Ingredients:

• 1 300g (10oz) bag white chocolate chips
• 1 450g (16oz) can premade strawberry cake frosting
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Method

• Lightly add cooking spay or baking paper to a baking tray. 
• Melt white chocolate chips in a bowl over boiling water or in the microwave.  
• Once melted, stir in the strawberry frosting. Mix.
• Add the pecans and spread mixture into the prepared baking tray. 
• Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
• Once firm cut into squares before serving.

Hints and Tips:

• Very easy for children to prepare! 
• Instead of white chocolate use dark chocolate.
• Use peanuts or cashews instead of pecans.
• Add lollies for extra sweetness. 
• Try with vanilla or chocolate cake frosting.

Please Note: 

• This recipe does contain a lot of sugar so you should only use "occasionally" and as a special treat.
• For childcare centres in Australia and nut free zones you can omit the pecans and replace it with an alternative such as dried or fresh fruits.

The aim of this recipe is for children to participate in a simple cooking activity that they can complete themselves and not to be used as part of a child's regular diet or even to be served in a childcare setting menu. Please use your best judgement when making this recipe.

Ingredients:

• A box cake mix and ingredients to make the cake
• A can of frosting (any flavour of your choice)
• Cooking chocolate (white/brown/dark - any choice)
• Lollies, sprinkles, candies, sugars (anything for decorating)
• Lollipop sticks
• A Styrofoam block 

Method:

• To begin making cake pops, follow the direction on a box of cake mix. This is the easiest way to make cake pop and since there are so many flavoured cake mixes available the flavour of the cake is completely up to you. You can also make your own home made cake!
• Once you bake your cake, let it cool completely. 
• Crumble the cake into fine crumbs by either using your hands (cut off the cake edges first) or using a food processor (pulse it into fine crumbs). Move cake crumbs into a large mixing bowl. 
• Add a small amount of frosting (1 tbsp) to the cake crumbs and mix together using your hands. Keep adding frosting until the crumb mixture becomes the consistency of clay.
• Once you have created your cake dough, it's time to roll your cake balls. An ice-cream scoop works well. 
• Take a scoop of dough and roll the mixture into your hand to create a round ball.
• Set your cake balls onto a baking tray (lined with baking paper) and chill them in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Microwave cooking chocolate in a bowl and melt (stirring every 10 seconds), until the chocolate is smooth in consistency. If you are using white and dark chocolate add these to separate bowls before microwaving. 
• Remove cake balls from freezer and let them sit for a few minutes. 
• Dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and then gently push it into a cake ball until the stick is about half way through the cake ball. Set your cake balls in the fridge to chill for dipping. (You can also turn your cake ball upright and set it in your Styrofoam block). 
• Once chilled dip each cake ball straight down into the melted chocolate coating until the cake ball is completely covered with chocolate. Remove the cake pop from the melted chocolate by pulling it straight up. Turn the cake pop at an angle to gently tap off any excess coating. 
• Set your cake pops in your Styrofoam block and while the coating is still wet use sprinkles, candies, lollies, sugars and more to decorate your cake pops.

Hints and Tips:

• This recipe is great for children to get involved and help out. By crumbling the cake, creating balls and even decorating their own cake pops.
• Make a bouquet of cake pops (5 or 6) by placing them in a Styrofoam block and arrange them like flowers by using cellophane and ribbon.
• When adding frosting to cake crumbs to form the dough it's best to start off with a small amount then add more frosting when needed.
• This recipe makes an average of 30 cake pops but you can create more in this single batch depending on how big you roll your cake balls. The smaller the cake balls the more you'll create in a batch. 

The aim of this recipe is for children to participate in a simple cooking activity that they can complete themselves and not to be used as part of a child's regular diet or even to be served in a childcare setting menu. Please use your best judgement when making this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• Vegemite
• Grated cheese

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• Semi defrost puff pastry.
• Spread with a generous serve of vegemite (depending on taste).
• Sprinkle grated cheese on top of vegemite spread.
• Roll puff pastry lengthways.
• Bake in oven on tray 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Cut into desired slices.
• Enjoy!

Hints and Tips:

• These can be pre-cut once rolled lengthways before baking in the oven.
• More cheese can be sprinkled on top of the pastry before baking.
• Add other fillings such as tomato paste, cheese and dried herbs.

Ingredients:

• 200g butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup desiccated coconut
• 2 ¼ cups plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ cup milk
• Topping
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 ½ cups desiccated coconut

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Place cupcake patties in 2 x 12-hole muffin trays.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter for 2-3 minutes until pale in colour and creamy.
• Slowly add sugar to the butter mixture, continually beating using the electric mixer.
• Also add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute between each one.
• Add the vanilla essence and coconut, beat until well combined.
• Next sift flour and baking powder and add half to butter mixture above also adding half the milk. Beat until just combined.
• Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
• Spoon mixture into cupcake patties until 3/4 full.
• Bake for about 15 minutes.
• For icing, sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl and add enough warm water to make a spreadable paste.
• Place coconut in a small bowl.
• Spread each cupcake with icing paste, then dip in coconut.
• Enjoy!

Hints and Tips:

• To test if the cupcake has been cooked, insert a skewer into the middle of the cupcake and if it comes out clean, it's cooked.
• Transfer cupcakes to wire racks and allow to cool completely before adding topping.
• For mini lamington cupcakes just use a mini muffin tray.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 150g butter, melted
• 395g sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 30g butter, extra
• 150g rich dark cooking chocolate, melted

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Combine first five ingredients in bowl and mix well.
• Press into base of baking paper lined 18cm x 28cm lamington tray.
• Bake for 10 minutes until golden.
• Combine sweetened condensed milk, golden syrup and extra butter in pan, bring to boil stirring.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until a light brown colour and becomes caramel.
• Pour caramel over cooked base, return to oven, bake for a further 10 minutes.
• Cool.
• Spread cooking chocolate over caramel filling.
• Refrigerate to set before turning out.
• Cut into slices or squares to serve.

Hints and Tips:

• For chocolate topping over caramel, 60g of copha can also be added. Just melt along with chocolate pour over caramel and refrigerate.
• Oats for the base is optional. You can also try adding a biscuit base for added crunch. Just omit the rolled oats for your favourite biscuit. Break it into crumbs before adding it to the rest of the base ingredients.