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It’s the homemade touches that mean the most on 10th March: a special breakfast in bed, an afternoon baking together… These recipes from Cook School are great for getting little ones involved.
Cook School are a not-for-profit organisation that aims to equip young people with the skills, knowledge and confidence to cook delicious, affordable and healthy meals at home. Working with primary and secondary schools across the UK, they’ve hosted in-person and online cook-along classes for more than 150,000 students to date, all featuring straight-forward ingredients, equipment and easy-to-follow recipes. If you love what Cook School is doing, please give them a follow on Instagram and sign your local school up for free cookery courses on their website.
“Children will love learning how to rub butter into flour to make a batch of classic scones for Mum for afternoon tea. The question is: jam before cream, or cream before jam?” says Amanda Grant, co-founder of Cook School.
Makes 8–10
Equipment:
Baking tray
Greaseproof paper
Mixing bowl
Table knife
6cm round fluted cutter
Pastry brush
Ingredients:
225g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
40g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
140ml milk, plus a little extra
Butter, strawberry jam and clotted cream, to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220℃/fan 200℃/gas 7. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Put the flour, baking powder and pieces of butter into a mixing bowl and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. This can take a few minutes but keep going.
Add the sugar and milk to the bowl and use a table knife to mix everything together.
Use hands to bring the mixture together to make a ball of dough, then sprinkle a little flour onto the work surface, and tip the dough out of the bowl.
Gently flatten the dough until it’s about 1.5cm thick, then dip the round fluted cutter into some flour and cut out scones from the dough.
Gather all the spare bits of dough, roll them together to make a ball and flatten it out again to make more scones. You should be able to make around eight to 10 in total.
Arrange the scones on the baking tray, spaced a little bit apart. Dip a pastry brush into a little milk and brush over the scones.
Bake for 10 minutes until risen and golden, then serve warm with butter, cream and jam.
Cook school tip
For fruit scones, stir 50g dried fruit, such as raisins, currants or sultanas, into the mixture when you add the sugar.
“These can be made with homemade or bought granola and compote – the most important thing is that children get a chance to make it for Mum! Spoon a little granola into a glass, top with yoghurt, and finish with your favourite fruit compote on top. Repeat with another layer. Pop on a tray and take to Mum for breakfast in bed,” says Amanda Grant, co-founder of Cook School.
To make your own granola and compote, follow the recipes below…
“This granola can be made before Mother’s Day, as it will keep in an airtight jar for at least a month! It’s so good with rhubarb compote and yoghurt,” says Amanda.
Makes approx. 15 servings
Equipment:
Jug
Baking tray
Wooden spoon
Scissors
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (80ml) maple syrup
6 tablespoons (80ml) coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
350g jumbo oats
10 tablespoons (50g) coconut chips or unsweetened desiccated coconut
8 tablespoons (100g) mixed seeds
6 tablespoons (100g) mixed chopped nuts (optional – you can use more seeds if you prefer)
3 handfuls dried fruit, such as chewy bananas, apricots and dates
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160℃/fan 140℃/gas 3.
Add the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract to a jug and stir together.
Scatter the oats across the bottom of a baking tray. Add the coconut chips, mixed seeds and nuts, if you’re using them, and mix together with a spoon (or hands!).
Drizzle over the maple syrup mixture and stir everything together. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the tray is in the oven, cut the fruit into small pieces using a pair of scissors.
After 30 minutes, remove the baking tray from the oven, add the dried fruit and put back in the oven to cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove, and leave to cool, then use them to make our tasty Mother’s Day French-Style Yoghurt Pots.
Cook school tip
You can melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over a gentle heat, by heating it in a microwave (stirring after 10-second intervals), or by placing the jar with the lid screwed on tight in a bowl of hot water (this is one for the adults to do).
“Enjoy with yoghurt and cereal for breakfast, or it’s also delicious with ice cream for dessert,” says Amanda.
Equipment:
Small knife
Ovenproof dish
Tablespoon
Teaspoon
Kitchen foil
Ingredients:
400g forced rhubarb
1 small orange (blood oranges are especially delicious)
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200℃/fan 180℃/gas 6.
Rinse the forced rhubarb and shake off the water.
Using the claw-cutting technique (go to cookschool.club Kitchen Skills to find out how), cut the rhubarb into small pieces and scatter it across a roasting dish.
Squeeze over the juice of one small orange, add two tablespoons of honey and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, if using, and stir.
Cover with foil and roast for 25–30 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender. Leave to cool slightly, then serve with yoghurt or ice cream, or on top of your favourite cereal.
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