The popularity of the reality TV Bake Off series proves there’s a demand for cooking up a big helping of comfort food in the kitchen. Creamy toppings, sugary fillings and springy sponges get our stomachs rumbling and mouths watering.

It all harks back to those happy childhood days, imaginary or otherwise, when we hung out with Granny savouring those delicious baking smells from the oven.

Read on to find out how to recreate your own special moments with the kids as we take you through some simple recipes to try out together.

The Benefits of Learning to Bake

There’s plenty of evidence that young people who learn how to cook develop healthier eating habits. It helps them understand what goes into the food they put into their mouths and the relevance of a nutritious diet to health and well-being.

Baking together also helps children appreciate what their parents do for them day after day. It offers the opportunity for some quality time, boosts their confidence and expands their palates.

There’s also the chance to explain where food comes from, do a little arithmetic and carry out some reading comprehension. And, baking is a useful life skill to have under your belt as you career towards adulthood.

Cakes and treats do have a reputation for being fattening, but not as part of a balanced diet accompanied by plenty of exercise. There are lots of healthy baking options too.

So, come on, let’s bake!

1. Colourful Cup Cakes

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

• 100g softened butter
• 100g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100g self-raising flour
• 5 drops of vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 280g icing sugar
• 140g softened butter
• 1-3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Food colouring

Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan. Fill up a 12-cupcake baking tray with cases.

Beat the butter and sugar together until it turns pale and fluffy. Next, whisk in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the rest of the ingredients with a pinch of salt and spoon the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the cakes turn a golden brown colour.

While you leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack, mix up all the ingredients for the buttercream. If you want different coloured cakes, spoon out enough for the required number of cakes and stir in the colouring. Spread the mixture onto the cooled cakes. Add edible glitter, silver balls or chocolate sprinkles.

Top Tip: Use a skewer to test if the cakes are ready. If it runs clean, you’re all set.

2. Simple Blueberry and Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 100g softened butter
• 130g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150g natural yoghurt
• A few drops of vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 60g each of raspberries and blueberries (frozen work well)

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan and line a 12-hole greased muffin tin with paper cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs and then mix in the yoghurt, vanilla extract and milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and bicarb with a pinch or 2 of salt. Tip this into the butter and sugar mixture and stir well. Fold in the berries and divide the mixture between the muffin cases.

Bake for 5 minutes before turning down the oven to 180C/160C fan. Bake for a further 15-18 minutes until the muffins have risen and look golden. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so before taking them out and leaving them on a wire rack to finish the cooling process.

Top tips: Use a little clingfilm to cover your fingers when greasing the muffin tin. If you haven’t eaten all the muffins in a couple of days, pop them in the microwave for 12-15 seconds to freshen them up.

3. Easy Cornflake Tart

Ingredients:

●    320g shortcrust pastry (buy ready rolled)

●    A sprinkling of plain flour

●    50g butter

●    125g golden syrup

●    100g cornflakes

●    125g jam

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface. It needs to fit a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Use the rolling pin to lift the pastry over the tin and then pressed it around the sides so any excess hangs over the rim. Trim the excess away with a sharp knife.

Line the pastry with greaseproof or baking paper, fill it with baking beans or uncooked rice and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans or rice and bake for a further 8 minutes or so until golden.

Heat the syrup, butter and sugar in a pan with a pinch or 2 of salt. Stir constantly until smooth before folding in the cornflakes. Spoon the jam into the cooked pastry base and smooth it out with the back of the spoon.

Tip in the cornflake mixture over the jam gently pressing down until all of the jam gets covered with a layer. Put the tart back in the oven and bake for a further 5 mins. Leave to cool for a few minutes before slicing up.

Top tips: Best served with custard or some vanilla ice cream. Make a chocolate version by adding a tbsp of cocoa powder to the syrup mixture.

4. Crafty Cookies

Ingredients:

• 200g softened butter
• 200g sugar
• 1 egg
• 6 drops vanilla extract
• 400g plain flour (plus a little extra for dusting)

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan and line a baking sheet with greaseproof or baking paper. Beat the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together. Stir in the flour to make a dough. If it feels too sticky, knead in a little more flour.

Take pieces of the dough and roll them out on a floured surface to about the thickness of a pencil top eraser. Cut out shapes using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a small glass. Press clean objects gently into the biscuits to create indentations- small toy plastic bricks work well.

Place the individual biscuits on a baking sheet, keeping them well apart and bake for around 10 minutes until the edges turn a little brown. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before eating!

Top tip: grate some lemon zest and sprinkle a little sugar on top of the biscuits before you put them in the oven for a fresher taste.

5. Pita Pizzas Please!

Ingredients:

• 4 wholewheat pita breads
• 4 tsp tomato purée
• 1 thinly sliced onion
• 3 tinned or ripe fresh tomatoes sliced
• 100g of cooked bacon bits
• 50g of grated cheese
• A sprinkling of mixed dried herbs

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan with a baking sheet inside. Spread each pita with a tsp purée. Top evenly with the remaining ingredients. Bake on the tray for 10 minutes.

Top tips: Add a few basil leaves once you’ve cooked the pitas for extra flavour and serve with a fresh salad.

6. Bacon and Cheese Scone Pizza

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 250g plain flour
• A pinch or 2 of salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 50g butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp milk

For the topping:

• A tbsp olive oil
• 1 thinly sliced red or green pepper
• 100g chopped-up bacon
• 6 chopped-up spring onions
• 10 halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée mixed with 2 tbs ketchup
• 100g grated cheese

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C.

Mix the baking powder, salt and flour in a bowl before rubbing in the butter. Mix the milk and eggs together and stir into the flour mixture. Shape into a round flat dough on a lightly floured surface. Lift the scone dough onto a non-stick baking tray and press it into a circle about 24cm across.

Quickly fry the pepper, onion and bacon in the olive oil. Spread the ketchup mixture over the scone base before evenly adding the pepper and bacon mixture. Scatter over the tomatoes and cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.

Top tip: Serve with a garden salad or coleslaw.

7. Simple Shortcrust Pastry

Once you’re able to make a shortcrust pastry, you can turn it into any kind of sweet or savoury pie with your own choice of filling. Sift 250g of plain flour into a bowl and mix in 125g of margarine.

Using your fingertips, blend the margarine into the flour until you have a yellowy crumbly mixture. Using the sharp edge of an ordinary plate knife that you’d use to eat, mix in 6-8 tsp of water.

Keep mixing until you get a big ball of pastry you can roll out. You may need to add a few more drops of water. This will take a few minutes so be patient.

You’re all set! Roll away and turn your pastry into a favourite pie.

Crown Your Bake Off Winner!

The winner always gets the first bite of these tasty creations! But, before you don your apron and get stuck into some serious baking, make sure you have your nanny payroll sorted.

Pay The Nanny is your one-stop shop for all nanny payroll needs. We are experts in taxes, salaries, holidays and sick pay. Get in touch today to find out how we could make your life a whole easier so you have more time to spend with the kids doing the fun stuff like baking.