Antonio’s favourite thing about school was not recess

OR

Gym class

IT wasn’t even getting to play with his friends…

 

Antonio’s favourite thing about school was… lunch time.

 

He was absolutely in LOVE with food! Even though Antonio was just 9 years old, he was the best chef in his entire family. Can you believe that he started cooking when he was just four years old? 

 

Every night, Antonio would lay in bed watching the most intense cooking tutorials on YouTube. After watching the videos, Antonio prepared a shopping list and begged his mom to take him to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. 

 

The grocery store was like a playground for Antonio, so many ideas and so many possibilities. In fact, he came up with his best recipes while walking through the aisles. His mind would race, thinking about all of the delicious snacks that he could make for his family and the most peculiar food combinations, like:

Raspberry infused chocolate bars with cream cheese icing

OR

Lasagna with a cinnamon toast crunch topping.

 

But today, Antonio had something different in mind, something special for his classmates. In just four days, his class would be hosting their very own bake sale to raise money for the local food bank. Each student wrote their name on the chalkboard along with a dessert that they’d be bringing. 

 

Right away, Antonio knew exactly what he was going to make: his famous double chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling, garnished with his moms secret buttercream frosting and sprinkled with sea salt. Ouuu, he was getting hungry just thinking about it. 

 

Antonio urgently approached his mother after school, asking if they could go to the grocery store to buy the cupcake supplies. She was so supportive and said “yes”, after all, it was for a good cause. 

 

They went to two separate stores to get the perfect ingredients. Antonio only used the best of the best.

 

The night before the bake sale, Antonio put on his hairnet and apron, cleaned the countertops, played his favourite music, and got to work. The key to a good moist cupcake is:

• Starting with room temperature ingredients

• Using hot water from the kettle

• Sifting the flour

• And using apple sauce - yes apple sauce in the batter (don’t knock it til’ you try it)

 

The kitchen was his happy place, he sang along to the tunes as he mixed his batter and poured it carefully into the cupcake wrappers - it was almost time to bake! 

 

Because the oven was so hot, Antonio’s mom helped him put the cupcakes in and take them out at the end. On his iPad, he set the timer to 17 minutes on the dot. Antonio put his mixing bowls into the sink, soaking them in warm soapy water. Then he wiped up the spilt batter from the countertop, put away the ingredients, and finally washed and dried all of the dishes. 

 

Before he knew it, the alarm on his iPad sounded. It was time to take the cupcakes out of the oven!

 

“Yes, perfect timing!” said Antonio

 

He turned off the oven, and called for his mom, but she didn’t answer. 

 

“Mom, the cupcakes are ready”, he said. Still no answer.

 

He yelled for her again, this time a little louder. 

“MOM, the cupcakes are ready”

 

She responded from the bathroom, saying that she would be down in three minutes.

 

Antonio began to panic. His cupcakes needed to be taken out of the oven NOW. Who knows what an added three minutes of baking time would do? So he made the executive decision to take the cupcakes out on his own. 

 

He put on a pair of oven mitts, opened the oven, mmmm the sweet aroma of fresh baked goods. Carefully, he reached for the tray and… 

 

“Ahhhh, hot!” He accidentally touched the inside of the oven door with his arm.

 

At that very moment, his mom walked into the kitchen, quickly tended to the burn on Antonio’s arm and then removed the cupcakes from the oven. They were fine, the cupcakes that is, but Antonios arm was red with a burn. 

 

Luckily, the burn wasn’t terrible, but “it could’ve been worse”, his mom explained.

 

She was disappointed that Antonio reached into the oven knowing that he wasn’t allowed to. His mom explained that he was still too young to use the stove completely on his own, and that next time he should wait. 

 

Antonio told his mom that he just didn’t want the cupcakes to get burned. 

 

She understood, but “what was more important?”, she asked, “a batch of cupcakes or your safety?” 

 

Even if the cupcakes got burned, they simply could’ve made another batch. 

 

Thank goodness the cupcakes were still moist, decadent, and perfectly cooked. After they cooled, Antonio prepared the secret buttercream frosting before decorating all of the cupcakes for the bake sale. They looked oh so delicious! 

 

“Ahhh, I really wish I could eat one”, sighed Antonio.

 

Antonio’s mom looked at him, then looked at the cupboard, suggesting that they make a second batch… just for themselves. They both smiled and got straight to work on another batch of cupcakes that they just couldn’t wait to dig into.

 

QUESTIONS:

1. If your class had a bake sale, what would you bring?

2. If you had a secret recipe, would you share it with anyone? Friends? Family? Strangers?

3. What do you think Antonio could have done differently instead of reaching into the oven when his mom wasn’t coming fast enough?

4. What safety tips do you have for kids when cooking in the kitchen? Think about hot things, sharp things, and things that can break easily