Cooking with Children: Chocolate, Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes

I'm a very firm believer in encouraging children to cook from a young age, and Bridget has been making cakes and 'helping' me in the kitchen since before she was able to walk and would just 'stir' cake ingredients from the comfort of her high chair. She absolutely loves to help Mummy, and her favourite job of all is to 'make cakes' - a really fun activity for children of most ages, especially with the added bonus of eating them afterwards and handing them out proudly to various family members. Bridget has her own little apron and loves going to fetch it if I invite her to do some cooking in the kitchen.

These Chocolate Cornflake Marshmallow Cakes are a slight step up from the ones I made myself as a child and are absolutely delicious, rich with milk chocolate, crisp from the cornflakes but gooey from the marshmallow - just gorgeous and very tempting for children and adults of all age. They are easy to make, take very little time and are a great way of spending quality time with your little one in the kitchen.

For these particular cakes, I bought all of the ingredients from Lidl too for less than £3.00 so it's an inexpensive family activity.

The below makes 12 cakes.

Chocolate, Cornflake and Marshmallow Cakes

Here's how:

• 80g butter (unsalted)
• 1 pack mini marshmallows
• 1 large bar milk chocolate
• 80g raisins
• 250g cornflakes

Firstly get your little one to wash their hands with you and get them into this habit before doing any tasks in the kitchen and then help them tie their apron.

Now little one can be in charge of breaking up the chocolate into a crack and melt-proof bowl (without eating any if possible!) while Mum or Dad (or whoever is cooking with little one) boils the kettle and places a small saucepan on the hob with some just boiled water.

Excitedly breaking up and sneaking in a few bites of chocolate

Once all the chocolate is broken up and placed into the ceramic dish, add the butter and two thirds of the pack of marshmallows and place the bowl over the boiling water. Obviously if allowing little ones to help at this stage, be extremely careful and be on hand at all times - Bridget knows that this step is 'burnies'. 

Chocolate, butter and marshmallows melting

Chocolate, butter and marshmallows melting

Now get little one to pour the Cornflakes into a mixing bowl, then you pour over the melted chocolate and marshmallow mix and allow little one to stir. Add the raisins now too and stir well.

Mummy's little helper

Get your toddler or child to line a cupcake tin with 12 cake cases and then help her to spoon a generous spoonful into each - it doesn't matter if this is a little messy, this is all part of the fun.

Adding the finishing touches

Once the mixture is evenly distributed allow your little one to scatter or place a few marshmallows over the top and set aside to set for an hour or so. Enjoy!