Delicious Danish Pastries a 4 Year Old Can Bake

Recently I made blueberry lemon danishes and posted the recipe on my cookery blog, My Kitchen Notebook. They were  big hit with The Bavarian, but since the boys don't like lemon they turned up their noses at them. I was sure that if I changed the flavouring they would love them. So I did, and it turns out I was right. They might as well have inhaled them, they were gone so quickly. It also helped that it was Number Two rather than me who did the baking. It is often said but quite true that when children make something themselves, they are more likely to eat it. 

Number Two was home from Kindergarten for lunch and I was planning to get him to help me bake. In the end though he made them completely on his own. I only had to do the dangerous bits (sharp knives, oven, etc.). From start to finish it took us just over half an hour, including 20 minutes baking time. 

So here's the recipe:

150g cream cheese
3 dsps icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tin of croissant pasty (ours was 250g and usually makes 6 croissants)
50g dark cholcolate, cut into small chunks
25g flaked almonds
An extra 50g icing sugar for the icing

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan). Combine the cream cheese, icing sugar and cinnamon and beat with a spoon until smooth. 

2. Open the can of croissants and unroll the pastry onto the work surface. Number Two was speechless when the pastry burst out of the tin as he pulled the wrapper off. 

3. Pinch the perforated edges together to close up all the holes and prevent the filling leaking out.

4. Spread with the cream cheese mixture, making sure to spread it right out to the edges. Then sprinkle it with the chocolate chunks and the nuts.

5. Roll up the pastry loosely like a swiss roll. Then cut into slices about 2cm thick. Our roll made eight slices. Lay the slices into a greased tin, leaving some space between them for the pastry to expand as it bakes.

6. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.

7. While the danishes are in the oven, mix a thick white icing with lemon juice or water and 50g icing sugar.

8. When the danishes are finished, remove them from the oven but leave in the tin. Drizzle with the icing immediately. Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before eating. 

Child's play!

Chunky, Chewy, Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, on a whim, I made a batch of extra large, chewy cookies with big chunks of chocolate. Eating them in the garden with a mug of coffee in my hand and The Bavarian at my side, watching Number 1 and Number 2 chat about fishing, enjoying the sunshine while Number 3 dozed in the pram was bliss.

Quantities to follow shortly.

Cream butter, sugar and oil.

Beat in eggs and cornflour

Add chocolate, flour and baking powder then mix to combine.

Dollop mixture onto baking tray, leaving space for the cookies to expand.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200°C. Cool on tray for ten minutes, then tuck in.

Squidgy Chocolate Pavlova Cake

Looking for a dessert with a wow effect that won't take up much of your valuable time? Or a cake to serve the grown-ups at a children's birthday party? This squidgy chocolate pavlova cake is quick, easy and delicious. Other than giving you the recipe, you don't really need me to say any more, do you?

OK, in case you are not convinced yet, let me say a few more things. I made this in 35 minutes (excluding time in the oven) while Number 1 was a school, Number 2 was drawing at the kitchen table and Number 3 was in the sling.  It is fuss-free and leaves very little to be washed up afterwards. There is no kneading, rolling out, cutting or piping required. And did I mention that it can be prepared a day ahead of being eaten, serves 6 to 8 people and tastes delicious?

Pavlova:
3 egg whites
150g sugar
2 heaped dsps cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cider vinegar or wine vinegar
Custard Filling:
40g custard powder
2 dsps sugar
500ml milk
100g really good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

This really couldn't be handier to make. Pre-heat the oven to 140°C and line two baking trays with baking parchment. 
Whisk the egg whites till stiff. Add the sugar a spoonful at a time, making sure that the sugar crystals have dissolved before adding the next spoonful. Once all the sugar has been added and there are no specks of crystal visible, fold in the cocoa powder and the vinegar. 
Spread half of the mixture into a circle shape of 18-20 cm diameter on each of the baking trays and bake for 50 minutes. Switch off the oven and leave the pavlova in there to cool for an hour. Then remove it from the oven to finish cooling. 
If you are making this a day in advance of eating, then leave the pavlovas on the baking parchment after they have cooled fully, fold it around them, stack them and wrap tightly in clingfilm. Then place the pavlovas carefully somewhere where they will not get damaged before being used.
To make the filling, prepare custard with 500 ml of milk according the the instructions on the pack. I usually make custard in the microwave as it leaves no mess and is very quick. Once the custard is made, melt the dark chocolate and pour it into the custard. Beat it well with a whisk to combine the two. Then cover the surface of the custard with a sheet of greaseproof papaer or baking parchment to prevent a skin developing. Leave to cool but do not refrigerate unless you are making the custard a day in advance of assembling and eating the cake.
To assemble, place one pavlova on a flat plate or cake stand. Whisk the chocolate custard well until it is smooth and creamy. Spread all the custard onto the pavlova. Top with the second pavlova. Just before serving, sieve icing sugar over the top. 
If there are leftovers, they make the perfect mid-morning treat with a cuppa the next day. Ultra squidgy - you need the cuppa to wash it down.