Fruit loaf

This is lovely toasted for breakfast, or great just sliced and buttered for an afternoon snack. It’s so simple, remembering to put the fruit to soak is probably the hardest bit!

For Picky Pickers who are a bit funny about dried fruit, make it plain first, then perhaps with just raisins and gradually introduce the mixed fruit.

Ingredients:

225g dried mixed fruit

225g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

120g caster sugar

250ml cold black tea

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 egg

Method:

1: Measure the dried fruit into a bowl, pour in the tea and leave to soak for at least a couple of hours. I tend to leave it in the fridge overnight.

2: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease a loaf tin.

3: Measure all the other ingredients into a large bowl, add the soaked fruit and remaining liquid and stir gently until combined.

4: Pop in the oven for about an hour until the top has browned and a skewer comes out clean when you stick it in the cake.

5: Leave to stand for 15 mins and then turn out of the tin and onto a wire rack to cool.

Henry’s Ice Cream Cake

I decided to do something a little different when our youngest had his last birthday. He much prefers ice cream to cake so this is what I came up with…
Ingredients:
250g of digestives
100g melted butter
1 litre vanilla ice cream
Extras such as Malteasers, Smarties, chocolate chips, raspberries, strawberries, chocolate buttons and chocolate fingers
Method:
1: Put the digestives in a large bowl and mash them with the end of a rolling pin until they’re just crumbs (a great job for toddlers!).
2: Add the butter and mix well.
3: Put the mixture in a loose bottomed cake tin, pressing it down really well.
4: Place the tin in the fridge for a couple of hours.
5: Put the ice cream into another large bowl and add any extra ingredients you fancy. We kept the ice cream plain for our ‘cake’ and just put the extras on the outside, but I think some smashed up Malteasers would work very well inside. Mix in.
6: Take the tin out of the fridge and put the ice cream mixture on top of the biscuit mixture.
7: Put the tin in the freezer for at least an hour so the ice cream refreezes completely again.
8: Remove the tin from the freezer and take the ‘cake’ out of the tin.
9: Let your Picky Pickers help decorate with whatever ‘extras’ you fancy, let your imagination run wild! But remember to work quickly as the ice cream will start to melt.
10: Serve immediately.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

This is pretty lemony, 2 of my boys love it, 2 of them can’t stand it to be honest, but it’s one of my favourites and it’s really quick to whip up!

Ingredients:

150g softened butter

150g caster sugar

150g self-raising flour

2 eggs

4 tablespoons milk

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons icing sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2: Beat the butter and caster sugar together until creamy.

3: Add the beaten eggs to the mixture gradually.

4: Add the lemon zest and sift in the flour. Mix in the milk.

5: Put the mixture into a greased loaf tin. Use a knife to spread it flat.

6: Bake for 40 minutes until the cake is light brown and the top is springy to the touch.

7: Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice. Using a fork, prick the top of the cake all over and pour the lemony mixture over the warm cake.

8: Leave the cake to cool for 20 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack.

Christopher’s Ultimate Strawberry Trifle

Makes a massive trifle, plenty for 12.

Trifle’s a bit of a funny one for Picky Pickers – I certainly wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the stuff as a kid! Getting them to help make it might encourage them to taste, and I’d make sure they’ve tried the ingredients individually first!

This recipe was developed by my eldest son for Daddy’s birthday. He looked at several trifle recipes on-line and picked out and put together the bits he liked the best!

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO THE TIME IT TAKES FOR THE JELLY TO SET, YOU NEED TO START MAKING THE TRIFLE AT LEAST 6 AND A HALF HOURS BEFORE YOU WANT TO EAT IT!

Ingredients:

1 packet strawberry jelly
1 punnet strawberries
300 ml tub double cream
500 ml tub fresh custard
1 pack trifle sponge biscuits

Method:
1: Make up the jelly according to the instructions on the packet.
2: Cut the sponge biscuits in half length-ways and spread with jam before putting the halves back together again. Make a layer of sponge biscuits on the bottom and up the sides of a large bowl.
3: Cut up some of the strawberries and put a layer of them on top of the biscuits.
4: Pour the jelly in the bowl and put the bowl in the fridge for at least 6 hours until the jelly is set.
5: Pour the custard on top of the jelly.
6: Whisk the cream until thick.
7: Put the cream in the bowl.
8: Top the trifle with lots more cut up strawberries and serve.

Rock Cakes

These are seriously scrummy and can be ready to eat in 30 minutes! Little hands will have great fun rubbing in butter, splodging mixture and sprinking sugar!

Makes about 12.

Ingredients:

225g self raising flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
100g butter
50g granulated sugar
100g raisins
1 egg
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon milk
Demerera sugar for sprinkling!

Method:

1: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius and lightly grease 2 baking trays.
2: Measure flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
3: Stir in the sugar, mixed spice and fruit. Add the egg and the milk and mix to a stiff mixture. If a bit dry add a little more milk.
4: Using 2 tablespoons, shape the mixture into about 12 rough mounds on the prepared baking trays.

5: Sprinkle each cake with demerara sugar.
6: Pop in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on a wire rack before tucking in!