Five-a-day treats: Stripey strawberry yoghurt cake

This is a quick and healthy version of a cheesecake in a jar. 

For 4 jars

Ingredients:

250 g digestive biscuits
100 g melted butter
500 g pot of full fat Greek yoghurt
400 g punnet of strawberries, sliced
4 jam jars

long handled spoons to eat

Method:

- crush the biscuits in a food processor - if you don't have one, place them in a freezer bag and smash them with a rolling pin
- mix with the melted butter
- spoon some of the mixture into a jar and flatten it with the back of the spoon - it should be about 1.5 cm thick
- then spoon in some yoghurt, arrange a layer of strawberries on top, then one more layer of yoghurt and one more of strawberries

- chill in the fridge or eat right away

And a few tips:

- if you want really nice stripes, go easy on the yoghurt, and pack in plenty of strawberries

- as more berries are going to come into season, stripes of raspberries and blueberries or blackberries will make it even prettier

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

Five-a-day treats: Raspberry ice lollies

Summer has arrived in Oxford: time for ice lollies! You can get a kit to make them, but I didn't have one, so just used ice cube trays and some straws.

Ingredients:

Raspberries
Apple juice
Ice cube trays
Drinking straws

Method:

- place a raspberry in each hole of the ice cube tray- cut the straw in 1.5 cm long bits and stick one into each raspberry
- fill the holes with apple juice
- place in the freezer for 2 hours

And a few tips:
- when they're done, you can put a longer piece of straw into the short one sticking out of the ice lollies, to make a longer handle. The reason for the short straw in the first place is that this way it stays upright as it is freezing.
- substitute other berries, grapes and any other type of juice

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

Raw ingredients part 3: Rainbow salad

You can use all sorts of colourful vegetables, here is what went into ours:

For 6 portions

Ingredients:

3 sweet red peppers, cubed
4 carrots, grated
Tin of sweetcorn
Half an iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 cucumber, cubed
A jar of black olives, chopped in half

Dressing
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yoghurt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Handful of grated parmesan

Method:

- spoon a layer of each salad ingredient into a clean jar until your jar is full of rainbow coloured vegetables: red pepper, orange carrot, yellow sweetcorn, light green lettuce, dark green cucumber and black olives
- mix the dressing ingredients and spoon some on top of the vegetables
- tip onto a plate or eat straight from the jar

And a few tips:
- we used jam jars, and there wasn't much space to stir the dressing around: you could try a larger jar and shake it a few times to get the dressing mixed in
- you'll probably have leftovers from most ingredients (except the olives if your little chefs are anything like mine): mix them with some vinaigrette for an adult salad

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

Raw ingredients part 2: Toddler tiramisu

This is a tiramisu without raw eggs, coffee or alcohol, so it's suitable for kids. Check the tips if you'd like to know how to turn it into an adult tiramisu.

For a large bowl or 4 individual (big) portions

Ingredients:

250 g mascarpone
300 ml whipping cream
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40 sponge fingers (plus extra for munching)
150 ml milk, in a soup plate
1 ripe mango, chopped into 1 cm cubes

Method:

- mix the mascarpone, the cream, the sugar and the vanilla extract in a big bowl with a spoon until it's mostly combined
- then beat the mixture with an electric whisk until it's thickly whipped
- take a large glass bowl or 4 small bowls
- place a sponge finger in the milk, leave it there for 2 seconds, then turn it around and dip the other side for 2 seconds too, then place it in the bottom of the bowl
- continue until there is a layer of sponge fingers in your bowl
- cover the sponge fingers with a layer of the cream mixture
- sprinkle some mango cubes on top
- do another layer of sponge fingers, cream and mango
- cover with cling film and chill in the fridge, ideally for a day before eating

And a few tips:
- make sure you only have a shallow pool of milk in the plate when you dip in the sponge fingers, otherwise they disintegrate quickly, and it will be hard for the kids to fish them out. Refill the plate with milk if it's run out.
- we made this in the winter, so we used mangos, but in the summer it's delicious with sliced strawberries. Berries macerate when they come in contact with the cream, so for prettiest results it's best to eat right away.
- for an adult version, dip the sponge fingers in 125 ml strong coffee mixed with 20 ml rum or amaretto instead of milk, and sift cocoa powder on the top instead of sprinkling with fruit

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

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).*