Meet the kids who The Great British Bake Off has inspired to get into the kitchen and become the next generation of Star Bakers
THE Great British Bake Off has inspired kids to get in the kitchen, with children as young as four whipping up biscuits and cakes.
Children as young as four are whipping up biscuits and cakes.
A poll has also revealed half of under-tens prefer to spend money on baking gear than toys.
So with this year’s Bake Off boasting the show’s youngest line-up, Lynsey Hope speaks to some baking-mad kids who could be contestants in a few years – and their proud mums.
'It's messy but she enjoys it'
ELSIE BATCHELOR lives at Claverham near Bristol with mum Nicola Elston, dad Simon Batchelor, sisters Betty, three, Kiera, 17, and 12-year-old brother Charlie.
Flight attendant Nicola and her carpenter husband are both 39.
Elsie says: "I GO shopping with Mummy to find the ingredients and I like making sponge cakes, fairy cakes, butterfly cakes and cookies.
"Sometimes I get marshmallows or sprinkles and other sweets to go on top. I can weigh all the ingredients with Mummy helping me because I can read numbers now.
"My favourite part is shopping for things to go on top, mixing it together and cutting shapes like stars and hearts.
"When I’m bigger I’ll be able to bake as much as I like and make more things. I might be a baker when I grow up."
Nicola says: “Cooking with Elsie and baking biscuits and cakes started off as one of those rainy day activities you do when you’re stuck in the house and just need to keep them occupied.
"But she loved it so much it became a regular thing. It gets a bit messy with the ingredients getting spilt and flour everywhere when she’s rolling out pastry and cutting out shapes.
“You just have to get on and do it, especially because she enjoys it so much. I still help her weigh things but she is clever, adding just a little more when she sees we’re nearly there.
"She really thinks about how she wants her cakes or biscuits to turn out and can be so creative.
"When she was younger you would turn your back for a minute and she’d have tipped the whole bag of flour in the bowl or got icing sugar everywhere. But she is really developing her skills now and I’m really proud of her.”
'So nice to see things he makes'
ALEX GALLICHAN lives in Yatton, Somerset, with twin siblings Hannah and Joey, four, brewery drayman dad Kevin, 41, and mum Merran, 42, a landlady.
Alex says: "I LOVE making cakes, especially chocolate ones. We have electric scales so it’s easy to measure my ingredients, although I don’t always do it perfectly.
"Sometimes I get eggshell in things or accidentally crack the eggs all over the worktop. My favourite thing to make is pancakes for breakfast.
"You need eggs, flour and milk and you have to test it to make sure it’s not too thick or too runny. I make them for breakfast and I’m really good at it – better than Mummy.
"I cook them for my little brother and sister and have them for breakfast most days. I only put lemon and sugar on them. When I’m bigger, I will be able to flip them."
Merran says: “Having the twins when Alex was just two meant he became my helper at a very young age.
"If my hands were full looking after the babies I’d ask him to make toast, tell him what he needed to do and he was able to do it.
“Kevin cooks the dinners most of the time and Alex loves helping Daddy in the kitchen. He’s always loved putting ingredients together.
"He knows more about it than I do and makes better cakes than I could. We only have one cookbook and it uses cups for measurements, which makes it easier for some things.
“He’s really good at pancakes and it’s way safer if Alex does it. I once spilled oil all over the cooker when I was making them and it caught fire, so I’m happy to leave it to him.
“It’s nice to see the things he makes. It helps with his maths because we have to figure out things such as how much butter to use, and it also teaches him important life skills.”
'Me being a cake addict helps'
JARED JANES lives with brother Beau, ten, and mum Sarah, 41, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucs. Dad Aaron, 46, lives in Newquay, Cornwall.
Jared says: "I’VE always liked cooking. I think it’s because my dad is a chef but I love baking cakes, mostly because they’re yummy.
"I like lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge covered in strawberries. After Harry Redknapp went on I’m A Celebrity, I started making jam roly poly.
"Baking gets me off the Xbox and means I can do something I enjoy. Other people get to enjoy it too. I love cricket so I bake cakes or brownies to take there to share.
"I’m proud of the cakes I make and I hope one day I’ll be able to do just as well as the contestants on The Great British Bake Off."
Sarah says: “Jared is becoming a master at baking cakes and loves watching the different creations they come up with on Bake Off.
“He pays attention to every little detail of his cakes and makes them perfectly. We bake once a week – more if we’re going to football or cricket or having friends over.
"He likes being able to share them with other people. When we get to one of his sports clubs or matches the first thing everyone asks is: ‘What cake did you make this week?’
"He has always loved making cakes but he doesn’t need my help now. He does the whole thing from scratch and comes up with some amazing creations.
“Anything that gets him doing something other than playing Fortnite on the Xbox it’s brilliant. It also helps that his mum is a complete cake addict!”
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'Better to cook than watch TV'
PIPPA MORGAN lives with her PR exec mum Georgina and commercial manager dad Nick, both 42, and her brother Max, 11, in Kenilworth, Warks.
Pippa says: "MY favourite thing about baking is that I get to eat all of it afterwards. My favourite recipe is for Mary Berry’s ginger nut biscuits but I also like to make a ginger cake and a chocolate swirl cake too.
"I love measuring things out and try to make sure I get the numbers spot-on. I use a teaspoon to make sure it is just right. I wouldn’t want to ruin my cakes by getting it wrong.
"I like to add marshmallows to lots of recipes but Mum says I can’t put them in the ginger nuts as it ruins them.
"When I get home from school, I love to bake. I always watch Bake Off and when I grow up I’d like to go on the show.
"I make lots of mess in the kitchen but I don’t like doing the washing up afterwards. Mum does that for me."
Georgina says: “Pippa has loved baking since she was a very small child. I loved getting in the kitchen with her.
“When she was around six she was able to start following some easy recipes by herself.
“With many children, you eat what they make to be polite but Pippa’s bakes taste really good. Mary Berry is her favourite.
“She does like to add marshmallows and fudge to lots of things, but she’s slowly learning they don’t always turn out quite right.
“I don’t want to discourage her experimenting though. Hopefully that is what will make her a great chef in the future.
“Often it’s after school when she wants to bake and I do find it stressful as we don’t have a lot of time at that time of day.
"But I’d still prefer her to be busy in the kitchen than sat in front of the TV.”
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