Gabby’s Dollhouse Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough Review

DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.

Reviewed by Emma Brailsford

Creativity opportunities are so important to exploration and learning and ‘DreamWorks Gabby’s Dollhouse Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough’ is an activity which allows children aged 3 years and above to design their own sweet treats!

‘Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough’ is an activity set which allows children to design and make their own cupcakes out of playdough. The activity set contains a plastic oven and stand, three cupcake moulds, a piping syringe, two cutting moulds and three small pots of playdough. All of the parts of this playset, except the actual playdough, are made from plastic and so, in terms of recycling, it is a toy to be enjoyed and then passed on to another family once it has been outgrown. The parts of the set do feel sturdy and as long as the smaller cupcake moulds and cutting moulds are kept together, this feels as though it is a toy that is strong enough to last.

The cardboard box containing ‘Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough’ is 37 cm x 26 cm x 7cm. In order to assemble the production line, you have to place the oven on its stand. The oven is brightly coloured and looks very cute and inviting; young children will enjoy opening the little flip-down oven door! The actual cupcake moulds are quite small, and so I think the age of 3 years and above is appropriate as younger children may struggle with the fine motor skills needed. Once the playdough has been placed into a cupcake mould, it is placed on the oven shelf and then the oven shelf is slotted into the oven by placing it into a groove. The oven shelf needs to be correctly positioned so that when the handle on top of the oven is pressed down, the cake can be moulded correctly. The children can then build the cupcake with different layers and use the mini syringe to ice the cake! ‘Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough’ comes with three small pots of playdough – pink, yellow and blue – and although not very much playdough is needed to make each cake, I feel that you would need to add more playdough, either shop-bought or home-made, especially if a couple of children wanted to play with the kitchen set at the same time.

This was a fun toy for children to play with and it did keep the little ones occupied for a fair amount of time, especially as you could mix and match the cupcake moulds with the different colours of playdough and the cutting moulds. Playdough is always a ‘go-to’ activity in times of quiet activity or rainy afternoons and therefore, I can see ‘Cakey Cat’s Kitchen in Dough’ being a much-loved playset to get out. It would therefore be an ideal Easter, Christmas or birthday present for a young child who loves investigating, designing and making things – perhaps it would even inspire children to want to get into the kitchen and begin learning the skills of real-life baking for themselves!

Rating: 4/5
Age: 3+
RRP: £16.99
Stockist: This product can be purchased from Smyths Toys website using the link: https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/pre-school-and-electronic-learning/gabbys-dollhouse/gabbys-dollhouse-cakey-cats-dough-kitchen/p/234355