Pesto pizza rolls

These were very much inspired by the Snazzy Pizza Rolls entered into English Mum's Fresh Bread Bake-off by Arlene of The Fuzzy Times. I also made Gluttony For Beginners' dough balls, but those got eaten before I could take their picture.

Anyway this is my take on the pizza rolls thing. Not quite the same as the snazzy ones - these are more like the ones made (I think) by Tana Ramsay and they're basically just a Chelsea bun with a savoury filling.

First you need a bread dough. I tend to make mine intuitively - I have a plastic cup measure and I use two of those of strong bread flour, a teaspoon of quick mix yeast, a teaspoon of salt, a glug of olive oil (in this case a nice basil favoured one) and enough warm water to make a soft dough. I added a teaspoonful of dried herbes de Provence too for extra flavour. You could use some left over pizza dough or my focaccia dough would work just as well (but would make a bit more than this, perhaps).

Once that is kneaded and risen you need to roll it out into a large rectangle. I then spread mine with a whole tub of fresh pesto (in lieu of tomato sauce which makes me itch), some ham and emmental cheese (because that's what I had to hand).

It will then look something like this:

Next roll it up from the nearest long side into a long sausage shape (or start and then let your nine-year-old daughter take over):

Next cut it up into rounds. The knife flattens the circles, so squeeze them back into shape again. Tuck them into a suitably sized tin so they are snuggled up close enough to hold a conversation:

Leave to rise again for a little while longer (while the oven heats up to Gas Mark 6) then bake them until golden brown and sizzling:

Serve warm as a tear and share bread. Delicious!

Squidgy banana cake

This is one for toddlers and small children. It is based on Nigella Lawson's banana bread on page 33 of 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' but my method is slightly different. The result is a deliciously fragrant loaf cake that can be served with custard for a lovely winter pudding or eaten cold. I love wholemealy things, so can't resist adding a bit of Dove's organic wholemeal flour, but make it with all white flour if preferred. This definitely is cooking as a game you can eat!

Ingredients:

4 really ripe bananas

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g caster or soft brown sugar

125g olive or sunflower oil

100g plain flour

75g wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

half tsp bicarbonate of soda

half tsp salt

100g sultanas

Method:

1. Scrub your toddler/small child, put aprons on everything and possibly newspaper on the floor too, according to the child's temperament. More than one toddler/child may be used.
2. Get a really big plastic bowl.
3. Peel the bananas. Throw into bowl and set toddler/child to attack. Get them to squeeze and squidge.
4. Next you need two large eggs. Give them to the children to crack into the bowl. Fish out bits of shell - use other bits of shell to pick up the fragments, for some reason this seems to work. Allow the children to feel the texture of the egg white and the slippery yolk, then break the yolk and watch the yellow run into the banana.
5. Continue squidging the mix. Add vanilla extract. Smell the yummy vanilla.
6. Add the sugar. You could reduce the amount of sugar a little as it is quite a sweet cake. Squidge!
7. Weigh 125g of olive or sunflower oil and pour in.
8. Add 100g plain flour and 75g of wholemeal flour. Squidge!
9. Add 2 tsp baking powder, half a tsp bicarbonate of soda and half a tsp of salt.
10. Add 100g sultanas and squidge until thoroughly mixed.
11. Put handfuls of the mixture into a lined loaf tin, scraping the bowl/hands/arms etc with a spatula.
12. If 100% sure about the freshness of the eggs, leave the children licking their hands and arms while you put the cake into an oven preheated to 170 degrees C/gas mark 3 for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.
13. If not sure about provenance of eggs, try to prevent children from licking arms etc. Try!
14. Give toddler/child washing up bowl full of bubbly water and the dirty bowl and spatula and a plastic jug for 'water play' (aka 'washing up'!). Make yourself a cup of tea.
15. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Wait a few minutes before slicing and eating.

Optional:

• Add chopped plain chocolate for a choconana cake.
• Add 1tsp of cinnamon or mixed spice for a spicynana cake.