What a four-year-old taught us about the magic of baking a chocolate cake

"Valentine's is on the horizon, which means we are about to officially enter chocolate cake season that soft-focus part of winter when confectionery and romance blur together. For our four-year-old goddaughter, it is always that time of year. Just hearing the two words together makes her roll her eyes and roll out her little tongue in anticipation of pleasure, like a cartoon kid. When we told her we would come and bake a chocolate cake with her, there were squeals of joy."

"After donning our crowns and aprons, and setting off to the kitchen, it became very clear who was actually in charge of the process. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and the girl, who speaks mostly in the imperative, began shooting out instructions with the speed and confidence of a football coach. At one point, we had to cut baking paper to size, then we had to draw dragons on the baking paper,"

"which led to a very serious discussion about which of the dragons was good and which evil, and how many there should be of each, in case we needed to draw more. (The verdict: in life, as in cake, balance matters.) Here be dragons Itamar and Sarit's godchild takes the lead. Photograph: Itamar Srulovich When baking with a child, precision gives way to play, efficiency to imagination. Throwaway moments lifting a heavy bowl, cracking an egg, sifting cocoa, licking a spoon, placing a cak"

A four-year-old goddaughter reacts with pure delight at the prospect of baking a chocolate cake, behaving with theatrical anticipation and commanding the process like a miniature coach. The group chooses a trusted midnight chocolate cake recipe and adopts crowns and aprons as part of the ritual. The child directs tasks, from cutting baking paper to drawing dragons, prompting lively debates about good and evil and an insistence on balance. Baking shifts from precision to play, trading efficiency for sensory, teachable moments such as lifting bowls, cracking eggs, sifting cocoa, and spoon-licking.

Read at www.theguardian.com