Perfect dainty cakes for parties, celebrations, afternoon tea and picnics.Its super easy to prepare and bake these little soft, fluffy and light cakes.Fairy cakes are a traditional British family favourite and its easy to see why!
Preheat the oven 160 F/180 Celsius/ 350 Fahrenheit/ Gas 4.Place a fairy cake case in each hole of your baking tray.
Mix flour, baking powder and sugar together.
In a separate bowl or jug mix the water, oil and vanilla together.
Pour the water mix into the flour mix. Stir until all the lumps are out and all the ingredients are mixed together.
Divide the cake mix between the fairy cake cases.For larger cakes use larger cupcake or muffin cases.
Place on the middle shelf of the oven.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 wire rack or similar.
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 just add more sieved icing sugar.
Using the back of a teaspoon or little spatula add about a teaspoon worth of icing to each cake and smooth into a little circle in the middle of the cake. Or just spread the icing to cover the entire surface.Top with a jelly tot or your choice of sweet. Vegan cake sprinkles are also nice.Wait until the icing sets before eating if possible! For quicker setting place in the fridge for a short while.
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.
Tip the coconut into a little dish. Gently press the fairy cake into the coconut and move around so it evenly coats the cake.
Remove and the cake will be perfectly covered.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
Nutritional data is for 1 un-decorated fairy cake.
Calories for 1 fairy cake with a jam and coconut topping is roughly 156 per cake.
Calories for 1 fairy cake with a water icing and sweet topping is about 165 calories per cake.
Fairy cakes will keep fresh for up to 3-4 days within a cake tin or covered container.
Fairy cakes can be frozen without the toppings for up to 3-4 months. Although water icing does freeze well so iced fairy cakes can also be frozen.
Switch it up and add different toppings such as dairy-free chocolate buttons, vegan cake sprinkles, glace (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. Its an ideal holiday time activity.