My 4-year-old daughter received the Melissa and Doug Bake and Decorate Cupcake Set as a gift and she and her sister have enjoyed playing with it.  It's a toy that they can enjoy together.

The Set
The Bake and Decorate Cupcake Set comes with a generous number of pieces.  You receive one sturdy wooden cupcake baking tray, one cloth oven mitt, four wooden cupcakes, four plastic snap-on "icing" tops, three decorating tubes (dry-erase markers), four candles, and several paper cupcake liners with different themes.

Parental Involvement
The "icing" can be difficult for younger children to snap on and off the cupcakes and because the cupcakes and icings come in different "flavors", your creative bakers will want to mix and match.  This can result in a grown-up having to frequently switch out the icing, but the decorating can easily be done by the children.

Play Pattern
In our house, not much happens in the way of baking.  The cupcake tray is mainly a storage device for the cupcakes when we put the toy away.  The majority of the play is decorating the cupcakes, putting a candle on, singing "Happy Birthday" to someone and then starting all over again.

Other Thoughts
The dry-erase markers can leave a stain on the plastic, as dry-erase markers tend do do.  It can take a heavy hand to remove all of the color, but the kids don't seem to mind this too much and they can do a pretty good job of erasing on their own.  

The product is age-rated for 3+ and both of my children (4 and 7) enjoy the toy very much.  It's great for exercising those "cupcake decorating" skills and just getting the kids to play with each other.

I'm a big fan of Melissa and Doug products and this one doesn't disappoint.  Except for the paper cupcake liners, the product is durable and fun.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 16
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years