponges with cream and fruit and add some toppings. They loved decorating the cakes with chocolate pieces and sprinkles.

As they got a little older I introduced chocolate pens, so that they could also write in chocolate on the cake. The 100 yen store is great for those type of products. You can get chocolate pens in a variety of colors and they have a good selection of sprinkles and other toppings for cakes. You can also buy things like candles and cake figures to add to a homemade creation for a special occasion such as a birthday.

Although its not cooking in the typical sense, having children prepare food in this way really involves them in the kitchen. It gives them a confidence and interest in cooking. And naturally, they enjoy the fruits of their labor, so to speak! Have you ever used the pre-made sponge cake layers for 'cooking' in Japan?