SCHOOL’S out for the summer and this means hopefully, sunshine, holidays and overall days out for us as a family.

This of course will mean less time in the kitchen and more time outdoors.

But does this mean less time for baking or not much baking with the kids these summer holidays? Not necessarily!

Step forward, the tray bake.

A tray bake is a simple, no-fuss cakes to be cut into squares to feed a crowd. This means it's perfect to make with younger bakers too. So whether you're a parent, childminder or grandparent looking after the kids this summer, this cake is for you!

I thought about what kind of tray bake would be best to suit the whole family. Of course, chocolate!

But it needed another flavour too. So, as part of this tray bake's flavouring, I have decided to use a very British ingredient to make the minty filling, Kendal Mint Cake.

It adds a really fresh minty taste, as well as making the filling a little firmer, which is useful to not make the cake sloppy when cutting into squares.

Mint makes for a very happy marriage when paired with chocolate too, just think of all the lovely choc-mint treats available: After Eight Mints, Elizabeth Shaw’s Mints, Aero Bars...

Also, it's one of my favourite ice cream flavours, choc-chip mint, because it reminds me very much of my own childhood!

Like any good partners, chocolate and mint balance each other out. Whether it’s a rich dark chocolate or a creamy milk chocolate, the fresh taste of mint cuts through the sugar and makes for a satisfying contrast.

Chocolate combined with mint is one of those pairings that seem to go naturally together.

If you aren’t already familiar with the taste of sweet chocolate laced with a tingly blast of peppermint then you may be wondering how this combination started and how did mint become one of the most popular chocolate flavours out there?

Well, peppermint as a culinary ingredient is by no means a new idea; in fact, oil from the leaves of the peppermint plant has been used in cooking and herbal remedies since about 1,500BC.

From medieval times onward peppermint was transported to Europe, but its first appearance as a flavouring was more for medicinal purposes, when the American sweet Altoids was produced as a digestive aid in the 18th century.

Around the same time, the Spanish colonies began importing chocolate into Europe, originally in the bitter, high-cocoa form that was popular in South and Central America.

It is thought that mint may have been one of a few flavours that Europeans tried to mix chocolate with, including others such as cinnamon in order to make this very dark chocolate taste nicer!

Peppermint has a long tradition of use in folk medicine and aromatherapy and is commonly thought to soothe or treat symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, indigestion, irritable bowel and bloating. So

why not give this tray bake a try? It could improve your health.

Enjoy your summer!