RECIPE - cooking with kids - Strawberry Buns

It's the start of the school Easter holidays in many places, and the weather forecast doesn't look great, so parents, grandparents and childminders up and down the country will be looking for indoor activities to keep the kids entertained - so what about a spot of baking?

Actually my grandkids made these during half term, but I've saved the recipe until now as they seemed to be such  great school holiday entertainment - and stopped them mithering for a trip to the sweet shop too!

Why, yes, they DO look as if they were created by a 6 year old! And a very proud one too.

The grandchildren asked to do some cooking so I had to rack my brains for something that could be made from odds and ends around the house, and I remembered the raspberry Buns I used to  make with my grandma back in the 1960s, so this is a very retro recipe. We had no raspberry jam, so we used strawberry instead, but any jam would work.

150g plain flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
75g hard margarine or butter
75g castor sugar plus extra for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
strawberry jam

Heat oven to 200 C, 180 fan, 400F, gas mark 6.

Prepare a baking tray by greasing or lining with a non stick paper or teflon sheet

Sieve together the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Cut the margarine or butter into small pieces and rub in gently and lightly with your fingertips - children are tempted to squish hard instead of rubbing gently, so they will need some guidance.  Also show them that by gently shaking the bowl, any un-rubbed-in lumps will come to the top which helps us to see when the mixture is readt to move on to the next step.

Mix in the sugar, then beat the egg and milk together and stir them into the mixture to make a soft pliable dough.

Divide into 8 equal balls and place well apart on the baking sheet. Flatten them slightly with the flat of your hand then use a finger to make a deep hollow in the middle of each.

Carefully fill the hollow with jam and sprinkle the buns lightly with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and golden. Allow to cool on a rack before eating as the jam gets VERY hot!