Our Vegan British Fairy Cakes are based on the classic little cakes traditionally served at birthday parties or picnics. These cakes are similar to small cupcakes and are among the easiest and quickest bakes. Best of all, they are prepared using the all-in-one method with five everyday pantry ingredients for the sponge: flour, baking powder, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. The topping is made with icing sugar, water, and a wee sweetie.
Each bite of these egg-free fairy cakes is packed with the flavour of sweet vanilla, and the texture is incredibly moist, airy, and fluffy. The cakes are simply decorated with a thick water icing and a wee sweetie or candy. Fairy cakes are part of a traditional British childhood.
Origins of fairy cakes
Fairy cakes are similar to cupcakes albeit a fairy cake is smaller and more plainly decorated. Cupcakes have been around since at least the late 1700s and they got their name because of the little cup vessels or moulds that were traditionally used to bake the cakes.
An early recipe for little cakes that resemble cupcakes can be found in the early American cookbook ''The First American Cookbook'' written by Amelia Simmons in 1796. The was the first cookbook authored by an American as all previous cookbooks in America were all by British authors.
On page 37 Simmons records a recipe titled - ''Soft cakes in little pans'' and the ingredients and method are '' One and a half pounds of sugar, half pound of butter, rubbed into two pounds of flour, add one glafs wine, one do rofe water, 18 eggs and a nutmeg''!
Underneath, there is another recipe similar to cupcakes or fairy cakes titled ''A light cake to bake in small cups'' with the method and ingredients stating ''Half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, rubbed into two pounds of flour, one glafs of wine, one do rofe water, two do. emptins, a nutmeg, cinnamon, and currants. Interestingly this cake recipe is egg-free as the emptins refer to the dregs found at the bottom of a barrel of ale which would have provided a source of yeast! The thick yeasty liquid would have helped the cakes rise!
If you would like to read Simmons cookery book then you can borrow it for free over on the Internet Archive.
Small cakes or buns have also been part of British history for centuries and the fairy cake likely evolved into what it is today somewhere along the way. Of course, American baking was influenced by traditional British baking, thanks to Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and English immigrants to the New World. So, fairy cakes and cupcakes are likely close cousins, having evolved from the bread-like yeast cakes of old or the cakes that were cooked on a flat griddle within a fire place.
Ingredients
This recipe for vegan fairy cakes result in 16 little cakes that have a light, fluffy vanilla sponge, topped with a thick water icing and a little sweet or candy.
The ingredients you will need for our fairy cake recipe is - self-raising flour, baking powder, caster or granulated sugar, vanilla, vegetable oil and water. For the topping you will need icing sugar [powdered sugar], water and little sweets or candy.
We like to use Jelly Tots as they are labelled as vegan. Incidentally, Rowntree Jelly Tot sweets have always been vegan and they were first produced in 1965 but it's only been quite recently that they have begun to display the sweets vegan status on the packaging.
Other vegan sweets that can be used include skittles (vegan in the UK), the Candy Kitten range of sweets (candy) fruit pastels (vegan in the UK), and Fruit-Tella Koala jelly bears.
The fairy cakes in the first image above have been decorated with a simple water icing and Rowntree jelly tot topping. In the second image the fairy cakes have been decorated with a classic fruit jam and desiccated coconut topping.
Cake sprinkles are also a good idea for shaking over the water icing and will look great along with a party food spread or buffet.
A box of fairy cakes for someone you love is perfect for Birthday's, Celebrations, Valentines' Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Also fairy cakes are always very popular at cake sales.
How To Prepare
Mixing this cake batter together is so easy as it's just a case of mixing the dry, mixing the liquids, then combining both. Alternatively, you can just mix with the all-in-one mixing method if you're in a hurry - we have tried both methods and each works fine.
- Step 1: Add the flour, baking powder and sugar to a mixing bowl, and stir.
- Step 2: To a separate jug pour in the water, oil and vanilla, and mix.
- Step 3: Pour the water mixture into the flour mix and stir until smooth.
- Step 4: Divide the mix between 16 small cupcake cases or 12 larger cupcake cases.
- Step 5: Bake until risen, firm, and very lightly golden.
- Step 6: Leave to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing to a cooling wrack.
- Step 7: Once cool prepare the water icing by mixing icing sugar with a little water.
- Step 8: Pop a dollop of thick icing onto each cake and with the back of a spoon spread the icing gently into a circle. Decorate with a little sweet or candy in the middle. Alternatively spread the icing out to cover the entire surface and finish by shaking cake sprinkles over. For a different decoration spread the top of each cake with fruit jam and then cover with desiccated coconut.
Recipe Notes
Storing
Store your fairy cakes within a cake tin or food container for up to 3-4 days.
Freezing
Undecorated fairy cakes can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2-3 months.
These fairy cakes are so light, soft and airy and incredibly moist!
More traditional cupcakes and bun recipes - made vegan
A few of our family favourite cupcakes, wee cakes, and buns are these Old-Fashioned Granny Cakes , Old-Fashioned Carrot Cakes, Old-Fashioned Chocolate Buns, and Old-Fashioned Coconut Buns. Can you see a pattern?! We absolutely love old-fashioned bakes so we do have a lot of recipes to share and we hope you love them too!
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Vegan Fairy Cakes
Equipment
- Fairy cake or cupcake tray [either one 16 cup fairy cake tray or two 12 cup smaller trays, or one 12 cup tray, depending on how many cakes and what size you bake]
- Fairy cake cases or cupcake cases
- Mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- Measuring jug
- sieve
- teaspoon
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 225 grams self-raising flour [sieved, or plain/all-purpose flour with an extra ½ teaspoon of baking powder and pinch of salt stirred through]
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 175 grams caster sugar [or granulated sugar]
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil [such as rapeseed or sunflower]
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 225 millilitres water
Enough to cover 8 cakes so double up if covering all 16:
- 8 tablespoons icing sugar [powdered sugar, sieved]
- 1 tablespoon water [many need an extra teaspoon or two]
- 8 jelly tot sweets (candy) [or a candy of your choice such as vegan chocolate buttons, glacé cherries, candied fruit etc.]
Enough to cover 8 cakes so double up if covering all 16:
- 3 tablespoons fruit jam
- 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°F, 180°C, 350°F, or Gas Mark 4. Place a fairy cake case in each cup of your baking tray.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together.225 grams self-raising flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 175 grams caster sugar
- In a separate bowl or jug, mix the water, oil, and vanilla together. Alternatively, you can use the all-in-one-bowl method by placing both the dry and wet ingredients into a bowl and mixing them together.6 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 225 millilitres water
- Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until all the lumps are gone and the ingredients are well combined. It's best to do this by hand with a mixing spoon to avoid over-mixing.
- Divide the cake mixture among the fairy cake cases. For larger cakes, you can use a 12-cup cupcake or small muffin tray, and for smaller cakes, you will need two 12-cup fairy cake-sized trays.
- Place on the middle shelf of the oven. If you have two trays to bake and your oven is large enough, you can sit them side by side, or place one tray directly below the middle shelf. The lower tray may require a minute or so extra baking time compared to the upper tray.
- Bake until risen, firm, very lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean.Check after 15 minutes for doneness. Some ovens may require 20 minutes to bake the fairy cakes.
- After a few minutes remove the cakes from the baking tray to cool on a cooling rack.
- Once cool the cakes can be decorated.
Water icing topping:
- Using a teaspoon of water at a time, mix with the icing sugar until a thick but easily spreadable paste is achieved. If too much water is added, simply add more sieved icing sugar.8 tablespoons icing sugar, 1 tablespoon water
- Using the back of a teaspoon or a small spatula, add about a teaspoon of icing to each cake and smooth it into a little circle in the middle of the cake, or simply spread the icing to cover the entire surface. Top with a jelly tot or your choice of sweet; cake sprinkles are also nice. Wait until the icing sets before eating, if possible. For quicker setting, place the cakes in the refrigerator for a short while.8 jelly tot sweets (candy)
Jam-coconut topping:
- Mix the jam with a teaspoon for a few seconds to make it easier to spread. Cover the entire surface of the fairy cake with a thin layer of jam.3 tablespoons fruit jam
- Tip the coconut into a small dish. Gently press the fairy cake into the coconut and move it around so that it evenly coats the cake. Remove and the cake will be perfectly covered.3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
Notes
- Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Nutritional data is for one un-decorated fairy cake.
- Calories for one fairy cake with a jam and coconut topping are roughly 156 per cake.
- Calories for one fairy cake with a water icing and sweet topping are about 165 calories per cake.
- This recipe is enough to prepare 16 small fairy cakes or 12 larger cup cake or small muffin sized cakes.
- Fairy cakes will stay fresh for up to 3-4 days in a cake tin or covered container.
- Fairy cakes can be frozen without toppings for up to 2-3 months. Although water icing freezes well, iced fairy cakes can also be frozen.
- Switch it up and add different toppings such as dairy-free chocolate buttons, vegan cake sprinkles, glacé (candied) cherries, and candied fruits.
- These fairy cakes are ideal for kids' birthday parties or other celebrations. In Scotland and most of the UK, fairy cakes are traditionally served at parties. Better still, have kids prepare a batch of fairy cakes. It's an ideal activity for holiday time.
Nutrition
Comments
Baked our Vegan Fairy Cakes? Do let us know how you got on with the recipe by dropping us a comment below and clicking the star ratings. All feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks so much! All the best, Jacq x
Biana says
I like the name of fairy cakes, so cute! Thank you for sharing the different toppings ideas.
Jacq says
Your welcome! I love the name fairy cakes as well 🙂
cass says
This is what I need in my life - more recent vegan cake recipe ideas! Love how easy they look. I love being vegan but am not so good with baking!
Jacq says
Hi Cass! These fairy cakes don't require lots of baking skills and are really quick to prepare so I am sure you will get on fine. Hope you enjoy the cakes 🙂
Fiona Maclean says
you know I always wondered how to do that pretty jam and coconut topping! Now I know. I'm amazed at how many traditional recipes can be easily veganified (is that a word?)
Jacq says
It is now! Perfect word to describe it 🙂
Jen says
I made these for my neighbor who's done so much for me the last few months and she already texted asking for the recipe. I'd say they're a huge hit! Thanks for the tip about weighing the ingredients. Worked like a charm.
Jacq says
Aww that's so good to read! Happy your neighbour enjoyed the fairy cakes. What a great idea to bake a batch of these fairy cakes as a thank-you gift!
Julia says
Love the jam and coconut topping! Such a great idea!
Jacq says
Thanks! Its a classic topping which are always the best 🙂
Claudia says
These are truly the best vegan cake ever, we will make this often!
Jacq says
Thanks so much! Happy you loved the fairy cakes 🙂
Dannii says
I love making fairy cakes with my kids. I will definitely be giving these vegan ones a try.
Jacq says
Awesome. Hope the kids have a great time baking the fairy cakes 🙂
Caroline says
I haven't had fairy cakes in so long, though we used to decorate them differently again. Great to have a vegan version as an option.
Jacq says
Thanks! Hope you try these vegan fairy cakes. They are so easy and delicious.