Wednesday 23 February 2011

And for my first post...


Fairy cakes. Nothing quite says cupcake like a fairy cake, with its simple flavours of fluffy vanilla cake, cream and, if you make them like I do, strawberry jam. These cakes are my papa's favourite (we say it's because he's a bit of a fairy) and are one of the most frequently baked treats in our house. 

A good vanilla cake recipe is something every baker should know, hence why I chose these for my first recipe to share. Enjoy!

Fairy cake recipe
Makes 12
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g unsalted butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (extract will also work)
1/2 cup full cream milk (if only skim is available, add 1tsp cream)

  1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
  2. Sift together flour and baking powder
  3. Cream the butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Gradually add in sugar, then beat until mixture is pale in colour and sugar is almost dissolved.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until mixture is fluffy
  5. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Beat on low speed until just combined.
  6. Spoon mixture into a lined 12-hole muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes or until cakes are a light fawn colour (try not to let them get browned). Remove from trays and allow to cool
To decorate
Create a small cup in the top of the cakes by removing the top portion. Spoon 1 tsp strawberry jam (or jam of choice) into each cupcake. Whip together 300 ml cream, 1/4 cup icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/essence till fluffy. Pipe cream onto cakes, then top with 'wings'. Dust generously with icing sugar and top with a portion of strawberry. 

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