Easter Activities for Children

Now the Easter Holidays are here and the weather is looking less than inviting I thought I would do some activities to entertain your children or Grandchildren indoors.


Most children love ‘helping’ bake so I have found two simple recpies with an Easter theme, Easter Rocky Road and Easter Chick Cupcakes. Both recipe’s are from the Good Food Channel and both are easy enough for children to get involved with.

Easter Rocky Road

Prep time: 15 min, plus setting time

Cook time: 5 min

Serves: Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients
• 300 g milk chocolate, (min 30% cocoa solids)

• 100 g butter, softened

• 100 g digestive biscuits

• 100 g rich tea biscuits

• 100 g mini marshmallows

• 200 g chocolate mini eggs



Method

1. Break the chocolate into pieces, place in a bowl and melt gently - you can do this either in a microwave or on the hob in a heatproof bowl over simmering water.



2. Add the butter and stir until it is melted and fully mixed with the chocolate.



3. Place all the biscuits in a food bag and bash with a rolling pin, but stop before they all turn to dust.



4. Add the biscuits and the mini marshmallows to the warm buttery chocolate and stir well.



5. Pour the mixture onto a buttered baking tray and top liberally with the mini eggs.



6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and then cut into pieces. Store in a cool place and eat within 3 days.



Easter Chick Cupcakes

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 18 min

Serves: Makes 12

Ingredients
For the cupcakes

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened

• 125 g caster sugar

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 125 g self-raising flour

To decorate

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened

• 250 g icing sugar

• 2 tbsp milk

• 100 g moist shredded coconut

• yellow food colouring

• 24 chocolate chips

• 12 orange jelly diamond sugar decorations



Method

1. For the cupcakes: heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Once this is pale and fluffy, add 2 eggs one at a time.



2. Add the flour and once this has become a nice fluffy cake batter spoon into cupcake cases in a muffin tray and bake for 18 minutes. Once they are firm but springy to the touch, remove from the oven and allow to cool.



3. To decorate: Put the shredded coconut in a bag and drop in some yellow food colouring. Give it a good shake until the white strands have turned a cheerful yellow colour. Turn it out onto a large plate.



4. In a bowl, combine the butter with the icing sugar. If your buttercream frosting is a bit stiff, add the milk to soften it.



5. Once this has mixed well and become fluffy, dollop 1 heaped teaspoon on each cupcake and spread to form an even layer with a palette knife.



6. Scatter the top of each iced cake with the yellow coconut flakes to give an even coating. Finish each cake with 2 chocolate chip eyes and a jelly beak.



Easter Crafts

There are so many Easter crafts that you can do with children including:

Making Easter cards – coloured card, cotton wool, tissue paper, poster paints, brushes, felt tips, Pritstick

Easter bonnets – plain straw hat ( a card hat can be made instead using a large sheet of card, double sided sticky tape and staples), PVA glue, coloured card, glitter, little Easter chicks (available from most card shops and supermarkets), tissue paper, silk flowers, feathers, ribbons and buttons.

Painted/coloured hard boiled eggs – Hard boiled eggs (eggs boiled for 12 minutes then cooled), felt tip pens, Poster paints, brushes, tissue paper, glitter, wool strands for hair, googly eyes, pritstick.

Stollen Recipe

Stollen Recipe


Ingredients

Serves: 15

• 2 teaspoons dried active baking yeast

• 175ml (6 fl oz) warm milk (45 C)

• 1 large egg

• 75g (3 oz) caster sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 75g (3 oz) unsalted butter, softened

• 350g (12 oz) bread flour

• 50g (2 oz) currants

• 50g (2 oz) sultanas

• 50g (2 oz) red glace cherries, quartered

• 175g (6 oz) diced mixed citrus peel

• 200g (7 oz) marzipan

• 1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• toasted flaked almonds for sprinkling on top

Preparation method

Prep: 2 hours
Cook: 40 mins

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, caster sugar, salt, butter, and 3/4 of the bread flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition.

3. When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, sultanas, dried cherries and mixed peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.

4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

5. Lightly grease a baking tray. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the centre of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it; pinch the seams together to seal.

6. Place the loaf, seam side down, on the prepared baking tray. Cover with a clean, damp tea-towel and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 150 C / Gas mark 2 and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

8. Allow loaf to cool on a wire cooling rack. Dust the cooled loaf with icing sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon and finish with toasted flaked almonds.