Seasonal

Gifts for Kids Who Love to Cook: Ideas by Age

Real kitchen gifts for young cooks, matched to what they can actually do at each age: first tools, knives made for small…

What goes in a real (not toy) baking set for a child, by age: tools and tins sized for small hands, cookbooks…

Breakfasts you can make at the weekend and grab on a school morning, with exactly how each one keeps, from muffins and…

Straw, spout or open top; steel or plastic; the lid features that stop leaks in a school bag; and why the easiest…

Whole apples baked with a filling of raisins, spice and brown sugar until soft enough to eat with a spoon. The scoring…

A smooth, gently spiced pumpkin pie with a crisp base. How to stop a soggy bottom, how to tell when the custard…

Golden, flaky homemade sausage rolls for parties, picnics and Bonfire Night. The chilling step that makes them puff, how to freeze them…

Fluffy popcorn in a saucepan in five minutes, with almost no unpopped kernels. The three-kernel test, the 30-second rest, and sweet or…

Sweet treats, savoury party food, film-night snacks and five-minute no-recipe ideas, plus what to make ahead and how to keep a Halloween…

Chocolate cupcakes with orange and chocolate buttercream and a shower of sprinkles. The colouring trick that stops the icing going runny, and…

Glassy, crackly toffee apples for Halloween and Bonfire Night. The hard-crack test, why you strip the wax first, and why the hot…

Soft, chewy caramel apples rolled in chopped nuts or sprinkles. The temperature that makes caramel cling, and the food-safety reason to eat…