Tag Archives: baking soda

Balloon science – My Little Scientist

Posted on June 13, 2016 | Leave a comment

Outside the temperature hits the 50°C (Doha) , it’s ramadan (the daily fast from dawn until sunset during this month of the Muslim calendar) and nowhere to go during the day. School is over and the entertainment challenge is back until we travel home (Lebanon)for the summer vacations.

The challenge of non stop playtime is to keep it interesting and captivating. So nothing is better than the magical science experiments.

The magic: blowing up balloons with the bubbles of baking soda and vinegar.

The science: chemical reaction when you mix baking soda and vinegar can be used to blow up a balloon due to gas released.

It’s a fun learning activity for all ages. All you need is empty bottles, white vinegar, balloons, baking soda and food coloring (optional).

Fill half the balloons with baking soda and 1/3 to half the bottles with vinegar (the more you put the stronger the chemical reaction is). You can put food coloring in the vinegar for more fun, you can see better the reaction (bubbles).

Attach the balloon to the bottle, but don’t let the baking soda pour out just yet.

Empty out the baking soda and watch the reaction unfold. The combination of vinegar and baking soda will bubble up, and the gas released will blow up your balloon!

We had a lot of screams and laughter! It’s really magical for kids, you can explain the reaction to your kid according to his age. Nady who is 3 years and a half, knows by now that when you mix baking soda and vinegar, a gas is released and it inflates the balloon.

Enjoy this fun science project and expect not to stop until you run out of baking soda or vinegar!

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Volcanic eruptions and rainbow lava experiment – My Little Scientist

Posted on September 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Art and science come together in this fun and colorful experiment. This activity comes together with just 3 ingredients and no preparation; In a brown cup (close to look like a real volcano) we put roughly 1 cup of baking soda with few drops of food coloring, then we poured the vinegar, enough to start seeing the eruptions (due to acid – base reaction).

To get those colorful ripples, looking like a rainbow, we were adding the food coloring one after the other while the volcano was erupting.

We started with green, yellow and blue, first all together then one at a time to get like earth colors ripples, and ended it with the red orange to look like a real volcano!.Every time we were adding a color, Nady was pouring more vinegar to get more and more eruptions. We did many until there was no more vinegar left at home 🙂

Stunning right? Nady and I were in awe!! Don’t hesitate to try this experiment, it’s absolutely safe (The chemicals produced are non-toxic), easy and so much fun.

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Mandarin pound cake

Posted on May 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

I’ve been craving this tangy cake for long! A real pleasure to the palate, made with fresh mandarin (you can replace it with fresh oranges) and comes with a warning label: ADDICTIVE!

This pound cake is not just looking amazing but it’s also uber delicious; As its name suggests, it’s citrusy, rich and buttery, and will surely please a lot of people. A lot of you would like NOW to pick a piece or two out of the screen.

This recipe calls for:

Cake batter:

1cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (227g about 2 sticks)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated mandarin zest
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tbsp rum

Mandarin syrup:

1/2 cup mandarin juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Mandarin glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed mandarin juice

Many times it happens a recipe calls for buttermilk and you realize you don’t have or find at the nearest supermarket. Luckily you can do it at home in just 5 minutes. All you need is a cup of milk and 1 tbsp of vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon. Pour the milk on the vinegar and let it rest for 5-10 mns. I am sure lot of you will never buy again buttermilk once you know this easy substitution. If the recipe calls for more than a cup of buttermilk you can easily double the quantity.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour your bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the mandarin zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the mandarin juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Pour the batter in the pan and smooth the tops.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Meantime while the cake is getting baked, prepare the syrup: Cook 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with 1/2 cup mandarin juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Take it out of the pan and place it on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the mandarin syrup over and allow it to cool completely.

To glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and mandarin juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top and allow to dry.

Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

Now I am sure it won’t last long stored in your fridge but it will be a staple in it especially it’s spring time!

Happy Baking!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.