Category: Kids Cooking

It is one of the things my husband and I will never agree on. I will never be able to convince him nor him me. I am not referring to an ethical or theological question, but instead our opinions of Marmite. The are two clear camps in our house: Marmite lovers and Marmite haters. Simon hates it and I love it. Despite being on opposite sides of this crucial topic we do manage to have a happy marriage. I just make sure I eat marmite when he is nowhere near me.

While volunteering in Ecuador during my year abroad (many, many years ago), the family I was living with had a small pot of Marmite that they ceremoniously brought out when I arrived. It turns out that another English volunteer had left it behind and they were convinced that it would make me feel at home. Touched by the gesture, I asked them if they liked it. The youngest (around 7) said to me: “it is OK mixed in with rice, but it tastes a bit funny.” His response made me chuckle and I ended up explaining that not all British people like Marmite and some in fact hate it. I never saw any of the family touch the Marmite in my presence, but I did manage to polish off the jar during my stay. I think they were quite relieved! I was very happy to have something to remind me of home.

Luckily for me, the kids agree with my assessment and love Marmite. It is such a versatile ingredient: Marmite on toast, in sandwiches, plain rice, spaghetti and of course quiche. Now before you dismiss me as crazy for adding Marmite to quiche (or any of the other ideas…), I promise you it works (if you like Marmite). Don’t believe me try it and decide for yourself.

We have made both mini marmite quiches as well as a big one. I must admit I tend to make way too much pastry as then it doesn’t matter if the children don’t roll it out thin enough. It is easy enough to chop excess pastry away from a flan tin or just make more mini ones. We used muffin trays for the small ones, but I would recommend using a shallow bun tin instead though.

Ingredients

For the pastry (this is enough to easily fill a 23cm diameter flan tin or make between 14 and 18 mini ones)

• 280g flour
• 130g butter/margarine
• 70ml water
• pinch of salt

For the filling

• 3  large eggs
• 120ml single cream (you can use milk instead but it will make the filling runnier when making. It doesn’t impact upon the finished quiche though)
• 100g grated cheese
• 1tbsp marmite (use less for a milder taste and more for a stronger taste)
• 1tsp mixed herbs

Method

1. Place the butter, flour and salt into a bowl and rub with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Pour in the water and knead together to form a ball. Add more water if it is too dry and more flour if too soggy.
3. Place a silicone baking mat on your surface and flour it well. Put the pastry on the mat and sprinkle with flour. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll it out.
4. Grease and flour the flan dish or the shallow bun tin. Lay the pastry over the flan tin and gently press into the edges. Cut off any excess, but leaving a bit extra on. Prick the bottom of the pastry and cover with greaseproof paper and baking beans. Make sure some of the beans are close to the edge. If using the shallow bun tin cut into rounds with a circular cutter a bit larger than the holes. Bake blind at 200ºc (15 minutes for the large one and around 7-10 minutes for the mini ones).
5. Meanwhile make the filling. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk.
6. Add the cream (or milk), cheese and herbs and mix.
7. Grease the measuring spoon for the Marmite (we used frylight and squeezy Marmite) and add the Marmite. Mix thoroughly. This may be quite difficult due to the Marmite’s texture, so you may well need to help with this.
8. Remove the pastry from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 170ºc. Pour the mixture into the pastry base (or spoon into the mini ones) and bake for 40-45 minutes until it is set. The quiche may look a bit brown as it cooks, but this is because of the Marmite.

My kids and I really enjoyed these and unsurprisingly we didn’t share them with Simon. It seems to be the kids’ new favourite quiche flavour replacing pizza quiche which formerly held the top spot for a very long time.

 

 

 

 

Birthdays require cake. This is one of the rules which should never ever ever be broken. However, in our house this rule can be bended to included other baked goods when the birthday boy had family around to celebrate the weekend before his week-day birthday and friends coming the weekend after and both occasions called for yummy cake and a clean and tidy house!

This year I decided that Atticus and I would make baked doughnuts on the morning of his birthday to share over his birthday dinner. As he is not a jam fan (something which he adamantly tells me every time we make jam tarts or I even move to get the jam out of the fridge for anyone else) they really did have to be filled with Nutella. I also filled some with lemon curd for the grown ups and those who aren’t as fond of Nutella as my kids are. And great news for all my gluten-free friends this recipe can be made gluten free by substituting the regular flour for its gluten-free counterpart. You do sacrifice a bit of the rise that you get with the regular flour, but they are still yummy. It has to be said that both versions taste better and more doughnut-like when eaten immediately after rolling in sugar and still warm from the oven, but they do also taste good a bit later either warmed in the oven or even cold.

As per my usual working method, I trialled the recipe first without the kids (this is not great for my waist line, but better to prevent unhappy kids) and to my frustration when I picked them out of the muffin tray the filling fell out the bottom of some of them. After my initial disappointment (and if I am honest sometimes my disappointment is greater than the kids’ when it all goes wrong), I rejigged the method and a solution did indeed present itself (thanks Simon for the nudge or maybe shove in the right direction!).

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

• 140g caster sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100ml buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 140g melted butter
• Nutella, lemon curd or jam to fill them
• Caster sugar and ground ginger for dusting

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170°c fan. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin (we have used metal which require more greasing and silicone which were easier and mini ones. Overall the silicone ones were the best).
2. Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
3. Whisk the buttermilk and the eggs together and then add them to the dry ingredients along with the melted butter. Combine them with a metal spoon.
4. Put around 2/3s of the mixture into the muffin holes and then place in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
5. Remove them from the oven to add 1tsp of your filling of choice (you may want to help your children with this as the muffin tray will obviously be hot) and then cover with the remaining mixture and return to the oven for another 12-14 minutes until they are springy, golden and have risen. If you are making mini doughnuts the cooking time will be less (4 minutes before putting the filling in and around 15 minutes maximum in total) and you will only need 1/4 or 1/2tsp of filling.
6. Remove the doughnuts from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin. While they are cooling mix 100g caster sugar with 1tsp of ground ginger (add more ginger or sugar to adjust taste) and spread on a plate. Remove the doughnuts from the tin and immediately roll in the sugar/ginger mix. You can omit the ginger and cover them in just sugar which may well work better with jam, but the ginger did work nicely with the Nutella and lemon curd.

As previously stated I did eat rather a lot of these. I have struggled to feel guilty about this as it was Atticus’s birthday. I have, however, been participating in the exercise classes I attend during the week with increased enthusiasm and energy. This is not altogether surprising when you count how many doughnuts I consumed over 2 days. The day after his birthday the remaining doughnuts were distributed to the people of Atticus’s choice (he had very particular ideas about who should receive them) and I am already planning my next baking project (no surprise there).

 

In my book, fish pie is comfort food. I love fish and when paired with smooth mashed potato it always manages to hit the spot. It is somehow able to make me forget the trauma and drama the day may have brought and enter a happy place of clear thinking. This is, however, until I try and serve it to my children and my husband. No one else in the house seems to have the same appreciation of mashed potato as I do. It breaks my heart that they don’t understand the comfort that can come from this combination that I so adore.

With this in mind, I set about planning a new way to serve fish pie that wouldn’t disgust my family and cause copious arguments over the dinner table. I was looking at online chicken pie recipes and I came across one topped with a tin of croissants. I followed the link the recipe stated to put the uncooked croissant pastry on top of the pie instead of short crust pastry. This surprised me as I had presumed that it would involve a savoury  croissant bread and butter pudding top to the pie. Then I realised I had accidentally stumbled upon the solution to my fish pie problem. This made me happier that it  should have and I managed to contain my excitement by planning the shopping for the following week and adding the ingredients for my Croissant-topped fish pie onto my shopping list.

Ingredients

• 300g white fish (or fish pie mix)
• 150g small prawns
• 1tsp mixed herbs
• 2tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2tbsp pesto
• Seasoning
• 4 croissants
• 3 eggs
• 50ml single cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c fan.
2. Chop the fish into bite size pieces and place in a bowl with the prawns. In our house prawns are called rainbows from when Seb, when aged just under 2, said they looked like a rainbow and it has just stuck!
3. Add the tomato paste and pesto, mixed herbs and season.
4. Slice the croissants.
5. Place the fish mixture in an oven proof dish and put the sliced croissants over the top of it.
6. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk well. Add the single cream and season and mix again.
7. Pour it on top of the sliced croissants and put it into the oven for 25 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.

We served this with broccoli and it was wonderful to see the children eat fish pie without trying to avoid the mashed potato on top of it. Seb and Atticus enjoyed the whole process of making it and it is a recipe that will become a family favourite over time.

I am a big procrastinator. I will do literally anything to avoid doing household chores such as putting the clean laundry away, sorting out the kids’ toys or hoovering. This is how I came to create this recipe. While ignoring the aforementioned chores on Saturday morning I discovered it was National Tea Day. I am not overly fond of tea, my morning’s are fuelled by coffee and the caffeine it provides me. That said, I do love a soothing peppermint tea to prevent me from jittering in a caffeine-induced trance at the school gate and speaking so quickly that no one is able to decipher what I am trying to say.

When I was thinking of tea related recipes my brain automatically started thinking what kind of tea would go best with chocolate? I am a self-confessed chocaholic so this is no surprise. That is when I remembered how much I enjoyed the Mint Choc Chip ice cream I had over Christmas. It is not my usual ice cream flavour because as a child the vibrant mint-green colour that some ice creams in this flavour are made me hesitant to eat it. The ice cream I had over Christmas had the wonderfully refreshing combination without the green colour. This led me to believe I could reproduce the flavour in my muffins by using peppermint tea and thus avoiding the green colour.

These cupcakes are beautifully moist. If you want them to have more of a peppermint flavour you only need to put more tea bags in the boiling water. We left them un-iced, but with some chocolate drizzled on top of them. This was partially because it was easier and quicker, but secondly my children sometimes ignore the cake underneath when presented with a beautifully iced treat. I find this especially frustrating when they have really engaged with the process of making the cake and then decide to forget its existence.

This recipe will make either 12 large muffins or 24 mini ones or even 6 large muffins and 12 mini ones like we made. I should say, we did have to double this recipe so that both the boys could crack an egg as I really wasn’t in the mood for the argument over who would be allowed to crack the egg! I was distributing them to neighbours on Saturday afternoon – I believe I am starting to become quite popular despite the noise my children make!

Ingredients

• 200g self raising flour
• 115g caster sugar
• 65ml milk
• 50ml crème fraiche (we used half fat)
• 1 egg
• 60g vegetable oil
• 120ml boiling water containing 2 peppermint teabags (we used Teapigs)
• 100g chocolate chips (we used milk)
• Melted chocolate to drizzle on the top (we used 50g dark chocolate)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c fan and line the muffin tins (we use silicone cupcake cases).
2. Measure out 120ml of boiling water and put the two teabags in it. If you want a stronger peppermint taste, you can add more teabags. The two give the muffins a delicate peppermint flavour. Put to one side to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl mix together the self raising flour, sugar together. Crack in the eggs and mix thoroughly. Add the milk, crème fraiche and the oil and mix it all until it is fully combined.
4. Hopefully the teabags will have cooled a little bit by this time and if they are cool enough let the children squeeze them to get the excess liquid off them and let out the peppermint flavour. If they are still a bit warm leave them a little bit longer before squeezing them.
5. Pour the tea into the muffin mixture and gently stir until it is combined. The mixture will be thin and runny, but this isn’t a problem. Add the chocolate chips and divide the mixture evenly between all of the cupcake cases (just under 2/3s full).
6. Place in the over and cook for 15-18 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. A skewer will come out clean when inserted (unless you manage to hit a chocolate chip!) The smaller muffins will take less time around 12-14 minutes.
7. Allow the muffins to cool and then drizzle with the melted chocolate.

The kids and I enjoyed these as an afternoon snack. Simon, who isn’t a huge fan of peppermint, liked them as the peppermint wasn’t too overpowering.

Right now I really should get back to putting the clean laundry away as much to my dismay it will not magically happen. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the recipe.

 

The 23 April is St George’s day. If I am honest, and honestly I do tend to be as it prevents the guilt that lying can cause and I am just not a good enough liar to pull it off without getting myself into a pickle, this sort of occasion tends to pass me by before I even realise and have the chance to do any activities relating to it with the kids. This year Simon suggested that I get the kids involved about a week ago and this spurred me to find a recipe that I had not made with the kids before, but which was also traditionally English.

Many ideas zipped across my head and I immediately became desperate to try as many of them as possible. I had to tell myself to slow down and that there is plenty of time to make bubble and squeak with leftovers and convince the boys to eat stewed fruit so they will enjoy a tasty, yummy, delicious, warming crumble. Yes the boys love fruit, but both refuse point blank to entertain the possibility of consuming stewed fruit in any sort of pudding. It is very strange, but, as yet I have been unable to change this. Ophelia, much to my delight, doesn’t share this peculiarity. After I had manage to channel my thoughts, I decided what could possibly be more English than crumpets and fruit jam? After reading that crazy jumble of ideas, you have a greater understanding of how hard it is for my family and friends (my husband in particular) to keep up my train of though and stay sane during the process!

Crumpets are traditionally cooked on a griddle and despite their regional variations, the crumpet that we recognise today seems to be a product of the Victorian times when yeast was added to the recipe. Now before you start thinking crumpets, gosh they sound fiddly and difficult and I don’t want my child standing over the hob for that long as they will get bored and you never know what mischief or trouble they could cause, don’t worry these are oven baked. Woop woop! My children all love crumpets and eating homemade crumpets definitely makes the process all the more special.

For the crumpets

• 225g plain flour (or gluten free flour – see note below the method for gluten free flour)
• 7g fast action yeast
• 200ml tepid water
• 100ml milk
• 1tbsp golden syrup (we have found that Tate and Lyles is the best brand as some of the other brands do sometimes leave the crumpets with a slight orange tinge)
• 1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4tsp salt

Recipe adapted from Peyton and Byrne, British Baking

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and set a timer for 2 minutes. In the meantime boil the kettle and fill a bowl with the boiling water. Once the 2 minutes is up, turn off the oven and the oven light and place the bowl of hot water into the oven and close the door. This will create good conditions to activate the yeast during proving.
2. Measure out the tepid water and add the yeast and mix until the latter has dissolved.
3. Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl (I give the kids a spoon to push the flour through to reduce the mess and ‘make it snow’) and create a well in the middle of it with the back of a spoon.
4. Add the milk to the yeast and water mixture and mix well. Then add the golden syrup and mix again until fully combined.
5. Pour the yeast mixture into the well in the flour bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
6. Add the salt and the bicarbonate of soda and mix again.
7. Cover with cling film and place in the oven to prove for 30 minutes. At the end of proving the mixture should seem thicker, have air bubbles and be sticky to the touch.
8. While the mixture is proving grease you muffin pans. I used silicone ones either sprayed in frylight or greased with margarine. Atticus enjoyed painting them with the margarine. Silicone ones do make removing them from the pan easier. A well-greased metal muffin tray could be used instead.
9. Once the proving time is up remove the crumpet batter from the oven and switch the oven to 180°c fan.
10. Fill each muffin compartment around two thirds full and then level gently with the back of a spoon if they don’t seem flat. We filled 6 circular and 5 heart shaped compartments.
11. Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the tops are a light golden colour and springy to the touch.
12. Leave in the muffin trays for a couple of minutes to cool and them remove to cool further. You may be thinking these don’t look like the crumpets you buy at the supermarket, but once they have cooled a bit more slice them in half to expose their trademark air bubbles. Try and avoid slicing them when they are piping hot as it is easier when they have cooled a little. To reheat place under the grill for a couple of minutes. Enjoy with jam, butter, peanut butter or even Nutella! These do have a sweet taste due to the golden syrup.

To make these gluten-free follow the same process, substituting the plain flour for gluten-free plain flour. This mixture will not rise as much or have as sticky texture as the normal plain flour and will be considerably runnier. They don’t rise as much during cooking either and are slightly stodgier than their plain flour counterparts. I have, however, been informed by a gluten-free friend that they taste like normal crumpets. They may need to be cooked in the oven for a minute or two longer as well and are best toasted. The close up on the left is a gluten-free crumpet and as you can see the holes are less pronounced.

For the Chia Seed Jam

In this recipe the chia seeds act as the gelling agent instead of the pectin. The more chia seeds added the thicker the jam will become. You will not get the same set jam that traditional jam making will yield, but as I have discovered, it is a perfect way to introduce children to jam making.

• 2 cups of fruit (we used apple and blackberry as we had some leftover frozen blackberries from last autumn’s foraging trips.)
• 1-2tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2tbsp clear honey
• Chia seeds (the amount you require depends of the consistency of the jam you want. If you want a thick jam, you will need more chia seeds. We did use quite a lot of chia seeds as we wanted thick jam.)

For older children;

1. Wash and peel and hard skin off of the fruit (such as apple skin). Chop fruit. Berries can be left whole.
2. Stew the fruit for around 10 minutes until it is soft. I am personally happy to supervise my 5 and 3 year olds using the hob, but if you would prefer the adult can do this for the child. If you have chosen very ripe soft fruit then you can bypass this step.
3. Squish the fruit with a potato masher.
4. Then add 1tbsp of lemon juice and 1tbsp of honey. Check the sweetness and then add the rest of the lemon juice or honey if required. If the fruit is particularly sharp, then you may well need more than 2tbsp of honey.
5. Add 1tbsp of chia seeds and leave to start setting. If you do want a firmer jam rather than a thick fruit compote continue adding chia seeds 1tsp at a time at 10 minute intervals. The last step of adding further chia seeds may be the part that you complete for the child. Place in sterilised jars (if the fruit was stewed do this once it has cooled) and store in the fridge.

If you have young children (between 1 and 4) you can still make this recipe. I would advise you choose a soft very ripe fruit such as strawberries or raspberries and they squish them with a fork or potato masher and then follow the same steps as the stove-top method.

As soon as we have finished making the jam, Atticus turns around and says to me; ‘Mummy I don’t like jam.’ I had to do my best not to snap at him and remember how much fun he had making the jam with his brother and working the apple peeler and watching the jam get thicker. Luckily, Seb and Ophelia both seem to like it. Ophelia managed to get it all over her face and behind her ears, but she did have a smile all over her face when she did so I was happy. I took this as a positive sign and this gave my patience levels a much needed boost after Atticus’s comment!

Seb, my eldest, went into school dressed as pirate on Friday last week – complete with oversized pirate hat and a moustache and beard drawn on with eyeliner. The reason for this unusual attire in school was Pirate Day: a day comprising offsite pirate-themed activities. Atticus, not wanting Seb to have all the fun, also insisted on taking part so also spent the day dressed as a pirate. That was all good until I took him swimming and spent a couple of minutes wondering why people were staring at him and looking at me strangely. I am that mother who looks at her son with an eyeliner beard and moustache as we are about to go swimming and doesn’t twig that there may be something wrong with his appearance. Oh well, at least he was happy! No harm done and Atticus didn’t understand the lifeguard’s comment about having aged a lot since the last time she saw him!

As this was Seb’s first school trip, I decided that the occasion had to be marked and what better way to do this than with pirate-themed food? This started the debate of what a pirate actually eats. Simon said that it had to be something they could mainly eat with their hands as he couldn’t imagine them eating a formal meal or using cutlery. I had tropical fruit on the brain as I always imagine pirates living in hot places. I am pretty sure that Pirates of the Caribbean is the reason for this, but seriously can you imagine a pirate living in our relatively cool climate?! Fuelled by these two ideas I set about trying to combine them. I came up with two ideas, both of which sounded fun so instead of having to choose which one would be best, I decided we would have a go at both.

The two ideas were:

• Pineapple and Coconut Granola for breakfast. It seems this flavour combination of granola will now be known as Pirate Cereal. We do end up with some funny names for things in this house and they invariably stick. I am sure this also happens in other families. Please, please, please don’t tell me it is only ours… This recipe is suitable for children of all ages as they can all have a go at pouring and mixing.
• Sticky Citrus Chicken Drumsticks for dinner or tea or whatever you wish to call it… I seem to be unable to call it tea. It was always called dinner when I was growing up in Surrey, but despite my time in the North and now the Midlands I still refer to my evening meal as dinner and get confused when Seb refers to dinner at school. Isn’t language wonderful?! Anyway, putting all regional variations aside, let’s get back to the recipes. This recipe is suitable for older children as it involves zesting and juicing which are both slightly more difficult skills to master.

To make the granola you will need:

• 2 cups of oats (you could substitute some of these oats for rice crispies.) Although I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free oats, I see no reason why gluten free oats wouldn’t work.
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/2tsp salt
• 50 ml melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp coconut extract (or vanilla if you prefer)
• 1/4 cup of honey (preferably runny honey)
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• Approximately 1/2 cup of dried pineapple
• Approximately 1/2 cup of raisins
•  1/2 cup of flaked almonds or chopped mixed  nuts

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper or silicone baking sheets.
2. In a large bowl mix the oats, desiccated coconut, cinnamon and salt together well.
3. In a smaller bowl or a jug, mix the honey, melted coconut oil (or vegetable oil), brown sugar and coconut extract (or vanilla extract).
4. Pour the liquid ingredients over the oat mixture and mix thoroughly until all coated.
5. Spread the oat mixture out on the two baking sheets. Bake for 5 minutes and then turn to ensure it doesn’t burn and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. You will need to watch it carefully (especially in the latter five minutes) to ensure it doesn’t burn.
6. Leave to cool and then store in an airtight container.

To make the chicken drumsticks you will need:

• 1 pack of chicken drumsticks (you could use chicken thighs or breasts if you like, but as it was pirate food and fingers were allowed for the chicken we went with drumsticks.)
• 2tsp cornflour
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 2tbsp runny honey
• 2tbsp soy sauce

Method

1. Remove the skin from the drumsticks and preheat the oven to 200°c fan. My children are 5, 3 and 1 so they did not help to remove the skin.
2. Put the drumsticks into an ovenproof dish and cook for 25 minutes.
3. Zest all the citrus fruit and put the zest into a bowl – my children love the idea of the zester, but in reality they struggle to use it so they have a couple of attempts and then I finish the process off for them.
4. Slice all of the fruit and juice. We have a handheld press which works really well, but anyway you fancy is fine, but do watch out for the pips! You will see that this step did require the help of some of the Thunderbirds and Atticus is even dressed as Scott Tracy for the occasion. I will say that fancy dress is optional for this bit, but they do enjoy it! (ps he still had his pirate beard at this time mainly intact despite swimming!)
5. Add the cornflour to the zest and juice and mix well. Add the soy sauce and the honey and mix some more until all combined.
6. Pour it over the chicken. Please remember the pan will be hot. I tend to place the dish a distance from the child who is doing to pouring so they can’t burn themselves. Adult: turn the chicken in the sauce to ensure it is fully coated.
7. Cook for 10 minutes further ensuring that every couple of minutes you spoon the sauce back over the chicken. If the sauce becomes too thick add some more water.

Both these dishes were enjoyed by all little pirates, some of them even polished off two bowls of cereal before leaving the house before the day’s activities! The chicken drumsticks didn’t survive until the following morning as three hungry children and their dad ensured they gobbled them up amid discussions of future pirate adventures.

 

I love it when my children decide that they want to try a new flavour or food that they have never tried before. I also find they are more willing to taste a new food if we are cooking with it. This was how they all ended up tasting blue wenslydale cheese and it is what led to me making this Cranberry, Bacon and Brie Tart with Atticus. I must say it was quite a feat to convince him not to eat all the brie as we were slicing it for the top of the tart! I was quite surprised that he liked it and was planning of giving the children beans on toast if he turned up his nose at the cheese, but it turns out I needn’t have been concerned, the boy definitely loves his cheese!

This tart can be made in several different ways and as I am a huge fan of experimenting in the kitchen so I like to mix up the recipe that I use for the pastry and how I put the filling together.  This time round we put more bacon in the filling and I relied on the sheer volume of meet in the tart to keep it all together, but you could use less bacon and a couple of eggs and make it more like a brie topped bacon quiche. The latter option would provide greater structural integrity for the tart. We decided to use a scone-like recipe for the pastry and the quantities below make a generous batch which will leave you with a bit left over after covering a 23cm diameter pie dish or very tall or thick sides. If you prefer you could use a short crust pastry recipe, but this one is so simple to put together with children that I do recommend that you give this one a go. Atticus enjoys getting his hands sticky so he happily mixed this all together with his hands, but you could also do it with a wooden spoon. If you would like you can add some parmesan to the pastry to add an extra layer of depth to the flavour, but it isn’t necessary.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 100ml milk
• 40g melted butter
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp cranberry sauce
• 1 small onion
• 8 slices of bacon (or 4 slices of bacon and 2 medium eggs to make it a quiche)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200g brie

Method

1. Preheat the over to 180°c.
2. Put the plain flour, baking powder, salt and mustard powder into a bowl. Combine the milk, melted butter and egg in a jug or cup.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix with a wooden spoon or your hands. It will be a sticky dough so flour a silicone baking mat (easier to transfer the dough). Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out until it is a little bit larger than the size of the pie dish. Transfer the dough to the pie dish and carefully remove the silicone baking mat and gently press the dough into the pie dish. Atticus enjoyed helping with this bit, but close supervision was required as he was becoming a little over enthusiastic during the transfer process and as a result our pastry cracked a bit and we ended up with thick edges following a repair job.
4. Blind bake the pastry (baking parchment and baking beans on top of it) for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the bacon with scissors. Atticus did this while I chopped the onion. Fry the onion and the bacon with a clove of garlic and season and put to one side. If you would prefer to make this tart more like a quiche, beat a couple of eggs into bacon and onion mixture. Slice the brie into slithers.
5. Remove the pastry case from the oven and spread the cranberry sauce over the bottom of it with the back of a spoon. The cranberry sauce was also a new flavour to Atticus and he eagerly licked the spoon used to spread it after he had finished covering the case. Pour the bacon mixture into the pastry case and arrange the brie on top to cover it.
6. Return to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.