Tag Archives: cooking with kids

Cooking With Kids: Yummy Pizza Base and Dough Balls

Cooking With Kids: Yummy Pizza Base and Dough Balls

Most kids love pizza, but shop bought pizza bases often taste like cardboard. It’s really simple to make your own pizza bases and dough balls – the little people will love getting involved and creating something yummy to eat. My little helper had a great time with this recipe!

Ingredients:

350 Strong Plain Flour (for making bread not the normal plain flour you use for cakes, pastry etc)

7g sachet of fast action yeast

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

250ml warm water

Cooking With Kids: Yummy Pizza Base and Dough Balls

Tools:

1 large bowl

1 large mixing bowl

Wooden spoon

Cling film

 

Method:

 

  • Making sure the mixing bowl is warm (you can pour boiling water in it and then wipe it over or use it just out of the dishwasher), mix the flour, salt and yeast together.

 

  • Stir in the olive oil and water and xix together until it collects into a dough.

 

  • Sprinkle some flour onto the work surface and then empty the dough out of the bowl and knead for five minutes or so. Little people can get creative with this – for example by using their elbows!

Cooking With Kids: Yummy Pizza Base and Dough Balls

 

  • Put the dough into a the large bowl, cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm for 30 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.

 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C/ 400 degrees F/ gas mark 6.

 

  • Tip the dough back onto the floured surface and cut in half. You can use one half for the pizza base and one half to make the dough balls. Roll out the pizza base into a circle and use the remaining dough to make the dough balls by rolling out into a long, thin sausage shape and cutting into small pieces. Then roll each shape into balls using your hands. Our dough balls were not so small or even, mainly because I let my daughter make them herself!

pizza

 

  • Put the pizza base on an oven tray and add your toppings.

 

  • Cook the pizza in the oven for 15 minutes (or more if required).

 

  • Place the dough balls on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes.

 

It really is that simple! My little chef was delighted with her Italian feast.


Aimee Foster is a mum, freelance writer and social media manager, stationery addict and sea lover. Find more of her ramblings over on her blog, New Forest Mum.

Baking With Kids Penny Sweet Cupcakes

Baking With Kids – Penny Sweet Cupcakes

Remember the days when you could go to the local shop and buy your weight’s worth in penny sweets? While each penny sweet may no longer cost just a penny, they certainly make a lovely topping for these delicious cupcakes. These cakes are great for birthday parties or to make just because. Kids will love decorating the cakes with the brightly coloured sweets and everyone will adore the soft, springy cakes with their lemon curd filling.

You will need:

175g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

175g self-raising flour, sifted

Zest of one lemon

½ tsp baking powder

125g lemon curd

Baking With Kids Penny Sweet Cupcakes

For the topping:

75g unsalted butter, softened

350g icing sugar, sifted,

50 ml milk

(or, if you’re feeling lazy, a can of ready-made buttercream such as Betty Crocker’s)

Lots of penny sweets (cola bottles, milk bottles, dolly mixture, bananas, jelly beans etc)

Cupcake cases

  1. Pre-heat oven to 190/170 fan/gas mark 5. Have your child line a 12 hole cupcake tray with the cases
  2. Whisk the butter and sugar together using a handheld whisk or beat with a wooden spoon, until pale and creamy. Gradually, whisk in the eggs. Then fold in the flour, lemon zest and baking powder until combined. Little hands can help with all the mixing.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the cases in equal proportions (little people love this task).

Baking With Kids Penny Sweet Cupcakes

  1. Bake for 20 minutes or until risen, golden and firm. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.
  2. Cut a small cone shape out of the top of each cake. Put a teaspoonful of lemon curd into each hole and then replace the cone, pressing it down lightly. This proved slightly tricky for my daughter, so I let her play with the sweets.
  3. To make the buttercream, put the butter into a large bowl and whisk until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar (about half) and whisk until well combined. Add the milk and remaining icing sugar and whisk until light and fluffy. Pipe onto the cakes. Or, crack open a can of ready-made buttercream and pipe it onto the cakes in the same way. Then let your child decorate each cake with sweets.

Baking With Kids Penny Sweet Cupcakes

We took these to a birthday party the same afternoon and they went down a storm (with children and adults alike). Alternatively, you can store them in an airtight container and they will keep for 2-3 days.

Baking With Kids Penny Sweet Cupcakes


Aimee Foster is a mum, freelance writer and social media manager, stationery addict and Diet Coke lover. Find more of her ramblings over on her blog New Forest Mum