These have to be about the coolest version of cake in a mug I've ever seen! My two year old is going through a loving baking stage, and I can just see this going down a real treat. They'd be fun to make together too. (Click on the image for instructions.)

I have a love-hate relationship with cakes - I LOVE baking them, I LOVE eating them but HATE that it doesn't take long for my unforgiving clothes to start getting tight.

So a huge sigh of relief (from me at least, I can't speak for the rest of the PlayPennies office) accompanied the various Lakeland Homebakes parcel that we sent to PlayPennies mum, Tanya, to test on our behalf.

Now, I know this might sound a little unkind but we sent the Lakeland Homebakes to Tanya, specifically, because she's no Nigella Lawson; if she can create cupcake magic with Lakeland then anyone can!

There’s something so organic and wholesome about baking your own cakes, and then enjoying the fruits of your labours.  We know that PlayPennies mum Teresa is a big lover of cakes, so we sent her a set of the new Greens Cake Mixes to try out and test.

“The Greens Cake Mixes are a firm favourite in our house as they don't tend to taste plastic and strange or overly sweet and disgusting.”

The Greens Cake Mixes for children come in 11 different themes, so we sent Barbie, Tom and Jerry and Thomas & Friends to Teresa. These normally cost around £1.69 (although online at Tesco, they’re currently only £1).

As Teresa has a little girl, the Barbie cake mix was the first to be made.

“Greens have this very clever packaging which allows you to tear off the instruction card from the back of the box and easily remove the relevant packets and the mixture is very easy to make and the,” says our baking mum. “The Barbie kit comes with an icing mix, butterfly decorations, and the cake mix.”

Although she’s pretty certain that she followed the instructions to the letter, the icing turned out really runny and dripped down the sides of the cakes.

“The actual cupcakes were incredibly tasty, but I have to admit that the icing is a sweetness that only a child could love.”

You get a free activity matt included in the box, as well as Barbie stickers.

“It’s a total winner in every way and the kids made every part of the cakes every step of the way. Excellent summer fun these!!

The Tom & Jerry mix was next on the list.  “This time round the cupcakes are strawberry flavoured and I have to say that the kids LOVED the fact that when they added the liquid ingredients the white powder started changing colour. It was a source of endless fascination.”

In this kit you get the cake mix, icing mix and Tom and Jerry cake wafers for decoration.

“Just as a heads up, those taste absolutely foul. Like plastic. When I ate mine I immediately went to check that they were edible. Yuk. Still, I was not the target market and the kids absolutely hoovered them down.”

The cakes last a good few days too. Teresa put a few aside in an airtight container to see how long they would last. “I kept two of these cakes aside in an airtight container for a week to see what their shelf life was and they were edible right up until the end of day 3. Not bad. It does mean you can whip these up on a rainy afternoon and enjoy them for a few days to come.”

The final kit we sent Teresa was the Thomas the Tank Engine kit which is all vanilla with vanilla icing and Thomas waferettes.

“Sadly these wafers were as unpalatable as the others but both the kids and my husband didn't mind them at all. It could be my inherent fussiness when it comes to cakes. Again the kit includes an activity mat and stickers which are a huge hit. The mix is easy to make, the icing set perfectly, and the vanilla flavour is by far the best. I even preferred this icing if I am honest! I am very impressed with Thomas and think he gets at least 9 out of ten overall."

So, in conclusion, Teresa still thinks Greens remains her favourite instant cake mix solution for kids.

“The extra activities, the stickers, the easy instructions and mixing, the lack of faff and drama (and the limited number of bowls required) all make for very easy and entertaining baking fun. And – wafers aside - they really do not taste as plastic and chemically as many other insta-mixes do.”

Teresa gave Barbie at least 8 out of ten for flavour, ease of use, and looks with points knocked off for runny icing and Tom and Jerry gets 7 out of ten for flavour, 8 out of ten for coolness with points knocked off for the flavour of the waferettes, and a total of 9 out of ten thanks to the addition of the stickers (two sets for two kids) and an activity mat.