Cooking with Children - Halloween Cakes and Biscuits

I love cooking and baking with the boys and for me the secret is letting go and dealing with the mess afterwards, plus good planning, making sure all the ingredients are out and the equipment etc.  I think that by empowering the boys to cook and bake it will stand them in good stead as they get older, plus they can start cooking dinner and feed me!
 

Also it might not look perfect, but I can assure you it tastes mighty fine.  So I bring you Maxi's chocolate cakes and biscuits.

Basic Biscuit Recipe

I use one without egg and it is fine if over handled, so perfect for children

175g/6oz Plain Flour
100g/4oz Butter or Margarine
50g/2oz Caster Sugar
Pre-heat oven to 180

Cream the butter or margarine and caster sugar
Stir in the flour and once mixed knead the dough together until it forms a ball
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 5mm thick

Spooky Chocolate Web Cakes

6 oz margarine
6 oz caster sugar
5 oz self raising floor
1 oz coco powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
Icing Sugar
Hot water

Cream margarine and sugar
Add eggs, flour, coco powder and baking powder, then 2 tbls of milk
Cook for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

To make the web, mix icing sugar and hot water and cover the cake.  Create a swirl in black icing (we used Silver Spoon Black Designer Icing kindly supplied by Silver Spoon) and then take a cocktail stick and drag the icing out towards the edge.

These cakes are all Maxi's own work and they looked fantastic and tasted even better!

I would like to say thank you to Silver Spoon for supplying me and the boys with some of their cake decorating goodies.

We are entering in the Big Autumn Bakeoff with this!

A Wonderful Bank Holiday Monday spent in the Kitchen and Garden

I think the sun forgot our little park of the North East today.

So we have spent the day baking.

Maxi did all the weighing and measuring

Mini did most of the stirring and tasting

We have had a lot of fun and made lots of cakes

Oat and raisin cooks and mince pies (mini's favorites)

Many Muffins, sweet mincemeat and St Stephens Day Muffins, in addition to some fairy cakes.

Whilst I was busy in the kitchen, MadDad tended the garden, including planting out the courgettes and cucumbers.

Everything is looking great and really coming along.

He also washed and cleaned the cars, ready for the trip we are taking today to Emma Bridgewater's Factory to celebrate their 25th Anniversary with them. We are very excited and I am sure will have loads to show and tell you.

The Best Ever Oat and Raisin Cookies in the world

I dont say it lightly, but these cookies are amazing and never last in our house.  They truly are the best.  This is an American Recipe (it came on the back of some sunmaid raisins from the US), but that said is super easy for the boys, as I have some plastic cup measures that they use.

So here goes

Ingredients

3/4 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup soft brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup Raisins

 

Method

Heat oven to 180. 
Beat butter, brown sugar, caster sugar, milk, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Add to butter mixture and mix well.
Stir in oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets.
Cool on wire racks.

Then get the children to clean up after themselves!

If you like them, then I am sure you will love the best carrot cake in the world ever too, dont take my word for it, have a look at some of the comments.

Easter Bakes, Making New Traditions

We have been busy in the kitchen this weekend, making and baking and bring in new traditions to TheMadHouse.

Hot Cross Buns

"Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns,
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns."

"If you have no daughters, 

give them to your sons,

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot cross buns."

These have gone down well with mini and MadDad, so much so that I had to make extra!

White Bread buns, which I make the dough in the bread-maker and then divide and leave to prove.  The temptation is to eat them hot, but my they really do give you indigestion.

Magic Mummy mentioned that Tesco had Easter Apron and Hats sets in for 78p and as Mini loves to dress up, we went and got him one and he decided that he needed a strawberry smoothie.

 

He loves making banana smoothies, just milk, natural yogurt and a little honey.  He likes the hand mixer too!!

Chocolate Simnel Cake

Neither MadDad or the boys are keen on fruit cake, so I thought we could try a chocolate Simnel cake.

Ingredients

100g/4oz dark chocolate, broken in pieces
100g/4oz caster sugar
100g/4oz softened butter, plus extra
3 eggs, separated
50g/2oz ground almonds
50g/2oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4/fan oven 160C. Butter an 18cm/7in deep round cake tin; line the base. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
2. Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks, one at a time. Stir in the almonds and chocolate.
3. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form (see tip). Fold a quarter of the egg white into the chocolate mixture, then sift in a quarter of the flour and baking powder. Repeat three more times until the egg white and flour is evenly mixed in.

4. Pour the mixture into the tin. Bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and firm. Cool for five minutes, turn out on to a wire rack, peel off the paper and cool completely. 

 I then added some homemade marzipan and melted chocolate to decorate.

Menu Plan Monday and shortbread recipe

It is half term for me and the minimads this week, so I have lunches to make for all and then MadDad will be on on Friday, so we are going for a day out

Monday

Lunch - Sandwiches

Dinner - Curry and rice

Tuesday

Lunch - Pancakes

Dinner -Spag bol

Wednesday

Lunch - leftovers

Thursday - Jambalaya

Friday

Picnic and pot luck

Saturday

Home made chicken burgers and wedges

Home made pizza

Sunday - I am not sure what meat we will be going with this week, I will see what is on offer at the butchers

I also wanted to give you the recipe for the almond shortbread biscuits, as they are very simple to make and really good for children, as you cant really over handle the dough:

Ingredients

150g of plain flour

25 g of ground rice or ground almond

100 chilled butter

50g caster Sugar

almond essence

tea spoon of milk

Method

Cut up the butter in to small chunks and rub in to the flour and almond/ground rice

Add other ingredients and squeeze them all into a dough

Sprinkle top with flour and roll out to 5mm thick

Use cookie cutter  and place on a baking tray.

Cook at 170 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes

Allow to cool for 2 minutes and then lift on to a wire rack to cool

Variations

You can add lemon or orange zest and two teaspoons of their juice rather than the almond essence and milk.

Spiritual Sunday - St Valentines Day

What are we celebrating today?, Who was valentine?

Well wikipedia says

He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate.

MadDad and I have told the boys it is a day for recognising the people you love and for standing up for the values you believe in.

 

We believe in each other and we all made homemade valentine cards this week, the boys gave people who mean a lot to them at school the valentines flower Lolly's.

We also made some lovely almond shortbread biscuits and stamped them with love.  We did try to make cupcakes, but they all got ate before we could decorate them!

I hope you have a great valentines day and also Happy Chinese New Year.

I am feeling a lot better today, I managed a couple of naps yesterday and also a full nights sleep (with the aid of some sleeping tablets).  MadDad and the boys have treated me really well and also let me have a lie in too.

The Best Carrot Cake in the Whole Wide World

 

Receipe

140ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
2 Eggs
200g light brown sugar
300g grated Carrots, (grated weight)
100g raisins
75g pecans or Walnuts, chopped (optional)
180g self-raising flour
1 pinch Salt
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Mixed spice

Orange cream cheese icing - this rarely gets put on in this house, as everyone eats the cake before I get chance!!

50g cream cheese, chilled
50g Butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
275g icing sugar, sifted
1 Orange, zest only

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2. Oil and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper. I just use a silicone one.

2.Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, brown sugar, grated carrot, raisins and chopped nuts.

3. Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or large metal spoon until well combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about five minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

6. For the icing: beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, icing sugar and finely grated orange zest and mix until the icing is smooth and thick.

Adapted from Rachel Allen, Bake (Collins)

 

Even people who say, oh I don't like carrot cake, love this cake.  My mum couldn't believe the amount of carrots that went in to it and I guarantee once you have made one, it will become a firm favorite.  I don't even peel the carrots before grating them anymore and can make it in 5 mins.

Anyway don't take my word for it, try it and you too will be calling it the best carrot cake in the whole wide world and with all those carrots in, surely it has to count as one of your 5 a day!

 

Menu Planning and Frugal Food Part Two

The Basics and MummyMads Rules

I have a few golden rules that I always abide by and also make sure I have a larder with basic ingredients in.

I don't scrimp on chicken I always buy a good one or a happy one as I call them (free range), as they make better stock and just taste nicer with more meat in my humble opinion.  The same with eggs (our butcher sell local free range ones cheaper than the supermarkets).  I pop in to the local butchers and see what is on offer meat wise too.

In the store cupboard and fridge I always have flour, eggs, caster sugar, lentils, beans, beans and sausage, spaghetti, pasta,  yogurts, smoothies (again a treat for the boys I get them from Aldi).  I never scrimp on fruit, I just buy whats on offer, this week we have a bowl full of apples, bananas, pears and grapes.  I buy blocks of butter for baking when they are on offer and freeze them.

You will see that there are no deserts or treats on the menu plan, well that is because I make them rather than but them, hence always having flour etc in, means I can whip up a crumble in no time or an apple pie.  often we just have fruit and yogurt.  The boys and I bake all the time.  We made cookies and a sponge cake at the weekend.

Sp for us snacks are home made biscuits, veg sticks and fruit or maybe some home baked bread and jam.  Yes it can be hard work initially and I am lucky in that I am a SAHM able to do this with my boys, but that is the trade off, in order to afford to be at home, we have to make savings!

 

My plan for the coming weeks, is to post a menu plan and also share with you some of the recipes that we use.

Oh and if you are looking for a good read, Insomniac Mummy has just launched the latest Mummy Blogger Carnival, do pop over as she has a smorgasbord of delights for you!

Menu Planning and Frugal Food Part One

One thing that has come out of our lack of cash is my ability to feed us all well on less and less cash.  The two things that has enabled this to happen has been our menu planning and our garden.

I thought I would give you an example of a weeks menu plan and how I feed us all. I do a main shop on a Thursday and base my weeks menu plan round our Sunday Dinner (chicken, Mince, Beef, or Ham).  This week it will be chicken.

Friday

Fish, oven chips and mussy peas.  I make sure I buy frozen cod or haddock fillets when they are on offer, plus Aldi do a very good fillet.  I buy Aldi oven chips at 99p a bag and soak my own mushy peas and freeze them in batches.

Saturday

Home made burgers and wedges (sweet potato this week as 39p a bag in Aldi)

Dinner - Home made pizza, with home made sauce and mozzarella and salami, plus veg.  Garlic dough balls or garlic pizza bread.

Sunday

Lunch - poached egg on muffins Dinner - Roast chicken, roast potatoes, home made Yorkshire puddings and vegetables plus we have parsnips, sprouts and leeks in the garden.

Monday

Lunch - Leftovers from Sunday Dinner
Dinner - Chicken and vegetable Curry, rice and Naan (I strip the carcass on Sunday night and pop in the slow cooker)

Tuesday

Lunch - Leftover curry and a jacket (me), Toasty (mini)
Dinner - Tuesday Chicken and Ham risotto with Vegetables (I use the chicken stock and leftover chicken)

Wednesday

Spaghetti on Toast
Sausage Casserole - 2 packs of sausages , carrots, leeks and parsnips from the garden and Mash

Thursday

Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Jacket potatoes with Beans and Cheese

MadDad takes leftovers, sandwiches or home made pasties to work (they have a microwave) and Maxi has school lunch.  So during the week it is just me and mini for lunches.

Breakfast consists of porridge with maple syrup (maxi), toast (mini) and muesli (Me), MadDad fends for himself during the week, but bacon sandwiches and pancakes are weekend favorites.

Oh and I just through I would slip that cake in made by mini and me with left over gingerbread house as the base and a cream cheese and lemon topping, yum!

No Cards, Just Cookies

I know that I am not alone in this as The Dotterel at Bringing Up Charlie blogged about it too.  I HATE CHRISTMAS CARDS.

Yep, I shouted.  It possibly stems from the fact I am a Christmas baby and I would rather have my measly few birthday cards up instead of Christmas cards. This issue with cards has grown year on year, especially as I have to write most of them.

It was fine when I worked, I would send out an e-mail saying Merry Christmas and that we wouldn't be sending out cards, but donating to the NSPCC instead.  MadDad still does this with his work colleagues now.

But it seems that sending cards at school is a big thing, both Mini and MaxIiMad have brought home masses of cards.  Now not only do I have anywhere to put them, but the boys cant read who they are from anyway and show no interest in sending any of their own.

So, we decided, well I decided and they had to go along with me, that we would make cookies for the teachers to hand out instead of cards. 

Ingredients

• 345g plain  flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• half tsp baking powder
• 225 g butter, softened
• 300g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar together and then add the rest, this will make a very loose dough.  You can either pop in the fridge for an hour and then roll and use cookie cutters or use soft by spooning on to the tray.

Bake at 180 degrees for approx 7 minutes or the cookies are golden.  They will seem quite soft, but as soon as they cool they are hard and crispy.

They went down a treat, now to convert the rest of the world that we do not need Christmas cards.

You could also decorate them too, I bought some coloured writing icing in tubes a while ago in Aldi and the boys and MadDad spent one evening this week decorating some too.

The boys had a lovely time, yes most of the icing went straight in to their mouths, but it is Christmas after all!