Jamie’s Tip - These fairy cakes are made using a simple sponge recipe, but then you can take them in so many different directions by making a variety of icings and toppings – far too many to mention here! So I’m going to give you one of my favourites. See what you think, then have a go at making up some of your own toppings. Use your preferred fruit - blackberries or raspberries are also great.
Makes 18 fairy cakes.
Prep
20 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
18
Difficulty
Easy
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Ingredients
unsalted butter 225 g
caster sugar 225 g
egg 4
self raising flour 225 g
lemon 1 (zest)
strawberries 100 g
icing sugar 150 g
Method
To make the sponge
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
You can make your cakes like this (by hand), or in a food processor. Beat the butter and caster sugar together with a wooden spoon, until very light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each one in well before you add the next. Sift in the self raising flour. Finely grate in the zest of the lemon, then fold the mixture together.
To bake the cakes
Line the muffin tins with the paper cases. Use tablespoons to evenly divide the mixture between the paper cases.
Put the muffin tins into the oven and bake for 15 minutes – you can check to see if the cakes are cooked by sticking a cocktail stick right into one of them. Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean they’re cooked; if it’s slightly sticky they’ll need a bit longer, so put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes, or until cooked through and golden on top. If you cook them for too long, though, they will go dry so keep an eye on them.
Remove the cakes from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the icing & ice the cakes
Mash 50g of the strawberries with a fork, or whiz them in a food processor. If the fruit has pips, pass the purée through a fine sieve so it is lovely and smooth.
Sift the icing sugar over the fruit purée and mix until you have a smooth paste.
When the cakes have cooled completely, drizzle a teaspoon of icing over each one, then top with the rest of the fruit – if you’re using strawberries, slice them up first.
