Many of us have treasured memories of helping Mum or Gran bake. Well, if licking the icing and watching the oven glow  count. But which of us realised just how much effort our grownups put into creating these precious memories?

So here are a few tips to help make your baking day run smoothly while giving your kids the same special experience, with as few headaches – and mess – as possible.

Set aside a generous amount of time and choose a tried and true recipe

It’s best to bake on a day when you’re not pushed for time. Remember, cooking with kids probably takes longer than usual. If it’s rushed, no one will have any fun.

Plan ahead and be sure to have lots of the required ingredients in the pantry. There’s a teeny tiny possibility you may need to repeat a step in the method!

Keep the kids involved

Cover your working surfaces so there’s no mess and stress, and help children with hand washing and putting on an apron. These steps will save on cleaning up time later.

If baking with more than one child, make sure they each have a job – one can be measuring the sugar while another is measuring the flour. If making a batter, divide the mixture between bowls so each child has their own portion to stir. No more fighting over whose turn it is!

Sifting dry ingredients is easy peasy if you place a sieve over your bowl and use a spoon to rake the ingredients across the mesh, rather than gentle tapping. Tapping the sieve becomes vigorous very quickly when small hands are involved – suddenly there’s a snowstorm on the bench and not much flour in the bowl!

Know the tricks

When it comes to mixing, there are a few fun tricks you can use. Clean hands can mush butter and sugar together to cream the mixture, if you don’t mind washing sticky fingers afterwards.

Alternatively, pour ingredients into a strong ziplock bag and squish together. To empty, cut a corner of the bag and squeeze out.

If using bowls, appropriate kid-sized spoons, whisks and spatulas are ideal and found in the equipment aisle of supermarkets. Mini rolling pins and cookie cutters are also available. Children will love having their own small tools.

Recipe ideas

Need to get inspired? If your old Home Economics cookbooks don’t pass muster, head to your local library to get a fresh source of ideas. Or, head online for more ideas. Remember – the recipes don’t need to be complicated. Fruit muffins, fairy cakes and biscuits are all simple to cook and guaranteed to delight, and at the same time turn afternoon tea into an afternoon tea party.

It may be a day of chaotic mess, crooked cakes and lopsided icing but that’s what memories are made of.