Fairy Cakes Recipe | Cupcake Recipes | Tesco Real Food (2024)

Fairy Cakes Recipe | Cupcake Recipes | Tesco Real Food (1)

430 ratings

Fairy cakes are the ultimate children's party classic and such an easy recipe to bake. Fluffy vanilla sponge, creamy icing and sweet strawberry jam are an irresistible combination in this traditional twist on cupcakes. See method

  • Serves 9
  • 15mins to prepare and 20mins to cook, plus 15mins to decorate
  • 485 calories / serving

Ingredients

  • 125g salted butter
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 125g (4oz) self-raising flour
  • 5ml (1tsp) vanilla extract
  • 15ml (1tbsp) milk

For the buttercream icing

  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 250g icing sugar
  • 10ml (2tsp) vanilla extract
  • 60ml (4tbsp) strawberry jam
  • icing sugar, for dusting

No self-raising flour? Add 2 tsp baking powder for every 150g plain flour

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    2030kj
    485kcal
    24%
  • Fat

    27g39%
  • Saturates

    16g78%
  • Sugars

    49g54%
  • Salt

    0.2g3%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 61.2gProtein 3.1g Fibre 0.5g

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 9 cupcake cases.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating between each addition. If the mixture splits, add a tablespoon of flour and whisk until the batter is smooth.

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    Welsh Foods
  3. Sift the flour into the mixture and using a large metal spoon, then gently fold the flour until well combined. Stir in the vanilla essence and milk. The mixture should easily drop off a spoon.
  4. Spoon into the cases and cook for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake.

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  5. To make the buttercream icing, put the butter in a large bowl and beat until creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk until well combined. Add the vanilla extract. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little milk.
  6. Cut the top off each cake and then cut the slices in half. Cover each cake with the butter icing. Put a little strawberry jam on top of each cake and push the 2 half-slices into the buttercream at an angle to make a pair of wings.
  7. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

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Fairy Cakes Recipe | Cupcake Recipes | Tesco Real Food (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a cupcake and a fairy cake? ›

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.

Why are my fairy cakes rubbery? ›

Over mixing cake batter can result in a heavy, closed rubbery texture. Over mixing acts on the gluten in flour and will make cakes hard instead of the lovely soft spongy texture we associate with a good cake.

What are fairy cakes called in America? ›

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.

Why are my fairy cakes not fluffy? ›

When the cake cooks too quickly on the outside it can create an extremely dense interior. 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 a British fairy cake? ›

“Fairy cakes are smaller units, baked in smaller cases and trays,” she told British Baker. ”Traditionally the tops were cut off and set aside, a small amount of jam placed in the centre and a small amount of cream on top.

What is Cupcaking a girl? ›

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.

Why do my fairy cakes sink when I take them out the oven? ›

Cakes sink in the middle due to several reasons. One reason is that the cake batter might be too moist, causing it to collapse during baking. Another reason could be that the oven temperature is too low, leading to uneven baking. Opening the oven door too frequently while baking can also cause cakes to sink.

Why do my fairy cakes taste dry? ›

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet.

Why do fairy cakes crack on top? ›

Q: Why do cakes crack when baking? A: Oven too hot or cake placed too high in oven; the crust is formed too soon, the cake continues to rise, therefore the crust cracks.

What is the witches cake? ›

A bizarre form of counter-magic, the witch cake was a supernatural dessert used to identify suspected evildoers. In cases of mysterious illness or possession, witch-hunters would take a sample of the victim's urine, mix it with rye meal and ashes and bake it into a cake.

Why is it called Princess cake? ›

The cake was originally called grön tårta (green cake), but was given the name prinsesstårta or "princess cake" because the Swedish princesses were said to have been especially fond of the cake.

What is a fairy cake in British slang? ›

Fairy cakes may refer to: A British cupcake, typically of a smaller size than the American variety.

What's the difference between fairy cakes and butterfly cakes? ›

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!

Why do my fairy cakes go pointy? ›

Our answer

When an oven is too hot sponge cakes rise very quickly and often have a sharp peak in the centre. This happens because the outside of the cake (or cupcake) bakes very quickly, pushing the centre inwards and then upwards. The top will also brown quite quickly.

Why do my fairy cakes come away from the case? ›

Moisture is the main reason why cases peel - don't bake cupcakes in a steamy environment so you shouldn't have pans of bubbling water or kettles boiling.

Why do Brits call cupcakes fairy cakes? ›

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!

Can you use fairy cake cases for cupcakes? ›

Our recipes suggest you bake using muffin cases rather than dainty little fairy cake cases so that you get a more satisfying sponge. When filling your cupcake cases, only pour the batter until it is two thirds full… then stop! Overfilling leads to overflowing, so always leave some rising room for your cupcake sponge.

Why do fairy cakes dip in the middle? ›

Cakes sink in the middle due to several factors, including overmixing of the batter, opening the oven door too soon, or not baking at the right temperature. Expired leavening agents or incorrect proportions of ingredients can also cause sinking.

What are cupcakes called in England? ›

Cupcake vs.

Americans love to supersize everything, so it's no surprise that a fairy cake is simply the UK's smaller version of the American cupcake.

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