The no fail birthday cake - ideal for blokes who don't bake

So you think you can't make a birthday or celebration cake, think again! It seems inevitable that at some time or another there will be a request from one of your children that you make them a birthday cake for school, kindy or for a home party. I've got a fail proof way for you to master this task.

First of all: don't panic. Making a cake will earn you big brownie points with everyone - and this one is REAL EASY. There's no cooking, if you are able to melt some butter you can do this. The other great thing about this cake is you can add any type of biscuits or lollies to suit to customise it for the birthday recipient.

So give it a go, you don't even need a birthday as an excuse and it's a great recipe for the kids to help choose the ingridients and then help with the mixing.

This makes one Cake serves 6-8 - you will need:
* 18 Arnott's Choc Ripple biscuits or biscuit of your choice
* 8 1/4 cup Cookies & Cream Ice-cream or your choice

Decided What the Kids Are Giving You This Christmas?

By now the kids and Santa's helper are giddy with the timeless holiday tradition, trying to figure out what to give Dad. And as the sound of sleigh bells gets closer and closer, they're down to choosing between the plaid or polka-dot battery powered massaging slippers.

Instead of practicing that special Christmas morning look of surprise and delight, why not give and get something that will actually last a lifetime? For youngsters, its hard to beat the fun and memories of making and decorating Christmas cookies with you.

If the thought of rolling pins and green frosting puts you off, don't let it. It's easier than you think, and well worth the trouble. Just ask the kids. And be prepared to be dragged into the kitchen.

Blokes who bake ... with their children

Our little man is right into his baking ... and I think it's just a superb activity to do with kids.

They love looking at you making the dough (or getting their hands stuck in if you let them) from all the raw ingredients. It's great to see the process of eggs, flour, milk and butter turn into dough. If you make cookies that need cutting (like in our case) it's another great opportunity for them to get involved. Give them the choice of different cookie cutters or designs. Finally - letting them watch how the cookies bake, and then tasting the end result is very exciting (well at least in our case it was).

Bringing Out The Muffin Man In You

If have kids and you are anything like me you may often end up, somehow, with several over ripe bananas constantly in the bottom of your fridge or in the fruit bowl. My mum would always make a banana cake with these but I like to make these very simple muffins and the kids love to help. In fact this recipe from www.theworldrecipebook.com uses only one bowl and one wooden spoon in the whole process. Apart from over mixing (which my little boy particularly likes to do with vigour) you can’t really stuff them up.

The kids love to weigh the ingredients as they put them into the bowl. My kids are of the age where as we weigh the ingredients I get them to add the weights together on a piece of paper and we check the final weight against their answers. The whole process only takes 5 mins, really!

So if you find some black or over ripe bananas lying around (you can freeze bananas in a bag for a later date) Crank up the oven and you will have muffins in 1/2hr. These last for 2-3 days in a sealed container in the cupboard. The recipe makes 6 large or 12 small.