Keep your creativity alive and bake your way through rainy days with the entire family. It creates a strong bond between participants and is suitable for people of any age or experience.
Why bake? Unlike cooking where you can experiment with ingredients, temperatures, and timing, baking requires a more careful and precise approach to get the best mouth-watering result. Not only does it taste delicious, but it teaches children the concept of patience and following guidelines to achieve the best possible outcome.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the moderately challenging recipes for the entire family to enjoy together.
Banana bread
Amount: 1 loaf, 10-12 slices
Duration: 70 minutes
Ingredients:
Butter and flour for the mold
5 ripe bananas
100 g room temperature butter
2 dl sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 dl wheat flour (3 1/2 dl corresponds to 210 g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Instructions:
Set the oven to 200°C.
Butter and flour in a bread tin, about 1 ½ liter
Peel and mash 4 of the bananas. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy with an electric whisk. First, whisk the eggs into the butter mixture and then the mashed bananas.
Mix all the dry ingredients and put them in the batter. Stir to a smooth batter. Pour into the mold. Peel and slice the banana and place the cut side up on the batter.
Place in the center of the oven for about 40-50 minutes until the cake is golden, feel with a skewer to make sure it’s baked in the center of the bread. Let cool and cut into slices.
Gluten-free chocolate brownies – Jamie Oliver-style
Amount: 9
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients:
75 ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
6 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 x 400g tin of aduki beans
200 g soft light brown sugar
55 g cocoa powder
55 g ground almonds
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 g dark dairy-free chocolate
For the coconut whip:
200 ml coconut cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
The day before you make your brownies, place the carton of coconut cream in the fridge and leave it for 24 hours to thicken up.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 20-25cm square brownie tin with sunflower oil and line it with baking paper.
In a bowl, combine the ground flaxseed with 9 tablespoons of water, stir well and leave it alone to thicken up.
Drain and rinse the beans, then put them in a food processor and blitz them to a smooth paste. Add the flaxseed mixture, sunflower oil, sugar, cocoa, ground almonds, baking powder, and vanilla extract, then pulse everything again until you have a rich and glossy batter.
Roughly chop the dark chocolate into small chunks, add to the mixture, and pulse briefly just to incorporate the chocolate.
Spoon the batter into the prepared brownie tin and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, covering the brownies loosely in tin foil halfway through cooking to stop them from catching. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool just a little.
Whisk the chilled coconut cream in a bowl, icing sugar and vanilla extract until thick and creamy. Slice the brownie into squares and serve with the coconut whip for drizzling.
Scones
Amount: 9
Duration: 30
Ingredients:
4 dl wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 ml salt
50 g butter or margarine (preferably at room temperature)
2 dl milk
cheese or cream cheese
marmalade (preferably strawberry marmalade)
Instructions:
Set the oven to 250°C.
Mix wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Finely distribute the butter or margarine into the flour mixture. Add milk and quickly stir into a sticky dough.
Cut out 2 cookies, 8 buns, or a length on a sheet of baking paper. Place in the center of the oven for about 10-12 minutes.
Serve the scones freshly baked with cheese, cream cheese, or marmalade.
Snickerdoodles
Amount: 18
Duration: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients:
200g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
50g light brown soft sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
300g plain flour
1½ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp milk
For the topping:
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl using an electric whisk for 2 mins until smooth and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and beat until combined, scraping down the sides once. Add the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, and ¼ tsp salt, and mix until just combined. Stir in the milk to loosen the mixture.
For the topping, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Roll 40g of the dough into a ball. Roll the dough ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, then place it on the prepared tray and press it down lightly. Repeat with the remaining dough and topping, spacing the balls about 5cm apart.
Bake for 10-12 mins until golden and puffed up. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight tin for up to four days.
Cinnamon buns
Amount: 20
Duration: approximately 60 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 packet of yeast (50 g)
50 g butter or margarine
3 dl milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
8 dl wheat flour
100 g room temperature butter or margarine
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 dl caster sugar
egg
pearl sugar
Instructions:
Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Melt the shortening in a saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave at full power for approx. 30 sec. Add the milk and heat until finger warm. Pour some of the dough liquid over the yeast and stir until it dissolves.
Add the rest of the dough liquid, sugar, salt, and almost all the wheat flour, saving a little for baking. Work the dough smoothly by hand or in a machine until the dough leaves the edges of the bowl. Let the dough rise, covered, for approx. 30 min.
Set timer for 30 minutes.
Stir the shortening smoothly with cinnamon and sugar.
Take the dough out onto the workbench and knead it smoothly with the remaining flour. Roll out the dough into a plate, approx. 30×40 cm (for 20 pieces). Spread on the filling and roll up from the long side. Cut the roll into pieces about 2 cm wide. Place the pieces with the cut surface facing up on a baking sheet covered with baking paper or in paper bun forms.
Let the buns rise under a baking sheet for approx. 20 min.
Set timer for 20 minutes.
Brush the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar. Bake the buns in the middle of the oven at 250°C, approx. 8 min. Allow cooling on a wire rack under a baking sheet before packing in a bag or jar with a lid.
Do you want to learn more about how to prepare for a baking session, and how baking brings joy to children? Read more right here. Have fun and stay safe in the kitchen!
Recipes: ICA & Jamie Oliver
