Fairy cakes are one of the first things I learned to bake and now they are my quick and easy recipe to bake with the kids. There is very little work to make these and after about 15 minutes in the oven, your sweet treat is ready to go. I think lots of people try to overcomplicate fairy cake recipes, but there really is no need. This easy fairy cake recipe will give you delicious cakes with minimal effort, making you delicious plain fairy cake to enjoy. Read on more for a tip on how to makechocolate fairy cakesand coconut fairy cakes.
One thing I love about them though is not only are they easy, but you can also adapt the recipe to change the flavours. So if you fancy coconut fairy cakes or even chocolate fairy cakes, just a simple tweak to the recipe and you have them!
Whether you are making these for one of your children’s birthday parties or if you are looking to just bake with your own children, this great recipe is perfect for all occasions.
This recipe is grams however if you are reading a recipe that is ounces and you want to convert to cups, check outthis great postwhich has a handy conversion from cups to ounces to ml to tablespoons!
Then if you decide to get fancy with them and add icing, sprinkles or even turn them into butterfly cakes, that is down to you. I prefer mine with a lovely cup of tea and 5 minutes of peace! So if you are wondering how to make fairy cakes, read on.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 & line a 12-tin baking tray or muffin tin with paper cases, you can use cupcake cases if you have them but they won’t be filled to the top.
Beat the sugar and butter until combined (I do this in an electric mixer but you could use an electric whisk and a large mixing bowl).
Add in the flour, egg and vanilla extract, and mix well.
Spoon the cake mix evenly between the cases.
Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Fairy cakes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
125g Self-raising flour
125g Butter
125g Caster Sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 & line a 12-tin baking tray or muffin tin with paper cases, you can use cupcake cases if you have them but they won’t be filled to the top.
Beat the sugar and butter until combined (I do this in an electric mixer but you could use an electric whisk and a large mixing bowl).
Add in the flour, egg and vanilla extract, and mix well.
Spoon the cake mix evenly between the cases.
Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to cool then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment needed to make these traditional fairy cakes
There is nothing fancy needed to make these fairy cakes and many of us have the equipment needed:
Paper cases – you don’t need to look for fairy cake cases, normal cases will be fine
If you have a stand mixer or electric whisk, this will take some of the effort out for you if you use it on a low speed to mix the ingredients.
Easy chocolate fairy cakes or coconut fairy cakes
Simply substitute 25g of flour for cocoa powder or coconut to change the flavour of these cakes, it is that simple!
If you wanted to get a little fancier, you could also add in some chocolate chips or maybe even a little lemon juice. The recipe is so versatile, it is easy to make little tweaks to give them a different flavour.
How to decorate fairy cakes
For a special occasion, you could change these cakes into butterfly cakes.
Simply slice the top of each cake off, I find it easier to use a spoon as you can create a little hole in the top of the cake for the icing. Slice this top into 2, it will resemble wings. Then mix 150g icing sugar and 75g unsalted butter to create your icing. Pip this into the top of the cakes and then place the wings on top.
You could also go with plain icing, using just icing sugar and a little water. The other alternative is to go with a delicious buttercream filling, the combination of soft butter and icing sugar gives you the perfect creamy icing, and if you add a little cocoa powder, you get chocolate icing too.
What is the difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake?
The first big difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake is the size. You will notice the difference between them if you put them side by side, I would say a cupcake is usually double the size.
Another big difference is the toppings, with fairy cakes usually either plain or topped with a little icing. Whereas a cupcake is topped with lots of frosting and even some sprinkles occasionally!
How long will the fairy cakes last?
They should keep perfectly fine for 3-4 days if kept in a cake tin or airtight container. You can freeze fairy cakes and they should be fine for up to a month. However, they have never lasted long enough in this house to make it close to the freezer!
I don’t think this recipe has ever failed, as long as you mix all the ingredients well and ensure they are baked properly, you are good to go. There are no fancy ingredients needed and most of the items are in most people’s store cupboards.
So whether you are planning to make these traditional fairy cakes with the kids or a little treat for afternoon tea, remember that it is an easy one to bake to your flavour preference. If you are looking for more easy cupcake recipes, don’t forget to keep an eye on the sweet section of our site.
Why are my fairy cakes not rising? This could be down to a lack of raising agent - or even old self-raising flour where the raising agent has become less effective.
What is the difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake? Cupcakes are bigger than fairy cakes and use a generous amount of frosting on top. In comparison, fairy cakes are often drizzled with icing rather than piled high with the buttercream or cream cheese frostings that American-style cupcakes are famous for.
Try beating the cake batter for a minute longer or so the next time. Or consider "reverse-creaming" to mix the batter: Stir together the dry ingredients and the butter, then incorporate the other liquid ingredients, such as eggs and vanilla. Mind your temp. An oven that is too hot can also cause uneven baking.
There's the question of raising agents, for a start. Some people use self-raising flour, some use plain flour plus baking powder and many, like Allegra McEvedy and Mich herself, use self-raising flour and baking powder to give the mixture a bit of a boost.
The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.
You are almost certainly either overbeating the eggs, or knocking the air out of the mix when you fold the flour in. Over mixing cake batter can result in a heavy, closed rubbery texture.
A cupcake (AmE), fairy cake (BrE), or bun (IrE) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as fruit and candy may be applied.
Flirting. Cupcaking is when a person leaves his or her friends to flirt with someone. It comes from the sweetness of cupcakes and the phrase "being sweet on someone," which is when a person likes someone.
Fairy cakes are not, as their name might imply, themed cakes designed and decorated to the liking of fantasy and sci-fi fans. They are, simply stated, smaller versions of cupcakes. They're widely popular in the UK, and tend not to pile on the icing in the same way that American bakers do with cupcakes.
Assuming this happens with all your cake recipes, not just with a particular recipe, it's likely your oven and/or the placement of the oven racks. Electric ovens in particular are more likely produce cakes and cupcakes that are hard on the top. You might also have the oven rack too high in the oven.
Sponge cakes sink in the middle due to several factors such as undercooked batter, too much leavening agent, or sudden temperature changes during baking. When these conditions occur, the structure of the cake weakens, leading to collapse in the center.
These delicious treats go by this name because of their size, which is small enough for a fairy to eat. However, a version of “butterfly cakes” is a design that has wings on top of the cupcakes. Similar to a butterfly or a fairy's wings!
These rising agents create a chemical reaction which causes the cake to rise faster and fall flat, making them dense and eggy tasting. The same could happen if you don't add enough baking powder, as the cake might not rise enough, leading to that eggy taste.
If your cupcake has been undercooked or overcooked, this may also affect moisture levels by making the cakes sticky or making them shrink. An oven thermometer can help you check the temperature of your oven and adjust the heat so it isn't too hot or too cool for the recipe.
They are half the size with a lot less decoration, just as cute, and it is safe to say, it is the sponge that is the star, not the 'frosting'. Fairy cakes are perfect for parties, and are easy to make. Just keep the sponge nice and light, and the decoration simple – they never fail to make people smile.
Overmixing ingredients can create a dense batter that doesn't get that same airy rise. Mismeasured baking powder (too much or too little) may also give you a flat cake. Make sure you have just the right amount of this leavening agent to give your cake the right lift.
This could be because a/ the cake mixture hasn't had enough air beaten into it, b/ the eggs were added too quickly and curdled or c/ there's not enough raising agent.
If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.
Why does my cake have a gummy streak in the center? Developing too much of the flour's gluten can make the cake rise beautifully in the oven, but sink as soon as you pull it out. The sinking part is what makes the dense and gluey streaks. This can be result of over-creaming the eggs, butter and sugar.
Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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