Any Flavour Fairy Cakes

Fairy cakes, buns, cupcakes....whatever you want to call them, for many people they are the definition of comforting baking from our childhoods.

Here I'm going to give you the most simple recipe for fairy cakes, and you can make them any flavour you can dream up!

I've given tonnes of suggestions below, but the basic recipe remains the same.

 

Ingredients

 

Makes 6 muffin-size cakes, 12 standard fairy cakes or 24 mini muffins

 

115g Plain Flour (or use self raising flour and omit baking powder)

1 tsp Baking powder 

115g Caster Sugar

115g Very soft butter 

2 eggs

 

Equipment: Mixing bowl, small bowl, Wooden spoon, Spatulas, weighing scales, 2 teaspoons, 2 dessert spoons, appropriate size bun tin and bun cases (choose whether you want muffin-size, standard buns or mini muffins)

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 180C. If using plain flour and baking powder, weigh them out in to a small bowl and mix well. leave the flour to one side.

Add the soft butter and sugar to the mixing bowl and beat with the wooden spoon. You can use an electric mixer if you like, but it is not totally necessary! Beat for a min or two until mixture starts to get fluffy. Next add half the flour and crack in one egg. Mix well. Repeat with the rest of the flour and the other egg. Mix well.

Add whatever flavours or additions you choose (see below). Mix well. Use two spoons to add the mixture in to the bun cases (for mini muffins use two teaspoons and for buns / muffins use two dessert spoons). Scoop the mixture up with one spoon, and scrap it off in to the bun case with the back of the second spoon. Continue until you have filled all the cases. Use a spatula to get the last of the batter - waste not, want not!

Place in the centre of the oven immediately. Bake for 12mins (mini muffin), 15 mins (buns) or 18 mins (muffin-size), until golden.

 

Suggested flavours:

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

zest of 1 orange or 1 lemon

2 tsp Camp Chicory Coffee (for coffee buns)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Mixed Spice

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

 

Suggested Additions:

Handful chocolate chips - milk, white or dark

Handful raisins

Half a banana, mashed,

4 Soft dried apricots, diced

1 ripe pear, peeled & diced

Handful dried cranberries

**for chocolate flavour buns, you will need to replace 1 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder. Do this while weighing your ingredients.

 

Once your fairy cakes have cooled, you can ice them!

Choose between a simple icing of 3 tbsp icing sugar mixed with 1-2 tsps of water or orange juice, or making a buttercream icing by beating together 50g soft butter with 100g icing sugar.

You can opt for freshly whipped cream & sprinkles too!

Choose a flavour for your icing too - any of the flavours given for buns will work for icing also. 

So, now it's up to you! What flavour combinations are you going to create??

Pear & Cinnamon fairy cakes with vanilla buttercream?

Orange & Cardamom mini muffins with orange icing?

Coffee cupcakes with chocolate icing?

Good ol' Vanilla buns with plain icing?

The choice is yours!