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Recipes for little chefs

Baking & Cooking with Kids

Rainy afternoon? Bank holiday weekend? These are our favourite tried-and-tested recipes — messy, delicious and genuinely fun.

34 recipes found

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Lamingtons

These classic Australian treats are beloved by children everywhere - soft sponge cake squares dipped in chocolate and coated in desiccated coconut. The interactive dipping and coating process is tremendous fun for little hands, and the results taste absolutely delicious.

softened butter👶 baking powder🍽 milk

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Chocolate Cornflake Traybake

This simple no-bake traybake is perfect for children - just melt, mix and press into a tin. The crispy cornflakes add wonderful texture against the smooth chocolate, and the results are impressive enough for lunchboxes or special treats. No oven required makes this extra appealing.

dark chocolate👶 10 mins🍽 1. Line a 20cm square tin with parchment paper. 2. Break chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl. 3. Add butter and golden syrup. 4. Melt together gently over simmering water or in microwave. 5. Stir in cornflakes until completely coated. 6. Press mixture into prepared tin in an even layer. 7. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours until set. 8. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container. 9. Optional: drizzle with melted chocolate on top.

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Chocolate Rice Krispie Cakes

No-bake chocolatey treats that set in the fridge and are absolutely foolproof. Children love the combination of crispy cereal and melted chocolate, and decorating them with sweets or icing is tremendous fun. These are perfect for rainy afternoons and need no oven skills whatsoever.

dark chocolate👶 10 mins🍽 1. Roughly chop chocolate and place in a bowl. 2. Add butter and golden syrup to the bowl. 3. Gently melt together over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave in short bursts. 4. Stir in rice cereal until evenly coated. 5. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases or line a square tin with parchment. 6. Divide mixture between cases or press into square tin. 7. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 8. Decorate with melted chocolate and sweets if desired. 9. Store in an airtight container.

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Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Beautiful dark chocolate cupcakes with juicy cherries inside are elegant enough for adults yet simple enough for children to make. The cherries create a lovely surprise inside when you bite in, and children find popping them into the batter very satisfying.

unsalted butter👶 milk🍽 cherry jam

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Nigella's Basic Cupcakes

Nigella's wonderfully simple cupcake recipe is ready in just 35 minutes from start to finish and uses the processor method for effortless mixing. The tender, classic sponge cupcakes are the perfect vehicle for any frosting or decoration children can dream up. Ready, set, decorate!

caster sugar👶 baking powder🍽 milk

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Victoria Sponge Cupcakes

These adorable cupcake versions of classic Victoria sponge capture all the flavour of the traditional cake in individual portions. Children can easily frost and decorate them with jam and fruit, making them feel like proper little cake decorators. Perfect for parties and special occasions.

self-raising flour👶 milk🍽 vanilla extract

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Mini Spiced Cupcakes

Alyn Williams' mini spiced cupcakes from Great British Chefs are perfect for little hands and appetites. The warm spice flavours are comforting and the recipe is straightforward enough for children to help with. The low-fat cream cheese frosting is a wonderful canvas for creative decoration.

caster sugar👶 baking powder🍽 ground ginger

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Tin Can Soda Bread

Buddy and Jamie Oliver's ingenious soda bread uses a simple tin can for measuring, making it extra fun and approachable for little bakers. No kneading, no yeast, no waiting - just mix and bake in minutes. It's warm, delicious and absolutely perfect sliced with butter.

wholemeal flour👶 milk🍽 honey (optional)

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Banana Bread

Jamie's no-fuss banana bread is the perfect introduction to bread baking for children. It uses super-ripe bananas and requires only a bowl and wooden spoon - no fancy equipment needed. The lovely warm loaf is delicious sliced and buttered for a mid-afternoon treat.

mashed bananas👶 baking powder🍽 ground cinnamon

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Jamie Oliver's Scottish Shortbread

Brilliantly easy shortbread that's perfect for dipping in melted chocolate or enjoying plain with a cup of tea. The buttery, crumbly texture is absolutely divine and children find mixing the simple dough very satisfying. This is the sort of recipe that builds real baking confidence.

plain flour👶 10 mins🍽 1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line baking trays with parchment. 2. Beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. 3. Add salt and mix in. 4. Gently fold in flour until completely combined. 5. Roll out between parchment to about 5mm thick. 6. Cut into shapes or fingers. 7. Place on prepared trays. 8. Bake for 10-15 minutes until edges are just beginning to colour. 9. Cool on trays before transferring to a wire rack.

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Rock Cakes

These rustic little cakes are called 'rocks' because they look like little pebbles on your plate. They're perfectly forgiving - no shaping required, just drop spoonfuls onto a tray and watch them transform into golden tea-time treats. Children love how easy they are to make and eat.

caster sugar👶 milk🍽 egg

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Shortbread Biscuits

Simple and elegant shortbread made with just flour, butter and sugar is the perfect biscuit to decorate creatively. Children love the buttery flavour and crumbly texture, and decorating with icing and sprinkles is endlessly fun. These biscuits are beautiful and absolutely melt-in-the-mouth.

plain flour👶 1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line baking trays with parchment. 2. Mix butter and sugar by hand or with electric whisk until pale and smooth. 3. Add vanilla extract and mix in. 4. Gently fold in flour until completely incorporated - don't overwork. 5. Form dough into a ball. 6. Roll out to about 5mm thick. 7. Cut into shapes with biscuit cutters. 8. Place on prepared trays and chill for 15 minutes. 9. Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are golden. 10. Cool on a wire rack.🍽 extra sugar for sprinkling

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Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Nigella's iconic chocolate cake that is fudgy, moist and intensely chocolatey without being too rich. This is a showstopping bake that children feel incredibly proud of making. The recipe is forgiving and uses the simple processor method for easy mixing.

baking powder👶 eggs🍽 softened butter

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Classic Victoria Sponge

This is the ultimate simple cake that children can help make from start to finish. Victoria sponge is light, airy and deeply satisfying with jam and cream filling. It's the perfect cake to teach young bakers about creaming, folding and cake construction in the most delicious way possible.

vanilla extract👶 salt🍽 baking powder

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Gluten-Free Cookies

Delicious gluten-free treats that prove allergies don't mean missing out on homemade baking. These cookies taste absolutely indistinguishable from regular cookies, so children with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity can enjoy baking and eating treats with the rest of the family.

caster sugar👶 salt🍽 baking powder

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Oat and Raisin Cookies with Sunflower Seeds

Wholesome and naturally sweet oat cookies packed with dried fruit and seeds that give little ones sustained energy. These egg-free cookies are easy for toddlers to help make and taste wonderfully chewy and comforting. The sunflower seeds add extra nutrition and a lovely crunch.

vanilla essence👶 plain flour🍽 sunflower seeds

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Carrot Cake Cookies

These nutritious carrot cake cookies are egg-free and dairy-free, making them perfect for children with allergies. They have the delicious warm spice flavours of carrot cake in convenient cookie form. Little ones feel extra proud eating bakes made without common allergens.

caster sugar👶 ground ginger🍽 baking powder

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Gingerbread Men Cookies

Annabel's famous recipe for spiced gingerbread men that children absolutely love decorating with icing and sweets. Rolling out dough, stamping shapes and creating faces is pure baking joy for little ones. The recipe makes plenty so there's always room for mistakes and artistic expression!

golden syrup👶 ground cinnamon🍽 ground ginger

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Chocolate Banana Muffins

Wonderfully moist chocolate-studded muffins made with bananas that stay soft and tender for days. Kids find these irresistible - the combination of chocolate and banana is always a winner. Great for using up overripe bananas in your fruit bowl.

eggs👶 baking soda🍽 cocoa powder

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Orange Breakfast Muffins

Bright and zesty orange muffins that are perfect for breakfast or tea time snacks. The citrus flavour is not too sweet, making them a wonderful introduction to baking for little ones. They're moist, fluffy and absolutely delicious still warm from the oven.

baking powder👶 freshly squeezed orange juice🍽 orange zest

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Oat and Fruit Cookies

Chewy oat biscuits packed with dried fruit that are wonderfully healthy and delicious. Children love how these come together quickly and taste so much better homemade. They're packed with wholesome oats and fibre to keep little ones satisfied.

caster sugar👶 egg🍽 self-raising flour

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Mary Berry's Ultimate Chocolate Brownies

Rich, fudgy chocolate brownies that are so easy to make - just measure everything into one bowl and mix together. Kids love cracking eggs and mixing the batter, and the results are restaurant-quality delicious. Perfect for teaching young bakers confidence in the kitchen.

eggs👶 vanilla extract🍽 baking powder

🌱 Easy

Lemon Drizzle Loaf

A zesty, moist loaf cake that is genuinely hard to get wrong — the zingy lemon drizzle soaks into the warm cake to create a beautifully sticky crust that children find irresistible. Zesting and squeezing the lemons are great jobs for little helpers.

1 hr👶 3+ years🍽 1 loaf (10 slices)

🌱 Easy

Scones with Jam and Cream

Proper British scones are quicker to make than most people think, and children love the cutting-out stage. Eat warm from the oven with clotted cream and jam — the quintessential British teatime treat, made better by tiny helping hands.

25 mins👶 3+ years🍽 8 scones

🌱 Easy

Rocky Road Squares

A crowd-pleasing no-bake traybake packed with marshmallows, biscuits, dried fruit and dark chocolate — endlessly customisable and completely irresistible. Children love choosing what goes in and pressing the mixture into the tin.

20 mins👶 3+ years🍽 16 squares

🌱 Easy

Jam Thumbprint Biscuits

A wonderfully simple shortbread biscuit with a jammy indent in the centre — children can press their thumbs into the dough to make the indent themselves, making these feel truly handmade and personal. Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish.

29 mins👶 2+ years🍽 20 biscuits

🔥 Medium

Cinnamon Swirl Rolls

Soft, pillowy cinnamon rolls made from scratch are a brilliant weekend project with children — kneading dough, rolling it out and spreading the butter-cinnamon filling are all satisfying steps little hands can help with. Absolutely worth the effort.

50 mins👶 3+ years🍽 12 rolls

🌱 Easy

No-Bake Fridge Cake

A brilliantly simple chocolate tiffin that children can make almost entirely independently — no heat required. Crushed biscuits, melted chocolate, golden syrup and whatever mix-ins your children love. Press into a tin and chill. Done.

20 mins👶 2+ years🍽 16 squares

🌱 Easy

Strawberry Fairy Cakes

Light, fluffy vanilla sponge cupcakes topped with easy pink icing and a fresh strawberry — a classic children's birthday bake that feels special without being complicated. Children can help mix the batter, spoon into cases and decorate.

35 mins👶 3+ years🍽 12 cupcakes

🔥 Medium

Decorated Gingerbread Biscuits

The ultimate rainy-day bake — gingerbread dough that actually holds its shape, cut into stars and people shapes, then decorated with icing pens and sprinkles. These keep for up to a week in a tin and make brilliant gifts for grandparents.

32 mins👶 3+ years🍽 20 biscuits

🌱 Easy

Banana Oat Cookies

Three ingredients, naturally sweetened, no added sugar and genuinely delicious — these simple cookies are perfect for toddlers and babies from 12 months. Mash the banana, stir in the oats and bake. Children can help with every step.

25 mins👶 12 months+🍽 12 cookies

🔥 Medium

Easy Pizza Dough Faces

Making pizza from scratch is one of the most joyful things you can do in the kitchen with children — they can knead the dough, add their own toppings and create funny faces on their personal pizza. Messy, delicious and universally loved.

1 hr 32 mins👶 3+ years🍽 4 small pizzas

🌱 Easy

Chocolate Cornflake Cakes

A classic children's bake that never fails — chocolatey, crunchy and completely addictive. No oven required, takes under 20 minutes and creates very little washing up. Let children spoon the mixture into the cases themselves for maximum involvement.

15 mins👶 2+ years🍽 12 cakes

🌱 Easy❄️ No-bake

Rainbow Fruit Skewers

A brilliantly simple no-cook activity that keeps little hands busy and creates something genuinely beautiful to eat. Arrange rainbow-coloured fruits on wooden skewers and serve with a yoghurt dipping sauce — even toddlers can help thread on the bigger pieces.

15 mins👶 2+ years🍽 8 skewers

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