Last updated 01:31, Thursday, 03 April 2008

Getting youngsters involved in the kitchen at an early age is one of the best lessons in life you can give them.

Finding out different tastes and smells, having the courage to try new and different things, even if they don’t look or smell particularly good and why you shouldn’t eat raw pastry are all vital lessons.

To ensure a good time, make sure small hands get nowhere near cookers, pans, or sharp knives.

The traditional foodie treat at this time of the year is to make chocolate rice crispie or cornflake nests with some mini eggs in the middle.

Here is my version of that, it takes a bit more time, but it’s more fun and the end result looks better!

There’s also a slightly more healthy sticky cake recipe.

APPLE AND ALMOND CRUMBLE CAKE

Ingredients

Cake mix:

• 250g/ 9 oz light brown sugar
• 250g/ 9 oz butter, softened
• 4 large egg yolks
• 4 large egg whites
• 250g/ 9 oz ground almonds
• 6 medium apples (cox’s or something firm and sharp)

Crumble top:

• 30g/ 1 oz butter -softened
• 90g/ 3 oz self raising flour
• 60g/ 2 oz light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

1 Preheat oven gas mark 4/180C.

2 Cream the butter and sugar together, add the egg yolks gradually, beating all the time, then stir in the almonds.

3 Whisk the egg whites till stiff.

4 Fold the whites in to the cake mix, carefully trying not to loose the lightness.

5 Spoon in to a buttered tin 8-10 inch

6 Make the crumble mix by rubbing the butter in to the flour, sugar and cinnamon, until it resembles breadcrumbs.

7 Sprinkle on to the cake batter

Cook for 1-11/4 hours or until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE NESTS

Fill these with mini eggs or with fruit. You could leave the chocolate out and make plain nests, then melt some chocolate and pour on top.

Don’t forget to clean the whisks by licking them first!

Chocolate meringues

• 3 egg whites
• 150g/5½oz golden caster sugar
• 50g/2oz good quality dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped
• 2 tsp cocoa, sieved

For the cream

• 100g/3½oz chocolate
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.

2 Line two baking trays with greaseproof or silicone paper.

3 In a clean, dry bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.

4 Gradually whisk in the sugar until stiff peaks form.

5 Stir together the chocolate and cocoa and fold gently into the meringue.

6 Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared trays, making a nest shape and quickly put in the oven before the mixture loses volume.

7 Cook for 40 minutes.