Kid’s Party Food Ideas

Planning a kid’s party can be stressful and trying to come up with fun ideas for for party food that will appeal to all the party guests can be tricky so we thought are endless but here are a few hints and tips which you may find helpful.

Avoid additives and limit sugar laden food and drinks if you want to avoid having a room full of hyperactive children.

Make sure any food allergies are taken into account and helpers are aware.

Use disposable paper or bamboo plates and cups to make clearing up easier and they are eco-friendly too. Alternatively, check out reusable party kit hire from Party Kit Network, a great way to make parties a bit greener.

Encourage eating fruit by dipping strawberries and grapes in chocolate or make fruit skewers by threading fruit onto small nohttps://www.partykitnetwork.ukn sharp skewers.

Make breadstick wands – dip breadsticks in melted chocolate and then dip in sprinkles.

Keep catering simple by offering one type of popular food such as hot dogs or sliders (mini burgers).

Sandwiches – keep fillings simple but cut into fun shapes using cookie cutters. This makes them much more appealing to little ones.

Sausage rolls – always a winner but some shop bought ones can be poor quality. If you do want to make your own, follow our super easy homemade sausage roll recipe, at least then you can choose the quality of the sausage meat and they taste so much better than the shop bought ones.

If having a party at home or at a venue with a cooker, you could get the kids to decorate their own pizzas. If using shop bought bases, cut into quarters and spread with passatta before letting the kids decorate. That way you can cook a slice for everyone in one go.

Pinwheel sandwiches – flatten bread with a rolling pin or use tortillas, apply the filling then roll up tightly and wrap in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes then slice to make sandwich discs with a spiral effect.

Consider using individual food boxes or paper carrier bags to create personal packed teas. You need to put about five things in each box. Some ideas are homemade sandwichs, some crisps, grapes and carrot sticks, a fairy cake and a napkin.

Essential Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe

A chocolate cake always goes down well and we love this super easy cake recipe, courtesy of Good Food Magazine

Cake Ingredients:

225g butter at room temperature
225g golden caster sugar
4 large eggs
225g self-raising flour
3 tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Butter Icing Ingredients:

150g butter, very soft
300g icing sugar, sifted
Natural Food colouring

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 18cm loose based cake tins and line the bottom with baking paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together by hand or in a mixer, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Fold in the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
Divide the mixture between two bowls. Soft the cocoa powder into one of the bowls and mix in.
Scrape the vanilla batter into one of the cake tins and the chocolate batter into the other and level out.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when pressed. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
To make the icing, beat the butter and add the icing sugar a little at a time, beating each lot in until you have a smooth, creamy icing. Add a little food colouring and beat it in (add more if you want a stronger colour.
Sandwich the two cakes together with icing and spread the rest on the top using a palette knife. The cake will keep in an airtight container for three days.