Don’t let your kids climb the walls with boredom this summer; instead get them in the kitchen with these six brilliantly simple and fun ideas.

No-churn vegan ice cream

Never again will you throw out overly ripe bananas once you’ve sampled this delectable frozen treat. Instead, they can be peeled and cut into two-inch chunks and stored in the freezer in a freezer bag (bananas must be frozen for at least six hours before making) and then blitzed in a blender to make a vegan dessert that is not unlike soft serve ice cream.

Simple, delicious and containing only natural sugar, this is a sure-fire way to impress your little ones.

Mug cakes

The internet is overflowing with mug cake recipes, but this is a simple one that requires no flour and even less baking prowess.

Whisk one egg with a dash of vanilla essence and combine in your mug of choice with one tablespoon of cooled, melted butter. Add three tablespoons each of sugar and cocoa powder (unsweetened) and a pinch of salt. Microwave for one to one-and-a-half minutes and then scoff with spoon.

Pizzas

A young girl with plaits is eating a piece of pizza

Whether you want to use a pre-made base, ready-to-bake dough or make dough from scratch, pizzas make a fantastic cooking experience for kids.

Allowing for lots of creativity with little room for disaster, small hands will love spreading tomato puree over their pizza base and then adding the toppings of their choice. Grated cheddar, mozzarella, ham, pineapple, sliced peppers, chorizo, olives and mushrooms are just some of the yummy ingredients you can use.

Scones

Believe it or not, scones are the benchmark of low-maintenance baking because they require only basic ingredients, come together easily and can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways.

A straightforward base of flour, butter and milk that requires very little mixing, can be dotted with raisins, jewelled with cherries, made savoury by adding cheese or just left as they are to make plain scones that are divine when topped with clotted cream and lots of jam. A delicious treat for young and old alike.

Ice cream sundaes

Eating ice cream cones in summer is often an iconic landmark in any childhood, only surpassed perhaps by that time you turned your kitchen into an ice cream parlour.

There’s no celebration necessary to bring out the fancy, tall glasses ready to be filled with fresh fruit, different flavours of ice cream, whipped cream and every kind of sauce and topping you can find in your cupboards.

Best devoured, naturally, with long spoons that reach right to the bottom of the glass, scooping up every, last, drop. Yum.

Stovetop macaroni cheese

When it comes to melty, gooey, oozy macaroni cheese, who has the patience to put it into the oven to bake? Certainly not kids. Besides which, this dish was made to be eaten out of the saucepan; it’s the kind of comfort food you make on rainy days when all ambitious plans (and calorie-counting) are out the window.

Simply add a few tablespoons of flour to melted butter in a large pan to create a basic roux. Then add both milk and water slowly, mixing as you go. Stir in dried pasta (it doesn’t have to be macaroni), salt, garlic powder and any other seasonings of choice – e.g. cayenne pepper, paprika, mustard, nutmeg etc. – and heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 or so minutes more, stirring as you go, until pasta is cooked through, and then add lots of grated cheese, be it cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan or even stilton – this recipe is endlessly riffable.