How to Make The Elephant

With your sharp scissors cut me out carefully along the fine dotted lines.
   Now, get a spool of the right size to fit me. Spread glue carefully on both ends of the spool, allowing it to harden a little; then stick my head on one end of the spool and my tail end on the other.
   There, you have me standing up for you as an ELEPHANT should do.

How to Make The Lion

With your sharp scissors cut me out carefully along the fine dotted lines.
   Now, get a spool of the right size to fit me. Spread glue carefully on both ends of the spool, allowing it to harden a little; then stick my head on one end of the spool and my tail end on the other.
   Then you'll have me standing up for you as a kind LION should do.

How to Make The Zebra

With your sharp scissors cut me out carefully along the fine dotted lines.
   Now, get a spool of the right size to fit me. Spread glue carefully on both ends of the spool, allowing it to harden a little; then stick my head on one end of the spool and my tail end on the other.
   There, you have me standing up for you as a good ZEBRA should do.

This is a really quick and simple supper or dinner dish for all the family, you will probably have most of the items in your store cupboard or fridge!

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 quantity of batter (use your own recipe how you like it for thickness or thinness)
Small knob of butter, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
10 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped
2 red onions, thinly sliced
5¼ oz cheddar, grated
Handful of cherry tomatoes
2 handfuls spinach
Handful of fresh herbs (rosemary, parsley) chopped

METHOD:

Heat oven to 450°F/230C/gas mark 8.

Make up the batter and set aside. Grease a large, round or oval, ceramic or glass dish, about 9 inches wide, and dust it with the grated Parmesan.

Heat the butter in a frying pan. Sizzle the bacon for about 5 mins until crisp, then leave to cool. Sauté the onions and tomatoes until slightly soft and put the spinach in. Stir until spinach has wilted.

Tip the bacon, onion, tomatoes, spinach and cheddar into the batter and stir until completely combined. Tip the batter into the prepared dish so it comes almost to the top, then bake for 30-35 mins until puffed up and golden. Bring piping hot to the table and serve straight from the dish with a crisp salad.

How to Make The Fox

With your sharp scissors cut me out carefully along the fine dotted lines.
   Now, get a spool of the right size to fit me. Spread glue carefully on both ends of the spool, allowing it to harden a little; then stick my head on one end of the spool and my tail end on the other.
   Now, you have me standing up for you as a GOOD FOX should do.

How to Make The Bear

With your sharp scissors cut me out carefully along the fine dotted lines.
   Now, get a spool of the right size to fit me. Spread glue carefully on both ends of the spool, allowing it to harden a little; then stick my head on one end of the spool and my tail end on the other.
   There, you have me standing up for you as a nice BEAR should do.

Make these yummy chocolate truffles as a gift for someone on birthdays or Christmas, but we dare you not to eat them all yourself.

Serves: 12-16 truffles
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz chocolate
1 oz butter
3½ oz double cream
1 oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

METHOD:

Break up the chocolate, chop very finely and put into mixing bowl with the butter.

Place the cream and sugar in a saucepan, bring just to the boil and remove from heat.

Pour the cream onto the chocolate and butter and beat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and shiny. Freeze for a few hours, until firm enough to shape.

Mix the cocoa and icing sugar together, dust hands with mixture and roll mixture into truffle shapes.

Chill until serving, or keep in an air tight container for up to a week.

Delicious, but a little naughty with a few more carbs this time, but nothing dramatic if you balance your day correctly. This uses a few bowls and spoons to make, but the end result is wonderful and difficult to tell from real ice cream style dessert.

Serves: 8
Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus 5 hours freezing
Cook Time: No Cook!

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, separated
6 oz sugar
17 oz heavy cream
7 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

METHOD:

Line the base of a 2 lb loaf tin with a double layer of cling film, leaving the excess hanging out over the edges. You can use parchment paper, but cling film is much easier to handle for removing from the tin.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. In a second bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form peaks.

Fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture in a gently stirring motion, and then carefully fold in the egg whites. Be very careful not to beat or use rigorous movements with the mix, it must be treated tenderly!

Sprinkle a third of the chopped chocolate evenly into the base of the prepared tin. Pour half the semifreddo mixture over the chocolate, followed by the next third of the chocolate. Finally, pour over the remaining semifreddo and top with the remaining chocolate. Cover with the cling film overlap and freeze for at least 5 hours until solid.

Once the semifreddo is set, carefully remove it from the tin, turning it upside down onto a plate, and remove the parchment or cling film. Cut into slices (it may be easier if you use a knife dipped into hot water, the semifreddo will slice more cleanly).

Serve with fresh berries or any fruit that you like.

These tasty sugar-dipped muffins are baked not fried but taste just as delicious and are best warm and straight from the oven. You can use chocolate, jam, lemon curd or any other sweet filling that you want! Be careful to let them cool slightly, as we don’t want burnt lips!

Serves: 12
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18-20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz golden caster sugar, plus 7 oz extra for dusting
7 oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3½ oz natural yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 oz butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
12 tsp thick chocolate sauce/ or seedless raspberry jam

METHOD:

Heat oven to 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5.

Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin or use silicone cups.

Put the sugar, flour and bicarb in a bowl and mix to combine. In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Tip the jug contents and melted butter into the dry ingredients and quickly fold with a metal spoon to combine.

Divide two-thirds of the mixture between the muffin holes. Carefully add 1 tsp chocolate sauce or jam into the center of each, then cover with the remaining mixture. Bake for 16-18 minutes until risen, golden and like lovely puff balls to touch.

Leave the muffins to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from the tin and roll in the extra sugar.

A handy little snack, or good for parties in larger quantities, or as a supper with some fries! We love these cheesy crunchy chicken strips. They are quick to make and taste really good.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts
Flour for coating
4 oz grated cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack etc)
4 oz cornflakes, crushed
1 egg, beaten
Ground black pepper, Cajun seasoning or paprika if you like them spicier!

METHOD:

Heat oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas Mark 6. Grease a baking sheet with a little oil, or spray it if you have spray oil.

Put the flour, cheese and egg into separate bowls. If you are going to add seasoning, put this into the flour bowl now, and mix around.

Cut chicken into strips, probably 6-8 per breast and roll in the flour.

Put the cornflakes into a ziplock bag, and using a rolling pin, crush them so that they are quite small. Put in the same bowl as the cheese and mix around.

Dip each piece of chicken into the flour, then egg, then into the cornflake mix. Place each piece on the baking sheet.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. Take one stripper off the tray and cut in half, to make sure they are cooked all the way through.

Get some tomato sauce in a bowl ready for dipping! BBQ sauce is delicious too, or just a simple salad or fries!