Supporting Children in Need
Children in Need will be a bit different this year due to lockdown, but there has never been a more important time to show our support for this wonderful charity. The impact of 2020 has been felt far and wide by many children and their families.
There may not be the usual bake sales but there will be a Joe Wicks 24 hour PE challenge, the annual duck race sweepstakes and of course the BBC One 2020 Children in Need Appeal show hosted by Alex Scott MBE, Chris Ramsey and Stephen Mangan.
To show our support and help you to get involved, we will be donating 25% from each sale of our Mini Teddy Bear biscuit kits until this Sunday at midnight.
Click here to shop now
Crafting at home
If you would like to colour your very own Pudsey bear from the Children in Need website, click here to download.
We have created a Rubber Ducky craft and colour activity sheet so you can design your own duck race contestant.
Click here to download.
Baking at home
Here are a few other Bear inspired recipes that you may like to try on the weekends during lockdown 2.0.
POLAR BEAR CUPCAKES
Makes 12 regular cupcake cases or 24 mini cupcakes
Image source - Hallmark
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 125g butter, softened
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 125g self-raising flour
Icing
- 50g butter, softened
- 125g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- Pack of desiccated coconut
Decorations
- Candy eyes
- Black sugarpaste
- Mini marshmallows
- Confetti sprinkles
Method
- Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Line a baking tray with 12 cupcake cases. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Fold in the vanilla extract and the flour then divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake for 15-18 mins until well risen and golden. Take the cakes out of the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- To make the buttercream topping, whisk the butter with a hand-held mixer until pale. Add the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well between each addition. Add the milk and continue to whisk until the mixture is pale and creamy.
- Use a knife or flat utensil to spread each cupcake with white icing.
- Roll the top of each cupcake in the coconut.
- Add one candy eye for a nose, roll some black fondant icing into small ball shapes and use these for the eyes
- Add a single piece of pink confetti for a tongue. You can change the placement to vary the polar bear’s expression.
- To make the ears, cut a mini marshmallow in half horizontally.
- Stick one piece of pink confetti sprinkle on each cut surface.
- Attach to the cupcake.
PAW PRINT BISCUITS
Makes 15-20 biscuits
Image source - Pinterest via Our Oranised Hive
Ingredients
Vanilla plain biscuits
- 160g plain flour
- 70g caster sugar
- 80g unsalted butter
- Egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Milk choc drops
- Large milk chocolate buttons
Chocolate biscuits ( or do a mix of both ½ of each recipe)
- 160g plain flour
- 20g cocoa powder
- 75g caster sugar
- 80g unsalted butter
- 1 egg
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- White choc drops
- Large white choc buttons
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 and Grease two baking sheets
- Put the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl and stir until combined (for the chocolate biscuits add the cocoa powder in to the bowl at this point too.) Rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs
- Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla until a dough forms
- Make the dough into a ball. wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins until firm
- Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 0.5cm thick. Cut shapes using a round cookie cutter or form balls in your hand then pat down to form 6cm circles.
- Place on the baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes or until starting to brown at edges.
- Take them out of the oven and leave to cool for 1 minute then while they are still warm carefully place your chocolate drops and buttons on each biscuit in the shape of a paw before transferring to a cooling rack.