YOUR LIFE MADE EASY!

Lockdown survival guide

for moms & kids

FR
ACTI EE
VITY
E-BOOK

Baking Puzzles Craft

 e l l o ! Contents
H
I
n times of uncertainty,
it’s comforting to
know that some
things haven’t
changed – like what you
can expect from the team
here at Essentials. The
nationwide lockdown may
be taking its toll on you
and your family but, as
always, we’re here to make
in the kitchen
p3
your life a little bit easier.
We’ve put together this Baking is a brilliant way to pass the
brilliant activity e-book time, plus you end up with delicious
designed to keep little creations to indulge in. Win-win!
ones who are stuck at
home busy with quick
and easy crafts, boredom-
busting puzzles, colouring-
p11 Answ
er
on p2 s
8
in pages, and bakes they
can help you whip up in puzzles
the kitchen. The result? Let your children try out our
boredom-busting colouring-
You’re saved the stress of in, word searches, and spot
having to come up with the difference pages.
different activities and
you’ll hopefully be able

p21
to find some time to take
a well-deserved break. I
hope this e-book comes
in handy over the next few
weeks – let us know what simple makes
you think by mailing us at Getting stuck into a project
essentials@caxton.co.za together with the kids will
have you all smiling.

Kate
editor
Content and images ti-mediacontent.com; Shutterstock
Design Kyle Shoesmith Subbing India Gonçalves
 baking

bakes
Delicious sweet treats that the kids can
help you whip up in the kitchen

3
 Party Rings
MAKES 20 rings
READY IN 1 hr 5 min

100g butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla paste
45g castor sugar
150g plain flour, sifted,
plus extra to use on
rolling surface
For the icing
500g royal icing sugar
Few drops each of different
gel food colourings

1 Heat oven to 180°C. Cream

the butter and vanilla paste,
add castor sugar and then mix
until pale and fluffy. Gently
work in 150g sifted flour. Shape
into a ball, wrap in cling wrap
and chill in fridge for 20 min.

2 Remove the dough from the

fridge and roll out to 2-3mm
thickness on a floured work
surface (or between sheets of
baking paper if the dough is too
soft). Cut out 6cm biscuits,
then use a smaller 2cm cookie
cutter to cut out an inner ring.
Transfer the biscuits to a lined
baking tray and prick each
twice with a fork. Bake for 12-15
min, till golden. Remove and
transfer to a cooling rack.

3 To make the icing for the

biscuits, mix the icing
sugar with 6 tbsp water to a
thick but slightly runny paste
that is the same texture as
sour cream. Divide into 4 bowls
and add a few drops of different
gel colouring to each – gel
colouring gives a more intense
shade than liquid. Spread icing
over the biscuits, alternating
colours. Before the icing sets,
pipe lines of another colour on
to each biscuit, and then drag a
toothpick through the icing
lines to create a whimsical
feather pattern. Leave to set.

4

blueberry & white
chocolate muffins
Makes 12 Ready in 40 min
175g unsalted butter
60g gluten-free plain flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (try
Faithful to Nature)
Pinch of cinnamon
100g ground almonds
225g castor sugar
60g white chocolate, grated
200g blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, lightly beaten
To finish
1 tbsp icing sugar, sieved
1 Heat the oven to 180°C.
Melt the butter in the
microwave on high for
1 min 30 sec, heating for
longer if needed.
Takes
10 mi
n!
2 In a large bowl,
combine the gluten-
free plain flour, xanthan
gum, cinnamon, ground
almonds, castor sugar,
grated white chocolate
and blueberries. Gently
stir in the vanilla, eggs and
melted butter, to combine.
3 Divide the mixture
between 12 cases of
a lined muffin tray. Bake
for 30 min or until the
muffins are well risen and
firm or a cocktail stick
inserted into the centre
comes out clean. Cool
on a wire rack. Dust the
muffins with icing sugar.
No-bake Crunchie
munchie cake
Serves 16 Ready in 10 min + freezing
200g milk chocolate,
broken into squares
125g margarine
3 tbsp golden syrup
100g digestive biscuits
2 Mars bars
1 Bounty (containing 2 bars)
2 Cadbury Crunchies
2 Twix bars
For the topping
1 Mars bar, sliced
2 tbsp cream
2 Cadbury Crunchies, sliced
1 Put the milk chocolate
into a microwave-proof
bowl with the margarine.
Add the syrup. Melt in
the microwave for 2 min.
2 Whizz the biscuits in a
blender to crush (or put
into a plastic bag and bash
with a rolling pin). Stir the
baking
biscuits into the chocolate.
3 Line a 500g loaf tin
with cling wrap. Place
the 2 Mars bars alongside
the Bounty bars in the
base of the tin. Pour over
half the chocolate mixture.
4 Top with the Cadbury
Crunchies and the Twix
bars (you may need to cut
the chocolate bars to fit).
Pour on the remaining
chocolate mixture. Freeze
for 30 min or chill for 1 hr.
5 For the topping, melt
the remaining Mars bar
and the cream together
(in the microwave or on
the stove). Upturn the
cake onto a serving plate,
drizzle with the Mars bar
sauce and scatter with the
sliced Cadbury Crunchies.
5
 Pink velvet cake
Makes 16 squares Ready in 1 hr

200g butter, softened greased and lined with

200g castor sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
¼ tsp pink food colouring
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
To decorate
250g mascarpone cheese
75g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp cake sprinkles
baking paper, and spread
level. Put tin in the oven
and bake for 35-40 min,
until well risen and the
centre of the cake springs
back when lightly pressed
with a fingertip. Cool for
10 min in the tin, then
turn out and allow to cool
completely out of the tin.

1 Heat the oven to 180°C.

Using an electric mixer,
beat together the butter,
castor sugar, eggs, pink
colouring, flour and baking
powder until smooth and
evenly coloured.
3 To decorate the cake,
beat together the
mascarpone cheese, icing
sugar and vanilla extract,
until soft and smooth.
Spread the icing evenly
over the top of the cake
and decorate with the

2 Spoon the cake mixture

into a 23x28cm tin,
sprinkles. Cut the cake
into 16 squares to serve.

Choc-chip cookies
Makes 15-20 Ready in 25 min

150g butter, softened the chocolate drops. If

150g castor sugar the dough is very soft,
Few drops of vanilla chill until it firms up.
extract
Pinch of salt
1 medium egg
2 Break off walnut-
sized pieces of
dough and roll into
250g plain flour balls. Press the balls
½ tsp bicarbonate on to 2 lined baking
of soda sheets, flattening
200g milk them slightly.
chocolate drops
3 Bake the cookies
for 10-12 min until

1 Heat the oven to

190°C. Cream the
butter, sugar, vanilla
brown at edges but
still slightly soft in the
centre. Remove from
and salt. Add the egg the oven and leave
and stir in the flour and to cool on the baking
bicarbonate of soda. sheets for a few min,
Mix well to make a then transfer to a
dough and then stir in wire rack.

6
 baking

Family
fave

Caramel ice-cream pie

Serves 6 Ready in 15 min + chilling

250g ginger biscuits, broken

75g butter
1ℓ caramel-flavoured ice cream
300ml double-thick cream, whipped
2 tbsp chocolate-coated popping candy
2 tbsp ready-made toffee dessert sauce

1 Add the broken ginger biscuits to a food

processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Melt
the butter in the microwave on high for 1 min.

2 Pour the butter into the biscuits in the food

processor and blitz again to combine. Press
the mixture into a 23cm freezer-proof pie dish to
cover the base and edges. Chill for at least 20 min.

3 Pile in scoops of caramel-flavoured ice cream.

Add dollops of whipped cream. Sprinkle with
chocolate popping candy, drizzle with the
ready-made toffee sauce and serve.

7
 Oreo cookies & cream fridge cake
Serves 12 Ready in 15 min + chilling
800ml double-thick cream
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp castor sugar
600g Oreo Original cookies,
plus extra to decorate
100g milk chocolate, grated,
plus extra to decorate
1 Whip the cream, until
softly peaking, then stir
8
in the vanilla bean paste chocolate. Repeat with
and castor sugar. Arrange 3 more biscuit layers.
about a quarter of the Oreo
biscuits in a circle on a
serving plate or cake stand.
3 Decorate with extra
Oreos and a final
sprinkling of chocolate. Chill
2 Dollop on about a quarter
of the cream and then
gently spread over to cover
overnight. This will only be
ready to eat the next day,
as the biscuits need time to
the biscuits. Sprinkle with a
quarter of the grated milk
soften, so the cake can be
cut. Serve within 2 days.
 baking

Easy-
peasy White chocolate
!
popcorn slice
Serves 12 Ready in 15 min + chilling

400g white chocolate, water. Heat gently. Beat

cubed well to combine evenly.
3 tbsp golden syrup
125g butter
4 tbsp condensed milk
2 Stir in the chopped
marshmallows and
half the popcorn. Spoon
125g marshmallows, into a 21cm square tin,
chopped lined with baking paper.
170g caramel popcorn Place in the fridge while
For the topping you make the topping.
200g white chocolate,
cubed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
3 Melt the white
chocolate cubes and
sunflower oil in a bowl,
2 tbsp hundreds and resting over a pan of
thousands simmering water. Pour
2 tbsp mini over the mixture in the
marshmallows tin. Then, sprinkle over
4 tbsp fudge, cut into the hundreds and
small cubes thousands, mini
marshmallows, fudge

1 Put the chocolate,

syrup, butter and
condensed milk into a
cubes and remaining
popcorn. Chill for a few
hours, before cutting
large bowl, resting over into squares. This will
a pan of simmering keep for up to 1 week.

Top tip!
Roll the ice cream
section of the cookie
sandwich in your
choice of sprinkles
or choc chips.
Strawberry ice-cream
cookie sandwich
Serves 10 Ready in 40 min

175g unsalted butter

125g castor sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 Roll the dough into
20 balls and put on
2 lined baking sheets,
2 eggs spacing well apart.
300g plain flour Flatten the dough
1 tsp baking powder balls slightly and bake
150g milk chocolate, for 10-12 min, until
cut into chunks golden. Cool on the
1ℓ strawberry- sheets for 3 min.
flavoured ice cream Transfer to a wire rack
to cool completely.

1 Heat the oven to

180°C. Cream
together the butter,
3 Take the ice cream
out of the freezer
to soften for 15 min.
sugar and vanilla Use a large round
extract until light cutter to shape the
and fluffy. Gradually ice-cream rounds
add the eggs, flour, and return to the
baking powder and freezer on a lined tray.
chocolate chunks. Sandwich ice cream
Mix together to form between the cookies
a firm cookie dough. once firmed up.

9
baking

Hot chocolate
cookie & ice cream
Serves 4 Ready in 35 min

90g butter
175g muscovado sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda
30g cocoa
100g dark chocolate chunks
500g vanilla ice cream
Ready-made chocolate
sauce, to drizzle

1 Heat oven to 160°C. Cream together

the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat
in the egg and vanilla extract. Stir in the
flour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and
dark chocolate chunks. Mix together
so that it forms a firm cookie dough.

2 Roll out the dough to a 23cm round

and place in a 23cm greased tart tin
or an ovenproof frying pan. Put in oven
and bake for 20 min or until just firm.

3 Once ready, pile on scoops of the

vanilla ice-cream, drizzle with
the chocolate sauce and dig in!

Top tip!
If the edges of the
cookie start to brown
while baking, place
some foil over it.

10
 puzzles

puzzles
Keep the little ones busy at home with these
Answ
er
on p2 s
8
entertaining puzzles and colouring pages

11
 Find th
7
e
Spot the difference differen
ces

he
Find t
5erences
diff

12
 puzzles

Tackle the crossword 13

 Find all the words in the puzzles
The 30 words below all appear in one of the two grids – the words can go
left, right, up, down, but not diagonally, and can bend at a right angle

14
 puzzles

Identify all the vegetables

15
 Help the monkey get to the bananas
Get the fruit into their boxes

16
 puzzles

out
t
Princolour
& in

17
18
puzzles

19
 PUZZLES

20
 CRAFT

craft
Enjoy our selection of quick and easy makes that
you and the children can tackle together

21
 MAKE FUN STORAGE
Wash and dry an assortment of
jam jars with their lids, removing
any sticky labels. Help the kids
fix a plastic farmyard animal onto
the lid of each jar using super
glue. Leave to dry. To ensure the
sides and lip of each lid is sprayed,
place on a piece of newspaper in
a well-ventilated room and raise
Smart
idea
22
slightly off the paper before
spraying (an old glass or smaller
jar is ideal). Cover with two thin
coats of spray paint to ensure
even coverage. Repeat for the
other animal lids. The kids can
pop small stationery or craft bits
and pieces inside the jars, such
as crayons, beads or buttons .
 CRAFT

Cool pinboard
Brighten up your home office or kitchen
with a fun pinboard. Draw out your chosen
shape (we chose a cloud) on a sheet of
cork and cut out. Let the children decorate
the cork shape with paint (they could try
freehand or use a stencil). Leave to dry,
then hang your finished board up on a wall.

23
 CRAFT

STAMP TEA TOWELS

This is a classic craft that never gets old. Cut a
potato in half so you have a flat surface. Soak up
excess moisture with a piece of paper towel.
Draw a triangle or semicircle shape (or whatever
you like) on one half of the potato with a felt-tip
pen. Score around the design with a small, sharp
knife. Cut away the potato around the scored
line to leave a raised shape. Repeat on the other
potato half. Then pour fabric paint into a saucer.
Practise by stamping onto paper first, then
stamp the pattern onto a white tea towel.

24

frame some crayons
Print out a letter (like your child’s
initial) onto paper and cut so that it
fits inside a white box frame. Using
a sharp craft knife and a cutting
mat, help the kids cut different
coloured crayons to size, leaving
some whole. Ensuring the letter is
central, stick the print-out onto the
Adult
help
neede
d
backing board of your frame. Place
the crayons on top of the letter,
until happy with the arrangement.
Fix the crayons in place using a hot
glue gun, starting at the bottom
of the letter working up. Put the
finished design inside the frame
and hang on a bedroom wall.
25
 Fold paper
flowers
Paper crafts are a guaranteed
crowd-pleaser – and the kids can
make just about anything they like!
To make a petal, fold a 17x17cm
square of origami paper diagonally
on the fold. Fold the two bottom
corners of the triangle to the top
point to make a square. Fold the
top point back on itself and repeat
on the left. Open out these
triangles and flatten to make two
kite shapes, then fold their top
points over, lining up the paper
edges. Finally, fold the bottom
edges along the creases. Glue the
two side triangles together to form
a petal. Repeat the process to
make five more. Glue the folded
edges of the petals together to
make a flower, then glue these
to a green plant support stick.
Paper
craft

26
 CRAFT

Washi tape frames

Give your children free reign to create a gallery wall
using strips of washi tape that can be easily removed at
a later stage. Supply them a selection of photos and a
few rolls of tape, and they can let their creativity flow.

27
 Puzzle
answers
T B
U A
B E A R D
T T I G E R
F L E
W O O D P E C K E R
X E
E
R A C C O O N

28
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