Dance While You Make Carrot Cake With “Lyla in the Loop!”

When Lyla has trouble keeping up with her family while they do the Carrot Cake Dance, her dad gives her a few ideas on how to remember the steps. He shows her a recipe book with pictures — and she decides to make a recipe book — for the dance moves!

Creating memory cards or a picture book is a fun way to remember a dance — and a recipe. Invite your child to bake a carrot cake with you by following the steps of this recipe together. After the cake is served, try out the steps of the Carrot Cake Dance!

Directions

Chop the shredded carrots. Chop each piece horizontally, and then chop into smaller pieces. The more time you chop, the smaller piece of carrot you’ll bite into when the cake is done. Set to the side.

In a large mixing bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil, and eggs with an electric mixer or spatula on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed for 1 minute. Then add carrots and pineapples to the mix. Encourage your child to hold the measuring cup while you pour the various ingredients. Together with your child, slowly pour in the bowl. Take turns mixing the batter!

Place the pan into the oven and set the timer or watch the clock for 45 to 55 minutes. (Cook time varies based on the size of the pan and oven.) Take a break together and review the recipe steps or learn the Carrot Cake Dance along with Lyla. Check on the cake after 45 minutes and continue until it is brown and an adult can stick a toothpick in the cake and it comes out clean.

When the cake is ready, you pull it out of the oven. If you have a cooling rack, remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely for about 1 hour. If you do not have a cooling rack, allow the cake to completely cool in the pan for about 1 hour on top of the stove.

Explore Further

Now that you have read and followed the written instructions for carrot cake, talk about the steps. Which steps would you change or modify the next time you bake the cake? Are there steps that you would capture differently in the recipe, either in the text or the photos? Then, think of fun and creative ways you can remember the recipe without the written instructions. Maybe your child would like to create a drawing, a poem, or maybe even a dance, like Lyla’s Carrot Dance! What will your carrot cake dance look like?

I have many memories baking with my mom as a child. One of our favorite recipes to make together was carrot cake. My mom would read each step of the recipe to me from the cookbook. There’s one step I’ll never forget — licking the icing off the spoon when we were done!