As lockdown continues, many people are whipping up baked goods to keep themselves and the kids entertained.
If you and your family are getting sick of the same old banana bread, here are five easy cake and biscuit recipes that your kids can get involved with.
The only problem is that you’ll have to share...
Rice Crispy Cakes (Photo: Tesco Real Food)
Rice Crispy Cakes offer up maximum rewards for minimal effort.
Ingredients:
Method:
To start, grease a square tin with butter and nonstick baking paper.
In a large pan, melt the butter, marshmallows and 100g of the chocolate over a low heat, until everything is melted and combined.
The next step is where your kids can get involved - mix the cereal into the mixture until everything is coated.
Get your children to press the cereal mixture into the square tin, making sure it reaches the corners and sides and is evenly spread out - in the meantime, melt your remaining chocolate.
Once the chocolate is melted, pour over the top of the cereal and smooth it out. From here, you can let your kids get creative with some decorations, like sprinkles or more marshmallows.
This step is optional - alternatively, you can just leave the treats to set. Once the treats have set solidly, slice into squares and enjoy.
Fairy Cakes (Photo: BBC Good Food)
Fair cakes, also known as butterfly cakes, are a fun way to brighten up regular cupcakes and you can decorate them however you please.
Ingredients:
For the buttercream, you’ll need:
Method:
To make the cakes, preheat your oven to 180C and line your cupcake tin with cases.
Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk into a large mixing bowl until smooth, pale and combined. Divide the batter between the cupcake tins and bake for around 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool.
Make your buttercream by mixing the icing sugar, butter and vanilla paste together until pale and fluffy. You can add a little extra milk if the icing feels too hard and stiff.
The decoration time is really the best time for the kids to get involved.
Start by carefully slicing the tops of the cup cakes, then cut those in half - those are your fairy, or butterfly, wings.
Spread the buttercream icing on the tops of the cupcakes and push the semi-circular cake top halves into the buttercream at an angle, to look like wings.
From this point, you can decorate with the likes of jam or sprinkles, or whatever you or your kids want.
Peanut Butter Cookies (Photo: BBC Food)
Peanut butter is a firm favourite amongst kids and adults alike, with these peanut butter cookies offering the perfect opportunity to make some easy biscuits.
Ingredients:
Method:
To start, preheat your oven to 180C and begin by placing the flour, sugar, peanut butter, egg yolk and butter into a large bowl and mix together until you have a smooth dough.
With lightly floured hands, get your kids to work by rolling chunks of the dough into walnut sized balls.
Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet that’s been lined with baking paper, and gently press each ball with the back of a fork to flatten it slightly.
Place in the oven and bake for ten minutes, or until they’ve just turned golden brown.
Leave to cool for ten minutes and serve with a dusting of icing sugar.
Cake Pops (Photo: BBC Good Food)
Whether you’ve got a store bought cake kicking around or you’ve made your own cake from scratch, cake pops are a fun way to jazz up a regular cake.
Ingredients:
For the sponge you’ll need:
For the buttercream, you’ll need:
Method:
This is how to make the cake element of the cake pops, but if you already have a cake you can skip this step.
Star by preheating your oven to 190C, or 170C for fan ovens, and greasing and lining a cake tin.
Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in the flour to make your cake batter.
Pour your mixture into the cake tin and bake for around 20 minutes, or until risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool completely.
The next steps are when your kids are going to come in handy.
In a large bowl, get your children to beat together the butter and icing sugar until smooth, then add the vanilla extract and milk and beat again.
Once the cake has cooled, crumble into large crumbs - set your kids to work getting their hands dirty. Once the cake is nice and crumbled up, you can add your buttercream mixture and stir together.
Once everything is combined, take a small handful of the cake and buttercream mixture and roll into small balls. You can place these on a plate, or you can stick them on the end of a lollipop stick if you want as well.
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for intervals of ten seconds, stirring between each interval. Once the chocolate is melted, dip your cake pops into the chocolate, making sure it’s covered and then dip into sprinkles to decorate.
Flapjacks (Photo: BBC Food)
If your lockdown menu has already seen you make every kind of cake and biscuit, why not switch things up with a kid friendly flapjack recipe?
Ingredients:
Method:
Preheat your oven to 150C, and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat then add the golden syrup and sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved and butter melted, add the porridge oats and the lemon zest and ginger, if you’re using them.
Make sure the mixture is well and truly combined, coating the oats with the butter and syrup.
Pack the mixture into the baking tray and squash it down so that it’s evenly distributed. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a chopping board and cutting into squares.
