I like the idea of baking but baking doesn’t really like me, so when Small Man’s class held a bake sale last week, I kept it nice and simple….not as simple as the classic Rice Krispie buns like, but still easy enough for the Monkey to get involved.
We started with the tried and tested Chocolate Biscuit cake, which Small Man enjoyed making as he got to batter some biscuits with the rolling pin, and do a lot of mixing. There’s not a lot of hassle with this one, just some crushing, melting, mixing annnd waiting…..et voila! I use this Odlums recipe, as recommended by a friend, but instead of the nuts, I added some marshmallows. If you like sweet, this is the cake for you…..if you’re aiming to lose a few pounds, turn around and walk away!
As I was already melting stuff, I decided to make some Popcorn Surprise Cones. Small Man was only interested in the mixing to start and the sprinkle dipping at the end, the assembly was far to messy for his liking. Here’s what I did….
- Make your popcorn as normal….or buy 2-3 premade bags.
- Find something to hold your cones upright, if you have an empty cereal box just
punch some holes in it and sit the cones in. I placed a lollipop in each cone, ideally I would have filled them with smarties or midget gems, but I forgot to pick them up. - Melt 400g of marshmallows in a pot with 2tbsp of golden syrup and a knob of butter.
- Pour popcorn into the marshmallow mixture and be prepared to get very sticky. You can use a spoon to mix the popcorn into the mixture but I found it better to coat all the popcorn using my hands.
- Now the fun begins, scoop up a handful of sticky popcorn and try to wangle it onto each cone in a vaguely “ice cream” type fashion.
- Once all the cones are done, dip each one in sprinkles, place back in your makeshift cone holder and allow to set.
- Use clingfilm to wrap each cone separately…….Ta daaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
This recipe made about 26 cones and if you want them to look extra nice, tie a pretty bow around each.
Lastly….and this really is cheating but for all the times I bake, I find this method a lot 
cheaper and with less chance of burning due to me forgetting. Of course, you can bake your own cupcakes but I bought (I can feel the judgement here 😀 😀 ) a packet of plain buns and simply iced them how I liked….well how Small Man liked. We made Rainbow Cakes. I piped vanilla buttercream icing, made blue of course, onto each cake to make clouds and topped with a mini fizzy rainbow belt. Five minutes and done! I’m happy ‘cos I’ve not burned anything and Small Man is happy ‘cos he got to use the mixer and eat fizzy rainbows!
Now, we didn’t actually use this recipe this time round, 
as we did it for his little Christmas party (they looked like snowballs), but these No Bake Cookies from IslandPicnic.com are yum! They are super easy to make, the only help Small Man really needed was with measuring.
Drop me a line if you decide to have a go and most of all have fun!
Love Donna x
totallydonnamarie 