Cooking with Kids: Beginner-friendly bakes, and how to go picking blackberries
Pic: iStock
A sheet of puff pastry is a good starting point for children in the kitchen.
It can be used to introduce them to both sweet and savoury baking, from quite complicated pastries to simple ones that are easier for little hands.
The pastry can simply be cut into thin strips to wrap around cocktail sausages, or into shapes with a cookie cutter.
The stars included here are sprinkled with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, which melts as they bake. If you prefer a savoury snack, you can use some grated cheese instead.
Puff pastry often comes frozen but once defrosted then can be safely cut with a butter knife.
I find the sheets easier to work with than a block, but if you have a block leave it to defrost fully then roll it on a lightly floured surface. You can involve children when doing this.
Care will be needed when putting trays in and taking them out of the oven because it is heated quite high when baking puff pastry.
If it is not fully preheated the pastry will come out soft and unpleasant.
The vegetable tarts can be made with other ingredients if broccoli or tomatoes are not so popular. Peas work well as do little pieces of chicken or bacon.
These can be made with other ingredients if broccoli or tomatoes are not so popular. Peas work well as do little pieces of chicken or bacon. Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients A knob of butter for greasing A piece of broccoli 12 small tomatoes 1 spring onion 100g feta cheese 3 eggs 2 sheets of puff pastry Method Pre heat your oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Grease 12 holes in a bun tin. You can do this using a piece of baking parchment with a little butter on it. This will stop the tarts from sticking and help them to pop out of the tin at the end of baking. Carefully cut the broccoli into small pieces and put these into a steamer. Ask an adult to place this over a pot of water on the hob and steam the broccoli until it is beginning to go soft. Next you can cut each of the tomatoes into four pieces. Cut the ends off the spring onion then carefully slice it. Cut the pastry sheets into 12 squares and put these into the holes in the bun tin. Press them down slightly so they look like little tart cases. Crack the eggs into a big bowl and crumble the feta cheese into it. You can also stir in the slices of spring onion. Add a little bit of salt and pepper. Put some broccoli and four pieces of tomato into each puff pastry tart. Gently pour the egg mixture on top. Ask an adult to place the bun tin into the heated oven. Bake for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden and the egg is firm. Allow your tarts to cool down, when they are cool enough to handle gently pop each one out of the bun tin with a butter knife.Vegetable Tarts
These are sprinkled with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, which melts as they bake. If you prefer a savoury snack, you can use some grated cheese instead. Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 1 sheet of puff pastry 1 egg beaten 1 tbs brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon Method Pre heat your oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Ask an adult to help you line a flat baking tray with a square of baking parchment. Sprinkle a tabletop or counter with flour and spread your sheet of puff pastry onto it. The flour will stop it sticking. Use cookie cutters to cut out pastry stars. It is good to have the stars a similar size, so they take the same amount of time to bake. Small ones will bake quicker than big ones. You can use two trays if you like, one for each size. Lay the stars onto the tray that you covered with parchment. Beat the egg in a glass or cup with a fork. Use a pastry brush and brush the beaten egg onto the stars on your tray. Sprinkle each star with some brown sugar and some cinnamon. Ask an adult to put the tray into the heated oven and bake until the pastry is golden, about 15 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle move them onto a wire rack to cool completely.Sweet Stars
It is almost blackberry season; you will begin to see nice juicy blackberries on the bushes in the coming weeks.
If you want to spend an afternoon blackberry picking first thing to do is to ask an adult to come with you.
You will need to find a good spot away from the roads, and it is best not to pick the berries on a wet day as they will go mouldy quicker.
Wear good thick clothes as the thorns on the bramble bushes can really scratch.
It is good to have a few buckets or tubs with you. Buckets work well as you can put the handle over your arm as you reach for the berries.
After you have picked your fill, the berries can be eaten with yogurt or cereal, made into tarts or even into jam.
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