Boys Get Baking

Queen of the cupcakes Lily Vanilli shows you how to get your boys into the kitchen

Think of all the famous chefs you know. Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Marcus Wareing, Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White. Notice a trend? They’re all men. And traditionally, all the best bakers are male too. Recent research has shown that 46% of dads would rather BBQ than bake, but there is no reason why they would not excel in the kitchen.

The majority of baking at home is done by women, and there are also thousands of toys targeting young girls to help teach them to bake, even if it’s mud pies or a batch of imaginary muffins, however this is not the case for boys.

Now a new campaign is launching to show how easy it is for men and boys alike to express their creativity in the kitchen while retaining their masculinity. ‘Baking for Boys’ was an initiative coinciding with Fairtrade Fortnight – the Big Swap (Monday 22 February to Sunday 7 March), who are encouraging people to swap their usual products for Fairtrade ones. This could be switching to Fairtrade bananas or Tate & Lyle Fairtrade sugar which doesn’t cost you a penny more.

The research also shows that 47% of dads find baking with their child stressful. Well help is at hand. In the following video, cupcake queen Lily Vanilli and her godson Alfie prepare some simple and fantastic edible delicacies as she passes on her craft to an eager helper who shows men can bake.