How to Make Fairy Cakes

Co-authored by Jessica Banh

Last Updated: December 7, 2022 References

Fairy cakes are dainty, colourful, and delicious. They are small enough to be enjoyed by just one person, which makes them the perfect treat for parties. They are also fun and easy to make! Do not let their whimsical name mislead you, however; fairy cakes do not have to resemble fairies. In fact, you can decorate them however you want to! This article will show you not only how to make some fairy cakes, but also give you ideas on how to decorate them. If you want something that resembles a fairy, then consider making a butterfly cake, which is also featured in this article.

Ingredients

The Cake^{[1]
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110 grams (4 ounces) butter, softened and unsalted
110 grams (4 ounces) caster sugar
110 grams (4 ounces) self-rising flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 - 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Makes 24 fairy cakes

The Icing^{[2]
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300 grams (10½ ounces) icing sugar.
2 - 3 teaspoons water (more if necessary)
2 - 3 drops food colouring (optional)

Buttercream^{[3]
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125 grams (4½ ounces) butter, softened and unsalted
200 grams (7 ounces) icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon curd or jam for the topping (optional)

Part 1

Part 1 of 5:

Making the Cake

1
Heat oven to 180°C or Gas mark 4 (356°F) degrees. You want your oven to be at the right temperature by the time you are ready to bake your fairy cakes, so turn on your oven and set it to 180°C (356°F) degrees. If you are using a gas oven, set it to mark 4.^{[4]
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2
Prepare the baking tins. Take out two 12-hole baking tins, and insert a paper case into each hole. If you do not have any 12-hole baking tin, then you can use 6-hole ones instead.

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3
Mix the softened, unsalted butter until it is fluffy. Take 110 grams (4 ounces) of softened, unsalted butter and place it into a bowl. Then, using a whisk or electric hand mixer, beat the butter until it is fluffy in texture.
- You can cut the butter into smaller pieces to make it easier to beat, but since it should already be softened, and at room-temperature, this may not be necessary.
4
Add the caster sugar to the bowl and keep mixing. Once your butter is light and fluffy, add 110 grams (4 ounces) of caster sugar to the bowl and continue mixing. Set aside your whisk or mixer once both the sugar and butter are combined.
5
Break two eggs into a small bowl and add the vanilla extract. This will make it easier to pour the eggs into the butter-sugar mixture later in the recipe. You also won't have to keep stopping to break the eggs. Also, adding your two fluid ingredients together will ensure that the vanilla flavour is spread evenly throughout.^{[5]
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- Consider using a measuring cup instead of a small bowl. The spout will make it even easier to pour the eggs into your butter-sugar mixture.^{[6]
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6
Lightly beat the eggs and vanilla. You are not only mixing the two together, but you are also breaking the yolks up. This will make it easier to add them to the butter-sugar mixture, and prevent you from accidentally adding too much at one time.
7
Pour the lightly-beaten eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir the mixture as you add the eggs. Do not add the eggs all at once; you'll risk splitting or curdling the mixture.
- If your mixture splits or curdles, don't worry: the mixture will even itself out once you add the flour in the next step.
8
Add the flour to the mixture. Once everything is combined, add 110 grams (4 ounces) of flour and fold it into the mixture with a spoon or spatula. Keep turning and stirring the ingredients until everything is combined.
- You can sift the flour to make it lighter and fluffier and add some air. It is also recommended to sift the flour if it is lumpy.
9
Add in one tablespoon of milk. Start with one tablespoon of milk, add it to the batter, and mix it. If the texture is still too thick, add a little bit more milk. You want the batter to be thin enough so that you can scoop it up with a spoon, but thick enough so that it slowly drips off the spoon when you turn it upside down.
10
Divide the batter into the paper cases. Using a spoon or spatula, gently ease the batter into the paper cases. Start by filling each case half-way to ensure that you have enough batter for all of them. Once each paper case is filled, you can add more batter to each one.
11
Bake for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Transfer the tins into the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Once they have finished baking, pull the tins out of the oven and set them aside so that the cakes can cool.
- You can test whether or not the cakes are fully baked by poking a toothpick into the center of one. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cakes are done. If the toothpick comes out with gooey batter attached to it, the cakes are not done and need to be baked more.^{[7]
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12
Allow the fairy cakes cool before decorating them. Let the cakes cool in the tins for a few minutes before taking them out and setting them on a rack to finish cooling. If you do not own a cooling rack, you can set the cakes down on a plate or platter instead.

Part 2

Part 2 of 5:

Making the Icing

1
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Using a sifter, sift 300 grams (10½ ounces) of icing sugar into a large bowl. This is to break apart any chunks that might have formed in the container, and prevent the icing from getting clumpy when you add water to it.
2
Add two to three tablespoons of warm water. You will need to dissolve your icing sugar with some water so that you can spread it over the fairy cakes. Start by adding two tablespoons of water and mixing it quickly with a fork. You want to end up with a somewhat runny consistency so that you can drizzle it over the fairy cakes. Add more water to make the icing thinner, and more icing sugar to make it thicker.
3
Consider adding some flavouring. You can make the icing flavoured by adding some lemon juice. Use one part lemon juice and one part water. If the icing becomes too thin, then add more of the sugar.
4
Consider adding some colouring. You can leave the white icing as it is, or you can add colour to it to match the theme of your party. Add a few drops of food colouring to the icing and stir. For darker icing, use more food colouring. If the icing becomes too thin, then add a little bit more of the sugar.

Part 3

Part 3 of 5:

Making the Buttercream Icing

1
Consider decorating with buttercream icing instead. If you want a richer fairy cake, you can use buttercream icing instead. If you wish to make butterfly cakes, then you will need buttercream icing in order to secure the wings. Refer to the section on making butterfly cakes if you wish to learn how to turn fairy cakes into butterfly cakes.
2
Put the softened, unsalted butter into a bowl. Take 125 grams (4½ ounces) of soft, unsalted butter and place it into a bowl. Then, using a whisk or electric hand mixer, beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy.
3
Add the icing sugar to the butter. Once the butter is soft and fluffy, take 200 grams (7 ounces) of sifted icing sugar and add it to the fluffy butter. Mix it together slowly, then faster and faster until everything is combined.
4
Pour in the milk and vanilla extract. You will need one tablespoon of milk and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix everything together until everything is combined. You want the final texture to be smooth and creamy. If the buttercream is too stiff, then you can soften it by adding some more milk.
- You can make the buttercream more colourful by adding in a few drops of food colouring with your milk and vanilla extract.

Part 4

Part 4 of 5:

Decorating the Fairy Cakes

1
Make your fairy cakes beautiful by decorating them. Just because they are called "fairy cakes" does not mean that your baked delights must resemble fairies. You can decorate your fairy cakes however you want. You can even make them look like butterflies. Read this section to get some ideas and decorating tips.
- If you wish to make your fairy cakes look like butterflies, then refer to the section in this article on making butterfly cakes.
2
Make sure that the fairy cakes are cool before decorating them. If you do not let the cakes cool off completely before decorating them, the buttercream or icing will melt and become runny.
3
Match the colour of the icing or buttercream to the paper cases. You can create a more unified appearance by tinting the colour of the icing or buttercream to match the colour of the paper cases the cakes are in. For example: a fairy cake in a pink cup will get pink icing, and a fairy cake in a blue cup will get blue icing, while a fairy cake in a green cup will get green icing. If you choose to do this, you will have to make separate batches of icing, one for each colour.
4
Try using colours to match the holiday, season, or party theme. When you are decorating your fairy cakes, consider using icing colours and sprinkles that match the holiday, season, or theme. Here are some ideas:
- If it is around Halloween, tint the icing orange, and decorate with orange and brown sugar strands.
- If it is spring, then decorate the cakes using white or pastel-coloured icing and sugar flowers or flower-shaped sprinkles.
- If the fairy cakes are for a party, take the party's colours into consideration. For example, if the theme colours of the party are blue and white, then tint the icing blue, and use white hundreds and thousands.
5
Pour the icing onto the fairy cakes. Using a spoon, scoop up some icing and pour it onto the fairy cakes. You can use just a small amount, or you can cover the entire top of the fairy cake until the icing becomes level with the paper cup. Refer to the section in this article on making icing to learn how to make some.
6
Drizzle the icing over the fairy cakes. If you want your cakes to be less sweet, you can use a small spoon to drizzle the icing onto the top of the cakes. You can create random designs, zigzag patterns, or even swirls.
7
Dip the fairy cakes into the icing. If you want just a small amount of icing, you can dip the fairy cakes in the icing instead. Simply turn the cake upside down and dip the top into the icing, then turn it right side up and let the icing drip down the dome.
8
Consider decorating the fairy cakes with buttercream icing instead. If you wish to have a richer fairy cake, then decorate it with buttercream icing instead. You can either spread the icing onto each cake using a knife, or you can pipe the icing on using a decorating bag and a tip of your choice. Refer to the section on making buttercream icing to learn how to make some.
- If you do not have a decorating bag, you can make your own by filling a plastic bag with buttercream icing and cutting one of the corners of the bag off. Secure the open part of the bag either by knotting it or by tying a rubber band around it. This is so that the icing doesn't squish out the wrong way while you are using it.
9
Add some hundreds and thousands, sugar strands, or sprinkles. Cover the tops of the cakes with icing or buttercream first, then add some hundreds and thousands, sugar strands, or sprinkles. You can use as much or as little as you like.
- You can also spread buttercream over the domes of each cake, and then dip the frosted part into a bowl of sugar sprinkles.
10
Add some sugar flowers. After you have covered the top of each fairy cake with icing, you can give your fairy cakes a more dainty, sophisticated touched by adding crystallized violets, tiny edible roses, and wafer flowers.^{[8]
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11
Create a classical look with a glacé cherry. After covering your fairy cake with icing or a swirl of buttercream, top it off with a glacé cherry. You can also add some hundreds and thousands, sugar strands, or sprinkles if you are feeling extra fancy.^{[9]
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12
Wait for the icing to set. Before you can serve the fairy cakes, wait for the icing to set and harden.

Part 5

Part 5 of 5:

Making Butterfly Cakes

1
Consider making some butterfly cakes. If you wish to make butterfly cakes, you will need to prepare some fairy cakes first. You will also need to prepare some buttercream icing. Once the cakes have cooled, you can begin turning your fairy cakes into butterfly cakes.
- To make the base cakes, refer to the section on making fairy cakes.
- To prepare some buttercream icing, refer to the section on making buttercream icing.
2
Cut the domes off. Using a serrated knife, cut part of the dome off on each cake. You want to angle the knife slightly while you cut, so that you are creating a small groove in each cake. You will be filling this groove with buttercream icing later.
3
Cut each dome in half. Your butterfly cakes will need some wings. You can create wings for your cakes by cutting each dome in half, creating little half-domes.
4
Fill the grooves with buttercream icing. You will need to fill the grooves you made earlier in your cakes with buttercream icing. Not only does this give the cakes extra flavour, but it also helps secure the wings. You can fill the grooves with icing either by spreading icing into them with a knife, or by piping icing into them using a decorating bag.
- If you do not have a decorating bag, you can make your own by filling a plastic bag with buttercream icing and cutting the corner off. To prevent the icing from squishing out the opposite way and getting all over your hands, secure the open part of the bag either by knotting it or by wrapping a rubber band around it.
5
Add a dollop of lemon curd or jam. At this point, you can add the wings, or you can make the butterfly cakes more colourful and flavourful by dding a dollop of lemon curd or jam. Simply spoon a little bit of lemon curd or jam right right in the centre of each cake. This can be the body of the butterfly.
6
Stick the wings on top of the icing. Each butterfly cake gets two half-dome wings. Place the wings on top of the buttercream and to either side of the dollop of curd or jam. Apply gentle pressure. You want them to stick, but you don't want them to be completely submerged in the icing. The parts that were originally the top of the cakes should be facing each other, and the parts that were in the groove should be facing out. The flat edge, created from when you cut the wings in half, should be in the buttercream.
7
Lightly dust the butterfly cakes with icing sugar. At this point, you can leave your butterfly cakes as they are, or you can add some variety with icing sugar. To do this, simply dust some sifted icing sugar on top of each cake. Make sure to get the wings!
- You can use coloured sugar or hundreds and thousands instead of icing sugar. This will make the butterfly cakes more colourful.

Community Q&A

Question

Are fairy cakes the same as cupcakes?

Ruby

Top Answerer

They're similar but not the same. Fairy cakes are smaller than cupcakes and have lighter icing.

Things You'll Need

Mixing bowls
Whisk or electric beater
Two 12-hole baking tins
24 paper cases for fairy cakes

Warnings

Baking tins get hot. Be sure to wear oven mitts or use a potholder when taking the baking tin out of the stove.

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Use caution when using an oven. Never leave your oven unattended when it is on.

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