Jam and Cornflake Tart Recipe

A lunchtime classic, as old school as the morning break snack of vanilla block sponge with pink water icing and sprinkles- always put on far too early so they bled into the pink, creating a rainbow effect that poured down the sides. Enough about that! Let’s get back to this beauty… Buttery thick pastry topped with fresh strawberry jam and the perfect blend of crispy and sticky cornflakes was the ideal way to end your lunch. This is also a super easy recipe, which uses things you probably have in your cupboards – perhaps the school cook did this as a massive user-upper too! You’ve got to leave it to cool a bit before cutting but I highly recommend serving it warm with a blob of vanilla ice cream on top, melting through the golden cornflakes!

Ingredients:

250g Plain Flour

125g cold butter

cold water

strawberry jam

75g golden caster sugar

75g butter

150g cornflakes

75g golden syrup

Method:

1.   Rub butter and flour together. Add enough water to make a dough. Chill.

2.   Push into whatever tin you’d like and stab the bottom repeatedly with a fork. Bake blind at for 20 mins.

3.   Melt sugar, butter and golden syrup in a pan. Add cornflakes and coat entirely in the mix.

4.   When tart case is cool, spread with jam,

5.   Add cornflakes on top and bake at 170 for 15 minutes.

6.   Let cool completely before cutting. 

Strawberry Marshmallow Mousse Recipe

This is the easiest mousse recipe ever and is perfect to make with little hands. Make sure you get vanilla or plain flavoured marshmallows (i.e. not ones that are shaped) as they are usually flavoured and will make the mousse taste all kinds of weird. The mini ones are easier to melt too! Be careful if baking with littlies when using the pan, as the hot marshmallows can get super hot.

Serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

250g strawberries

25g caster sugar

150g mini marshmallows

200ml double cream

Method:

1.   Put all but a few berries in a pan with the sugar and 100ml water and over a medium heat, cook until just soft enough to mash.

2.   Take off the heat and squash until pulpy.

3.   Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Leave to cool.

4.   Whip the cream until it just holds its shape and fold together with the strawberry mix.

5.   Pile into glasses and chill for 2 hours.

6.   Top with slices of the reserved strawberries and serve!

Fruit Rolls Ups Recipe

Anyone British kid that grew up between 1995 and 2005 will absolutely be able to remember Fruit Winders, and the utter travesty that occurred when for no good reason they decided to slice them in half lengthways and give you two super thin ones somewhere around the Millennium… Before that, my favourite break-time pastime was to take my strip of dubious flavour and roll it into one massive ball, which I would nibble on for the full 30 minutes.  

These dudes however were probably full of all sorts of rubbish and when I realised how easy it would be to make ones at home I had to give it a go! If you can be bothered to strain the raspberry puree, I would highly recommend it; it makes for a much nicer end product. Mango worked the best, probably due to its smooth texture making it easy to find out when it was ready. Play around with fruits and the levels of sweetness as it can change during the baking process. 

Ingredients:

Any fruit

Lemon juice

Sugar/honey/maple syrup

Method:

1.   Heat oven to 80c.

2.   Puree fruit to pulp and add honey/lemon juice to taste.

3.   Pop in saucepan and simmer over medium heat and then low, stirring more towards the end until mix is very thick and most of the water has evaporated.

4.   Spread on to cling film/greaseproof and bake for 3 or 4 hours or until dry and not tacky.

5.   Flip on to greaseproof paper, cut into strips and roll up!

Gnocchi with Kale Pesto Recipe

Gnocchi is one of those things that just soaks up flavour- much like its main ingredient, potato! It can have yummy sauces added it to it, like this take on pesto or it can itself be flavoured. A favourite autumn lunch of mine is gnocchi made with some mashed steamed squash or pumpkin and a simple brown butter and sage ‘sauce’ (literally just brown some butter and crisp up some sage in it…). Pesto is another super easy sauce to jazz up to your tastes. I’ve used kale here for a lovely bitter note but just as easily you could use spinach or any other leafy greens- I’ve been known to use carrot tops before! Whizz it up as smooth as you like but a bit of texture always add to the dish.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 kg baking potatoes

salt and pepper

1 egg

300 g plain flour

For the pesto:

85 g toasted pine nuts

85 g Parmesan (or veg alternative)

3 garlic cloves

75 ml olive oil

85 g kale

zest and juice of 1 lemon

Recipe:

1.   Spike the potatoes all round, wrap in kitchen paper and microwave for 10 minutes.

2.   Cut in half and remove the flesh into a bowl. Add the flour and seasoning. Stir through and leave to cool for a few minutes then squidge in the egg to make a dough.

3.   Roll into balls. Leave in the fridge to harden up slightly while you make the pesto.

4.   Blend everything for the pesto together until smooth.

5.   Cook the gnocchi in salted water until they float to the top.

6.   Stir through the pesto until warm. Serve!

Coco Pops Ice Cream Recipe

If this isn’t the easiest ice cream recipe you’ve ever read I would LOVE to know. Seriously! The vanilla paste here is non-negotiable it really makes the difference with the cocoa to get that cocoa pops milk flavour that we all know and love. It’s available in pretty much all supermarkets now, Dr Oetker’s even got in on the act and does it both in a squeezy tube and a bottle. If you really can’t find it, use 2 tsp vanilla essence instead. Feel free to also swirl through any chocolate sauce/ dulche de leche caramel you have in the back of the cupboard too. This is indulgence so treat it as such!

Ingredients:

½ can condensed milk

600ml double cream

1tsp vanilla paste

2 tbsp cocoa powder

100g milk

100g + 250g cocoa pops

Method:

1.   Soak 250g cocoa pops in some milk until soggy. Blend to a paste.

2.   Whip up all ingredients apart from 150g cocoa pops until thick and fluffy.

3.   Stir through cocoa pops and the cocoa pops swirl and pour into container. Top with more cocoa pops.

4.   Freeze for 8 hours or overnight.