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!

The joy of receiving and a great big thank you

Me and the MiniMads have been blessed this last couple of weeks by the kindness and creativity of bloggers.

Firtly we were lucky enough to win a copy of a children's book that Cystal Jigsaw wrote herself. The mini's and I are treasuring reading a little of this each evening and are trying to make it last. Did I tell you she wrote it herself!

The wonderful Sandy of Baby Baby, who I often think is me in disguise sent me some chocolate sustenance and some buttons for the boys (who open the package and ran off with them before I could take a piccie) and some fabric she has been meaning to do something with. Thank you Sandy the fabric is wonderful and I have my thinking cap on for what to make with it.

I was also blessed to win a giveaway over at Sew Mental Mamma, a very talented lady who makes the most wonderful clothes for her children, please pop over and say hello.

I was blown away with her generousness, not only did I receive a zakka sewing books, to patterns, some Alice in wonderland fabric, a stunning pin cushion, ribbon and a large button, but she popped in some green bath foam for the minimads and it is wonderful as it contains no nasties or SLS so they can use it! Oh and I almost forgot there was also some Gin and Tonic Chocolate in the parcel too. Thank you ever so much.

Isn't the blog world just wonderful. I have had a hard month and I have to say that I have been in awe of the wonderful things we have received.

Also a very special lady Ang over at Tracing Rainbows wrote the boys the most amazing letter all about the Easter Story and we have been reading it after dinner each evening and the now can recite it pretty much off by heart. It was such a wonderful thing to receive, such a joy and so perfectly tailored for my little men. It has bright images and well it is just wonderful.

She also send an Easter present for each of the boys and for me and MadDad too.

I was also given an unexpected Easter Present from the very clever Liz at Violet Posy.  Look up, see that new header, well Liz made that and I had no idea.  She is a super and very talented lady.