Which are better- cupcakes made from a box mix or made from scratch? In starting a cake unit I like to facilitate this experiment making boxed cupcakes and from scratch cupcakes to allow students to draw their own conclusions about which one tastes better and calculate which one is cheaper.
Another great way to teach students how to bake in mass quantity, maintain quality control, and market food attractively is to sell boxes of several kinds of Christmas cookies. My students made boxes of 3 dozen Christmas cookies including peanut butter kisses, chocolate crinkle, Russian Tea Cakes, gingerbread, sugar, raspberry thumb prints and coconut macaroons. The community generously supports the fundraiser often profusely thanking me for making their holidays easier.
Food Network is very popular among my students so I decided to have them create their own show! I specifically have them demonstrate how to make a cake in front of the class but this idea can be tailored to any unit that lends itself to student demonstrations.
