Kids In The Kitchen: Fun Food To Make This Easter

Need some lunch ideas for Easter day? Check out some tasty recipes here

Easter Cooking With The Kids

Easter fun is a great way to introduce your child to the delights of cooking. And introducing your chef-in-training to the kitchen can be as simple as letting them raid the fridge to find the ingredients. Older children can be promoted to measuring, pouring and cracking an egg or two. For these recipes, make sure your mini has found the fabulously kid-friendly (aka BPA-free plastic) Joseph Joseph Nest Measure - Measuring Cups. Now hop to it. You’re ready to cook!

Fairy Bread Bagels

The party food of everyone’s childhood has had a glow-up, just in time for Easter. It’s a great alternative for little ones who don’t love fruit-filled Hot Cross Buns, plus this recipe can be created in the Philips 2000 Series 6.2 Litre XL Airfryer Black.
Who knew air fryers could be a baker’s best friend?

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 mins
Makes: 4

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups self-raising flour, plus extra to dust
• a pinch of sea-salt flakes, to season
• 1 cup Greek-style natural yoghurt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• tbsp hundreds and thousands

Method

1. Put flour and salt into a large bowl. Add yoghurt, and stir until a shaggy mixture forms. Tip the mixture onto a clean, dry surface. Use your hands to gather the mixture into a rough ball, then knead the dough together until all of the flour has been incorporated, and a slightly sticky ball has formed.
2. Cut the ball into quarters. Dust the surface with a little flour, then roll one portion into a 24-cm long log. Curl the log to form a ring, pinching the two ends together to adhere. Repeat with remaining portions. Brush tops with a little egg.
3. Place hundreds and thousands on a plate, then lightly press dough rings, egg-side down, into the hundreds and thousands.
4. Remove the mesh basket from the airfryer and arrange bagels inside, with hundreds and thousands facing up, leaving a little space between each one.
5. Return the basket to the airfryer and set the temperature to 160ºC and the time to 12 minutes. Cook bagels until they are light golden brown. Remove basket from airfyer and set aside for 15 minutes to allow bagels to cool slightly. Enjoy warm, or cool completely if preferred.

Recipe by Elle Vernon thanks to Philips

Easter Egg Cupcakes

Cupcakes have everything you need to get kids excited about cooking, and these ones feature a lip-smacking Easter twist. The Sunbeam Planetary MixMaster The Master One takes the effort and mess out of the mixing and the kids still get to lick the bowl.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 12

Ingredients:

• 185g butter, softened
• 165g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (125ml) milk
• 1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
• ⅓ cup (35g) cocoa powder, sifted

Chocolate Buttercream Icing:

• 250g butter, room temperature
• 2 cups icing sugar
• ½ cup dark cocoa
• 100g chocolate, melted
• ¼ cup milk

To Decorate

• 300g Top’n’Fill caramel, to decorate
• 12 mini Easter eggs
• ½ cup shredded coconut

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Place butter and caster sugar into the bowl of the Mixmaster and beat until light in colour. Add eggs, one at a time, then milk, flour and cocoa on low speed until ingredients are combined.
3. Drop ¼ cups of mixture into paper cases.
4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Leave cakes to stand in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

To Make The Icing:

1. Place butter in the clean Sunbeam Mixmaster bowl and beat on high speed until pale in colour. Add icing sugar and beat for a further 3 minutes.
2. Add cocoa and melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until well combined. Pour in the milk and beat for a further 1 minute on high speed.

To Decorate:

1. Cut a circle out from the top of each cake and fill the hole with the caramel. Sit the lid back on top of the caramel.
2. Fill a piping bag fitted with a rosette nozzle with the chocolate butter cream. Pipe a rosette on top of each of the cupcakes.
3. Place a small Easter egg on top of the rosette and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

Safety First With Kids

A crash course in kitchen safety will ensure the action-packed heart of the home is an enjoyable place for the whole family. Here are three important safety considerations when cooking with kids:

• Ovens with a multi-layered door, like the Miele PureLine CleanSteel Built In MWO, stay cool to the touch – a wise choice if you have small children.
• Induction cooktops also up the safety factor. They work by transferring heat via an electromagnetic current, which means the pots and pans heat up but the cooktop surface stays cool.
• Bladed appliances should only be used with the help of a parent. It’s a good idea to keep them on high shelves when you're not using them and install a child safety lock on any drawers or cupboards you don’t want explored.
• Wash hands before and after cooking with a pump of antibacterial soap from the non-slip Joseph Joseph Presto Soap Dispenser.

There’s a fridge-full of family fun to be had in the kitchen and we’ve got all of the small kitchen appliances to make the magic happen this Easter. Visit us in-store and online for the best products and the right advice.