When I bake with my girls the birds come to the window and we sing together as the ingredients magically whirl together while we dance around the kitchen like a mid 90s romcom mixed with the best Disney movie you ever did see.

I’m lying.

I mostly get a little stressed when I bake with my girls. They get stressed too. They argue about who gets to do what and for the most part Ella usually demands to do all steps and Chloe gives up and goes to read.

Sometimes I am baking for a special event, like two weeks ago for Connie and Lloyd’s 50th anniversary party. I was so bossy the girls just left the kitchen.

Long before we ever had kids Steve tried to pour cream in my coffee. I told him “no, I want to do it.” He got really offended at my refusal of his kind gesture and then he dropped this bomb on me: “It really concerns me that when we have children you won’t let them help.”

We had a little fight over that one.

It’s just sometimes when I am cooking or doing something, I don’t want to be messed with.

This doesn’t work well when you are raising children and part of your job is TO LET THEM HELP and to teach them how to do things.

I obviously have a problem.

The girls approached me last week wanting to make a YouTube video. They watch a lot of baking, drawing and makeup tutorials on YouTube and they wanted to make their own.

I thought it wold be the perfect opportunity to work out some of my intense demands to be in control of the flour measurements.

I got the girls set up, gave them a simple recipe, turned on the camera and only intervened at two points. Once when the mixer was dangerously loose and another when I thought the error Chloe made would ruin the cake. It didn’t ruin it. In fact the cake was better than any cake I have ever made.

They did a great job. They did almost every step in one take!

Here is Chloe and Ella’s Strawberry Cake recipe:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 stick of butter

1/2 tablespoon of vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

3 pints of strawberries

Frosting:

1 pint whipping cream and 1/4 cup of bakers sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the butter and the sugar.

Add the two eggs and vanilla

Mix the flour, salt and baking soda

Combine the wet and dry ingredients adding the milk.

Add two pints of chopped berries.

Put it all in a greased pan. (We have a large 12″ one.)

Cook for about 30 minutes.

Let it cool.

Whip the cream and sugar.

Frost and decorate with the other pint of strawberries.

Stick your face in it like Ella did.