Vegan Fairy Cakes

Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert, Party, picnic

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 35

Servings: small cakes or 12 larger

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Jacq

Perfect for parties, celebrations, afternoon tea, and picnics, these dainty cakes are soft, fluffy, airy, and moist. Fairy cakes are one of the easiest and quickest bakes and have long been a traditional British family favourite.

We have provided two different decoration options: thick water icing with a candy topping and a fruit jam topping with desiccated coconut. You can choose what you prefer or prepare a half batch of each.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

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