Jakks Pacific Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker
Release Date: 2008-06-15
Sales rank: 85
Make and decorate 4 Cupcakes
Decorate your cupcakes with your favorite frostings, and sprinkles
Make the perfect cupcake icing swirl with you cupcake maker
Chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and cinnamon sugar
Make super yummy cupcakes with the brand new girl gourmet cupcake maker.
Gourmet girls can create their own trendy cakes with this bakes-in-30-seconds maker. The set comes with everything you'll need to whip up four batches of cupcakes. Includes: cupcake maker, froster, microwave container with cupcake holder, four mixes, four frostings, four cupcake cups, sprinkles, bowl, measuring spoon, spatula, recipe cards and instruction sheet. Allergy Warning: Contains milk, egg and soy Ingredients. Mixes are processed in a facility that also processes wheat ingredients.With the Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker, kids get a fun, easy, no-hassle introduction to baking. This educational and creative toy not only teaches the very basics of cooking--such as measuring and mixing--but its cupcake decorating accessories encourage kids to experiment with their own personal touches. If you have a microwave oven and an adult handy to supervise the fun, kids ages 8 and up can get started baking and decorating in no time. 
The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Make provides kids with a fun, easy, no-hassle introduction to baking. View larger. |  | What We Think
Fun Factor: 
Durability: 
(what this means)
The Good: Easy-to-use cupcake mixes bake in seconds; easy-to-follow directions make for easy mixing, baking, and decorating; cupcake mixes are gluten free.
The Bad: Cupcake froster turns out less-than-perfect results; cupcakes' taste aren't quite "mom's home-made" quality.
In a Nutshell: Cupcake baking and decorating kids provides a fun, simple, quickly executed introduction to baking; inspires and encourages creativity. | At a Glance
Ages: 8 and up
Requires: Microwave oven; adult supervision
|  | | Getting Started
The Cupcake Maker comes with four special cupcake mixes and frosting that are custom designed for use with this toy. The cake flavors include red velvet, chocolate, yellow, and cinnamon sugar; the frostings are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cream cheese flavored. These easy-to-use mixes, which contain no wheat ingredients--a definite plus for the gluten-free crowd--and require only water as an added ingredient. (Allergy alert: the mix does contain powdered eggs and powdered milk.) The toy comes with everything your child needs to mix, bake, and decorate the cupcakes: a tiny mixing bowl, measuring spoon, water dropper, and miniature spatula for mixing the batter and frosting; a microwaveable container for baking the cupcakes; and a cupcake frosting gadget with a shape reminiscent of a KitchenAid standing mixer. And everything your little chef needs to get started is packaged in chic, girl-pleasing, contemporary pastels. Mix It Up
Simply mix the cake mix with water using the provided measuring spoons and water dropper to reach the desired consistency (we found that a pudding-like consistency gives the best results), pour the batter into the cupcake paper, and put it in the plastic "baking dish," bake it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and--voila!--out comes a completely baked cupcake. Because the cupcakes get pretty hot, an adult should handle them until they're cool enough to handle. In the meantime, the frosting can be mixed up in the same manner. Again, it took us a few tries to get the proper consistency: it's especially important for the frosting to be, as suggested, the consistency of firm cookie dough to work properly with the cupcake froster. Time to Decorate
The cupcake froster comes with a frosting tube with a plunger and decorator-type tip. Scoop the frosting into the tube with the miniature spatula and place it in the machine. (This step can prove almost impossible if the frosting is too runny.) Place the cooled cupcake below and push down the lever. The frosting machine simultaneously spins the cupcake and pushes out the frosting to create a spiral shape. Kids can put the finishing touches on with the included sprinkles or, as the "shortcut" cards suggest, with cut-up fruit or candy (you'll want to stock up on these beforehand). The finished cupcake is smaller than a regular cupcake and a bit larger than your standard mini cupcake. The Taste Test
The quick-and-easy baking and frosting mixes make for a fun and simple introduction to baking, especially for kids who haven't already started growing their "kitchen legs." Kid-sized cooking utensils makes it fun for kids to use, and are much easier to use than Mom and Dad's larger and heavier utensils. The cupcakes themselves cook quickly in the microwave, making for a fast turnaround that won't try younger kids' patience; but they also, to be honest, don't quite have the taste as the home-made cup cakes that mom or grandma makes. But admittedly, this opinion is formed by an adult palate. For the kids that cook the cupcakes, they will be flavored with the sweetness of do-it-yourself pride. Adults will need to make sure, however, that the kids don't start out with aspirations to the Martha Stewart-like decorating job pictured on the box: after multiple tests, we found that the cupcake froster simply does not turn out perfectly dainty frosting spirals. This might prove disappointing, so kids should be prepared to expect more realistic, charmingly handmade results. And your kids will be sure to have a lot more fun and confidence with their own creative decorating jobs.
Add water to cake mix with the provided spoons and water dropper. | 
Pour the batter in the dish, microwave, and--voila!--a cupcake! | 
Place the cooled cupcake below and start frosting. | 
Keep it coming ... you can never have too much frosting! | 
Cover the cupcake with sprinkles and its ready to eat! |
What's In the Box
Cupcake Froster, 4 cupcake mixes; 4 frosting mixes; two-sided measuring spoon; spatula; water dropper; mixing bowl; 4 cupcake papers; 4 "shortcut" cards; microwave baker; cupcake cup; sprinkles and sprinkle container.
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Melissa & Doug Birthday Party Birthday Cake
Release Date: 2006-06-12
Sales rank: 97
Melissa and Doug wooden birthday cake
Slices and toppings for every party guest
Features decorative box kids love and serving spatula
Strawberries, jellybeans, and gumdrops easily fasten to the top
33-piece set, includes 6-slice cake, serving plate, 19 toppings, 7 candles, wooden spatula, and storage box.
It's a wish come true! This uniquely playful wooden birthday cake has enough slices and toppings for every "party guest" and enough candles to last for years! Includes wooden spatula and convenient storage box. You are invited to Melissa and Doug's birthday party! Let the fun begin with this playful birthday cake. It has enough slices and toppings for every party guest the whole family can join in the fun. Now kids ages three to five can throw birthday parties year round. A Wish Come True
This simple wooden toy fosters creative play and is a wonderful addition to imaginary kitchens everywhere. Use the wooden spatula to serve the cake and the fake candles to make a wish. This toy will make an excellent birthday gift for future bakers. The cake itself is painted white with blue icing swirls and has seven removable candles that fasten to the top. Three delectable toppings -- strawberries, jellybeans, and gumdrops -- can be added to the top and the cake comes in a decorative box kids love. This delicious dessert is already cut into slices that fasten together with Velcro and easily pull apart. It also has a bright red serving platter and each of the six pieces is about the size of a real piece of cake. Also, as a well-made and durable wooden toy, it withstands child play and the paint won't easily chip off, even if it is accidentally dropped. Storing all the pieces may be a challenge, but a party box is included to contain the candles and decorations. Features
This birthday cake is a hit for those who like to help out in the kitchen. Children love redecorating and serving it using the wooden spatula. Unlike many of today's modern toys, it encourages creativity, as children get to design their own cake and parties. It amuses future hosts and hostesses for hours and is an exceptional value as a 33-piece set. This cake remains child's favorite for years and includes enough candles to celebrate a lot of birthdays. The cake has a 10-1/2-inch diameter. What's in the Box
Includes 6-slice cake, serving plate, 19 toppings, 7 candles, wooden spatula and storage box. 
Three delectable toppings can be added, and the cake comes in a decorative box |
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Wild Planet Spy Video Car
Release Date: 2007-01-01
Sales rank: 897
REAL NIGHT VISION -- you see them but they don't see you, LCD screen lets you navigate
The Spy Video Car includes a headset, screen and hand-held controller
The sleek R/C features a built-in video camera with night vision, that sends a live feed to a flip-up screen on your headset up to 75 feet away
2006 Top 5 New Toys: NBC News, Family Fun Magazine, "What I want" - TV Show
View all the action through your own personal headset
You see what the car sees. See in the dark with real night vision. This RC vehicle has a video camera and headset screen. The headset screen lets you see live video feed from the camera on the car. The LCD screen lets you navigate. The night vision lets you see them but they don't see you. The video transmits at maximum range with 2.4 GHz transmission frequency. The screen is easy to view in the dark with backlit Active Matrix LCD. The screen appears as big as a 20" television at 5 ft. away with 4:3 aspect ration display screen. Black and white video feed captured with 1/4 VGA CMOS camera. Camera sees in the dark with infrared light, which is invisible to others. Full function car operates at 49 MHz frequency. Contains: 1 RC vehicle with video camera and night vision light, 1 remote control, and 1 headset screen. |
