Baking with Flora and our carpet picnic

I am a member of the Collective Biasยฎ Social Fabricยฎ Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.
Last weekend the older two boys asked me if I would teach them how to bake and cook over the Summer holidays.  Both myself and Dad of 3 are keen that they learn these skills as they grow up and although I have always baked with them they are now keen to learn more about recipes.  
So Friday afternoon while Erin and the little one I was caring for that day were asleep I took the opportunity to sit down with the boys and ask them what they would like to make.  I suggested we start with some simply things that they have helped with time and time again to start with and I would talk them through the recipe and let them do all the work.  The boys decided on biscuits and cakes and also asked if I could make some bread dough in my bread machine that they could then use to make pizzas with.  I often make bread dough and let the boys help make bread rolls for dinner or packed lunches.  

We’ve not been eating so many hot meals lately due to the weather being so warm so asked the boys if they would like to have a picnic either outside or at the beach over the weekend and we could have some of the things they make.  Trystan got really excited about this idea and Rowan quickly asked if we could make dinosaur biscuits and have dinosaur food (he’s been talking about dinosaurs lately)  It seemed a fun idea so I agreed.   Once dad of 3 had returned from work that evening I headed up to tesco with Trystan to buy some bits and pieces that we needed.  
I’ve seen a lot of adverts for flora cuisine lately but dad of 3 isn’t keen on the taste of flora so I haven’t bothered trying it yet.  However dad of 3 is trying to tone up and loose a bit of weight so when I saw some offers on some of the flora available I decided to give it ago along with flora cuisine.  I was keen to see if dad of 3 would spot it if I used it in the cakes and biscuits I was planning to make with the boys instead of my usual baking margarine.  
Here is the ingredients we need for the three things I planned to make with the boys
Ingredients for biscuits

 9oz Plain flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
8oz flora
4oz caster sugar

cupcake ingredients

4oz Self raising flour
4 oz Caster sugar
2 eggs
pinch of salt
113ml of flora Cuisine (the equivalent of 4oz butter)
 

Pizza base ingredients
 For using in bread machines:   
320ml
1 1/2 tablespoons of flora
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of dried milk
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 and 1/4 teaspoons of dried yeast.
Trystan was keen to get started when we got home but I explained as it was late it would be better to start tomorrow and that way we could have a picnic that evening.   Even Rowan was keen to join in with his brothers.
As soon as I had woken up yesterday I had Trystan bounding into my bedroom asking when we could start baking, I’m pretty sure he had been coming to check to see if we were awake for a while!  After breakfast I got the older two to help clear the kitchen table so I could wipe it down ready to use for baking.  I then sent them to wash their hands and put on aprons.  
As the bread dough was going to take the longest I laid out the ingredients and got the older two to help measure out the correct amounts needed.  I decided to use Flora original as opposed to the flora cuisine as I wasn’t sure about the amount I needed.  Then got them to add  them into the bread machine.  I then set the machine to setting 8 – dough and pressed start.  Luc wiped the surface down for me and I got out mixing bowls and the ingredients for making biscuits.   Luc and Trystan took it in turns weighing out the ingredients and added the flora original and sugar into one mixing bowl and the other ingredients into another one.
  

Sugar and Flora Original

dry biscuit ingredients

add the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar and flora

mixed dough ready to pop in the fridge for ten minutes
While the biscuit dough was chilling in the fridge I preheated the oven and explained to the boys it was important to have the oven at the correct temperature before you put food in so that it cooks properly in order to prevent us getting ill from eating under cooked foods.  Then we set about cleaning up and getting cake tins out ready to make cup cakes.  

the conversion table on the back of the Flora Cuisine bottle

113ml of flora cuisine is the equivalent to 4oz butter
cake ingredients
Trystan mixing the cake mix

Luc mixing the cake mix
cakes going into the oven 190 degrees c for approx 20 minutes
When the cakes went into the oven the boys had a quick sit down and a drink while I washed up all the bowls and other bits we had used and washed down the table.  By this time the biscuit dough had been in the fridge for around 25 minutes but this is not a problem.  

I floured the table and got out some dinosaur cutters for the boys to use.  I suddenly noticed the sun had disappeared but hoped it would return in time for our picnic later.  I got the biscuit dough out of the fridge and turned it out onto the floured table.  

chilled dough ready for rolling

Am I doing it right mum?!

Can I do them all?

No this is how you do it!

dinosaur biscuits ready for the oven
The boys managed to get around 30 dinosaur biscuits out of the dough we had made.  I put them on greased baking trays and into the oven, taking the cooked cupcakes out and turned the oven down to 170 degrees where the biscuits need to bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  I checked the bread machine and there was still around 30 minutes left so I made a well deserved cup of tea for myself.  Once the biscuits were cooked I took them out and left them to cool along side the cakes. 

  
Once the dough was ready I left it in the machine for a further hour and a half until we were ready to make the pizza’s.  I mixed a little icing sugar with some green and yellow food colouring and found some white chocolate drops to decorate the cakes with. 

decorated cakes and biscuits

It had started to rain heavily so we had to abandon our plans for a picnic but instead decided to have a picnic tea indoors and watch a film together.  So an hour before we were ready for food I turned the bread dough out onto a floured surface and kneaded it lightly.  Then divided it into five pieces ready to make into pizza bases.  I then found some tomato puree, ham, garlic sausage, tomatoes, mozzarella and grated cheese for the boys to use as toppings.  Then got the boys to wash their hands again ready to make their pizzas.   I preheated the oven to 220 degrees centigrade. 

I got the boys to simply flatten their pieces of dough into circles and flatten them out.  Then I put some tomato puree in the centre of each of their pizza bases and had them spread it over the bases.  Then they choose which toppings they wanted.  


pizza base
Trystan making his pizza
Look mum I can do it!
Ready for the oven
All done
By the time the pizza was ready to go in the oven.  The boys had spotted the decorated cakes and biscuits and kept asking for some, a sure sign it was tea time!  We certainly had managed a lot of baking and although it was time consuming the boys had enjoyed themselves and couldn’t wait to try the pizza’s. The pizza’s needed about 25 minutes in the oven but smelt and looked delicious.  When I saw how big they had ended up I decided not to make anything else to eat or the boys just wouldn’t eat it all.  

Cooked pizza’s

The boys got ready for bed while the pizza’s cooled a little bit, they decided they wanted to sit on the carpet and eat on their laps as they couldn’t eat outside as they’d wanted too.  


Yummy
Erin giving her seal of approval to the cakes
 

of course I’ve got room for cake!


Dad of 3 tried a biscuit and cake and said he couldn’t taste the difference so with full tummy’s it was smiles all around for our baking efforts.  I think I had probably been a bit to adventurous for the boys first cooking lesson but they had enjoyed helping and learning.  But I think I will use flora in my baking again.  

11 thoughts on “Baking with Flora and our carpet picnic

  1. Kim Carberry says:

    Ohh everything looks delicious!!
    They look like they had fun x

    1. welshmumof3 says:

      they did have fun ๐Ÿ™‚ especially licking the spoons lol x

  2. helen says:

    wow you did have a busy time baking all those treats, love the pic of Erin with the cake!

    1. welshmumof3 says:

      she was so funny bless her ๐Ÿ™‚ she’d watched at a distance while we baked then eyed the cake quite suspiciously lol

  3. I don’t think you were too adventurous at all – it looks like they did really well and really enjoyed it! I am sure you deserved that cup of tea though ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. welshmumof3 says:

      I really did after all that baking and the heat in the kitchen ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Alison says:

    Love the dinosaur biscuits and the pizza looks lovely

  5. Emma T says:

    I must do home made pizza with N- he’d love it (although we do the Jamie’s 30 min cheat’s pizza!).

    Your biscuits look great. Wish I could get my icing sugar the right consistency.

    1. welshmumof3 says:

      I think the icing was a bit of a fluke that day, it usually takes me ages to get it just right

  6. the cakes and biscuits look amazing, you are giving them a great life skill, and the flora cuisine is dairy free as well so great for allergy sufferers. Had a chuckle at the (near) naked chefs, it has been so warm.

    1. welshmumof3 says:

      thank you ๐Ÿ™‚ they love helping me bake. Lol yes and it was even hotter that day thanks to the oven been on! ๐Ÿ™‚

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