Raw ingredients part 1: Coconut balls

We made two different types of coconut balls, the one with dates is from one of the Little Chef mums, and the other I've adapted from a family recipe.

For 25 balls

Ingredients for coconut balls with dates:

250 g pitted dates, blitzed to a pulp with a very little water in a food processor
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
100 g desiccated coconut  

Ingredients for Hungarian coconut balls:

125 g Rich Tea biscuits, blitzed to fine crumbs in a food processor
3 teaspoons cocoa powder
3 teaspoons icing sugar
100 ml cherry juice
100 g desiccated coconut

Method for both:

- mix all the ingredients except the coconut
- form balls from the mixture, about the size of a walnut
- roll the balls in the coconut till they're coated all round
- put in the fridge to cool or eat up right away

And a few tips:
- make sure you use very little water when pulping the dates, otherwise the mixture will become too sticky
- however, even if it's very sticky, it will be alright to eat when covered in the coconut
- you can fill the Hungarian coconut balls with tinned cherries, pieces of chocolate etc, put one in the middle of each ball

*The bold text in the recipe shows the steps that the Little Chefs did (with supervision).*

Pastry course part 3: Filling and rolling up - Cheese swirls

The cheese swirl recipe.

For 15 swirls

Ingredients:

Packet of ready rolled puff pastry
125 g Red Leicester, grated

Tomato sauce
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped small
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 sweet red pepper, chopped small
3 tomatoes, chopped small
2 tablespoons of concentrated tomato puree
1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Method:

- prepare the tomato sauce: fry the onions on medium low heat in the olive oil till soft
- add garlic and red pepper, fry for another few minutes
- add tomatoes, tomato puree and oregano, and fry until all vegetables are soft (if it starts to burn, add a little water)
- puree with a stick blender and allow to cool
- preheat the oven to 200'C/fan oven 180'C

- roll out the puff pastry leaving it on its plastic packaging (blue if you buy the Jus-Rol pastry), it will make it easier to move it later plus no need to flour your surface
- spread the tomato sauce evenly, leaving a 1 cm rim all around
- sprinkle on the cheese evenly
- roll the pastry back up, starting at a longer end, and as tightly as possible
- lift it by the plastic sheet underneath and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes
- meanwhile, line a baking tray with baking paper
- move the chilled roll onto a chopping board and discard the plastic wrapping
- with a very sharp knife, cut the roll into 15 slices and arrange them on the baking tray, allowing them space to expand while cooking
- bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes
- allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating

And a few tips:
- leave the pastry in the fridge until you're ready to roll it out
- our swirls only had tomato sauce and cheese, but you can add many things to the filling, just make sure you've chopped them small, eg chorizo, ham, olives, sweetcorn etc - if it's too big pieces, your swirls will fall apart
- if your extra fillings need cooking, like pancetta or courgettes, cook them with the sauce, otherwise just sprinkle them on before you sprinkle the cheese
- I make these sometimes when we go travelling, as they're filling and easy to hold, even for my baby
  
*The bold text in the recipe shows the steps that the Little Chefs did (with supervision).*

Pastry course part 2: Rolling out and cutting - Hazelnut biscuits

Here is the recipe if you'd like to make the biscuits yourself. It's adapted from a family recipe.

For 20-30 biscuits

Ingredients:

150 g whole hazelnuts
300 g self raising flour
150 g caster sugar
200 g cold butter
2 eggs

Topping
Nutella
Crushed hazelnuts or flaked almonds
Icing pens

Method:

- heat a frying pan to medium hot and toast the hazelnuts till they slightly colour
- crush them finely in a food processor or if you don't have one, arrange them in a single layer in a ziplock bag, cover with a tea towel and hammer with a meat pounder or similar till they are finely crushed
- mix eggs with sugar
- in another bowl mix the butter and flour with your hands until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs
- pour it all together, add the hazelnuts and stir with a spoon till combined
- spoon the mixture into a clear plastic bag, close the bag and shape the whole thing into a ball
- chill in the fridge for at least two hours, preferably overnight

- when you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180'C/fan 160'C and line two baking trays with baking paper
- dust with flour your worktop, rolling pin and biscuit cutters
- cut up the plastic bag with scissors to get the pastry out
- roll out the pastry to 3 mm thick, cut different shapes and place them on the baking trays
- bake one tray at a time in the oven for 10 minutes, or until golden on top

- when they've cooled down, spread Nutella on top and sprinkle with nuts or draw on them with icing pens

And a few tips:
- the quicker you roll out and cut, the easier it is, because when the pastry warms up, it gets sticky. When it's too sticky, roll it back in a ball and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes
- for the same reason, before you roll it out, cut the pastry ball into two, and if you're baking alone, put one half back in the fridge so it stays cold while you deal with the other half

*The bold text in the recipe shows the steps that the Little Chefs did (with supervision).*

Pastry course part 1: Measuring and mixing - Cupcakes

Here's the recipe of the cupcakes we used this week. It's adapted from Nigella Lawson's cupcake recipe.

For 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

180 g self raising flour
180 g caster sugar
180 g unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk

Icing (not too sugary so kids don't go crazy)
300 g cream cheese
150 g unsalted butter on room temperature
45 g caster sugar

Decorations
We used jelly beans and chocolate beans as I had these leftover from Christmas but for healthier options try:
Nuts - whole or crushed
Berries (if you use them, eat the cupcakes quickly, they don't store well)
Chocolate chips
Slices of apple, banana etc
Breakfast cereals

Method:

- preheat oven to 200'C/ fan oven 180'C
- line muffin tray with cupcake cases
- measure out all the ingredients
- soften the butter
- cream softened butter with sugar
- add eggs one at a time
- add vanilla extract
- fold in flour
- add milk
- spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes

- remove cupcakes from tin and leave to cool
- meanwhile mix icing ingredients till smooth
- ice cupcakes and decorate

And a few tips:
- let eggs and butter come to room temperature before you start (if baking in the afternoon, leave them out in the morning)
- if like me you don't have a microwave oven, cut the butter in cubes and put it in the preheating oven for a few minutes to soften

*The bold text in the recipe shows the steps that the Little Chefs did (with supervision).*