11 best kids’ baking kits to inspire them in the kitchen

It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate brownies and this kit made some of the best we’ve ever tasted (and we’ve tried a lot…) All BakedIn recipes are approved by the late Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux and it shows: there were just five super-simple steps to make our 12 gooey brownies with Belgian chocolate chunks drizzled with white chocolate.

The large brightly coloured box appeals to all ages so our teen tester was keen to make the brownies on her own and needed no help at all. Although we had to add eggs and butter, everything else was included in the box including baking paper, a cake testing skewer, a butter measure and even a foil tray to bake in so it’s easy to start cooking straight away.

Other kits including iced cinnamon buns and sticky toffee cake are available and the reasonable price (plus £2.99 postage) makes this a sweet treat that doesn’t need saving for a special occasion. If the kids are really keen, there’s also a monthly baking or bread making subscription for a surprise kit to be delivered each month. Though we’d be happy to eat the brownies over and over again…

This kit really got our junior testers excited. The pack of edible ink pens included in the set had them planning how to decorate their biscuits before they’d even started cooking. They were less interested in the actual baking: the recipe was a little tricky for them to master on their own as the dough was quite sticky so they struggled to roll it out without help.

However, they raced to decorate the buttery shortbread-style biscuits once they were out of the oven and loved drawing – and then eating – their edible ink pictures. Of the kits we tested, this one kept all ages happily entertained the longest so would be perfect as an activity when friends were visiting. Postage costs £2.95 and there are loads of fun alternatives available on the website including a colourful pizza biscuit baking set, pinata cupcakes and popcorn cake pop kit.

This was an easy winner in the style stakes. With layered ingredients in an attractive reusable glass bottle rather than the usual cardboard box, this was one mix we were happy to keep out on our worktop until we baked it. Other tempting options include chocolate orange cookies, gingerbread brownies and white chocolate and raspberry tray bake and delivery is £2.50.

The company was started by a Leeds-based dad who enjoyed baking with his two-year-old son and found shaking the mixture out of a bottle added extra fun. Our young testers agreed and found the seven-sentence recipe easy to follow on their own, adding just an egg, some butter and a little milk. They particularly loved baking with mini eggs, which made a change from standard recipes, and the chunky, very chocolatey cookies were a hit all round.

These aren’t strictly aimed at children but the range of fun recipes will definitely appeal to older kids. The Manchester-based firm was founded at the start of lockdown and now sells quirky boxes starting from £11.50 including raspberry Jammie Dodger blondies and chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies, while seasonal specials include fluffy bunny mini carrot cakes for Easter. Delivery is included in the price and gift wrap can be added for £2.

All recipes are 100 per cent plant-based and suitable for vegans and come in lovely packaging that can all be composted or recycled right down to the kraft tape used instead of traditional plastic packing tape.

Best of all, the Treehouse Bakery was the only kit we tested that included even wet ingredients in the box itself. Our teen tester loved the fact she could start cooking without raiding the fridge first and the Biscoff blondies were a moreish, squidgy cross between a cookie and a brownie. Our youngest (and fussiest) tester was less keen on the distinctive Lotus biscuit taste however, so it may be an idea to choose one of the more traditional recipes if buying as a gift.

Extra cute points go to the Honeywell Biscuit Co. for their range of adorable kids baking kits which all children will enjoy. These include love bug biscuits and monster biscuit pops but we were smitten by the teddy bear buns, which gave our testers the chance to try bread baking for the first time.

Postage is £2.95 and the kit comes in a neat cardboard box with the pre-weighted dry ingredients, an activity card, recipe card and a paper chef’s hat. A gift message can be added and wrapping costs an extra £4.50. Our teen tester loved getting stuck in on her own, kneading and learning how to prove the dough before baking but younger children could still have a go with an adult’s help. All our testers loved piping teddy bear faces on the finished product with the included bags of melted white and dark chocolate. The six resulting bread buns looked a little more – let’s say – rustic than the ones in the picture but tasted delicious and were wolfed down immediately.

No need to feel too guilty about letting your kids loose in the kitchen with this set. Founded by former chef and food editor Carola Weymouth, Cookie Crumbles makes baking kits with all-natural flavours and colours, no preservatives or hydrogenated fats and only wholemeal flour for extra vitamins and fibre. The mixes are hand-blended in Yorkshire and our nicely presented gift box came with a handy wooden spoon, six individual heart-shaped tins and a paper chef’s hat to colour in, costing £3 for delivery.

The recipe had just five easy steps so our junior testers had no problems following it on their own, adding just eggs, water and vegetable oil. They particularly liked the fact the brownies were baked in large individual tins and tucked in happily without noticing they were any healthier than ordinary brownies. A win-win.

Bringing baking bang up to date, Bake Fix jars come with a large QR code which links to a step-by-step YouTube video demonstration of the recipe. This was very easy to follow and really helped our mini-testers feel they had the confidence to make the cake without extra help.

There are just three jars to choose from so far including the funfetti cake, vegan chocolate brownies and chocolate chip pancakes, and ours had a long best before date. All the jars are reusable or Bake Fix will provide a free postage label to return it to them, which is a nice touch. It’s also possible to add a gift message and the funfetti cake would be perfect for a birthday, though we felt the standard shipping charge of £10 was quite steep.

Our mix made 12 very generous squares of deliciously light sponge with hundreds and thousands sprinkles baked inside. We had to add various ingredients ourselves including eggs, butter, milk, vanilla extract, salt and optional buttercream but our young testers raved about the results.

This is a lovely set for budding bakers if you’re looking for a more substantial present. It comes with a 1.5l melamine mixing bowl and mini spatula in either red or baby blue and a genuine Kilner glass jar of baking mix. The set is wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty matching ribbon and personalised gift tag that can be posted straight to the recipient for £3.75.

There’s a choice of mixes available including flapjack cookies, chocolate spotty dotty cookies and gorgeously gooey chocolate brownies. We tested the white chocolate and cranberry cookie mix and found the recipe a doddle to follow, adding just melted butter and eggs. It could all be mixed by hand so even our youngest tester could join in and the tasty cookies got a big thumbs up from everyone.

If the thought of baking an elaborate birthday cake fills you with terror, this kit is a life-saver. Delivery is £4.50 though free click and collect is available and the weighty brightly-coloured box contains nearly everything you need to make a foolproof unicorn cake. Better still, children will love to help make it and our teen tester enjoyed the challenge of baking it entirely on her own – though naturally was less impressed by the unicorn decorations.

You’ll need to add your own eggs, butter and milk but otherwise this kit really does include everything, even a skewer to test the cake, greaseproof paper and four foil baking trays so there’s no need to fork out on special equipment. We were wowed by our huge four-layered rainbow cake covered in pink icing and sprinkles which looked (almost) too good to eat and tasted equally delicious.

Okay, it’s not really baking but no child will turn down the chance to make a pizza entirely of sweets and chocolate. Delivered in fully recyclable or compostable packaging, this fun box appealed to our child testers the minute they opened it, making it a great gift choice. Delivery is free and it’s possible to add a gift message and wrapping for £2. The kit we tested made two chocolate pizzas, though a larger size is available.

It contained good quality Belgian chocolate drops, white chocolate curls, jelly beans, mini marshmallows, Smarties, two pizza moulds and two flat-packed pizza boxes. Younger children will need help melting the drops to pour into the mould but otherwise kids can run riot loading sweets and white chocolate “cheese” onto the base. Our testers enjoyed decorating the pizza boxes while their creations were sitting in the fridge too. Thick slices snapped off easily when cold and were declared a big hit. We also loved the fact we could keep the moulds to make again in future.

A great birthday present for children of all ages, these baking subscription boxes offer something more than just a tasty cake mix. Created by a mum and nutritionist, the 100 per cent recyclable monthly boxes aim to encourage children to take an interest in food and health. We loved the little extras including a record book for children to rate every creation, the collectible sticker, a savoury recipe card and table talk cards to spark games and conversation at the dinner table. Every box also includes a surprise gift such as seeds to grow edible flowers or a pack of popping corn plus a card of flavour suggestions.

All recipes use 100 per cent organic and natural ingredients and feature nutritional alternatives to wheat and refined sugar. Our carrot cake mix included organic dates, millet flour, sultanas and teff flour, which an accompanying guide informed us had the same amount of calcium as spinach. We did have to add quite a lot of ingredients ourselves (carrots, butter, honey, water or milk, cream cheese, eggs and vanilla essence) but subscribers are emailed a list of these before the box arrives each month.

The recipe was straightforward and well-explained for older children, but younger ones would definitely need a hand with the blender, particularly when grating the carrots. However, it was worth the effort as even our youngest veg-phobic tester enjoyed the end result.