Fairy Cakes
This vegetarian builds strawberry jam and double cream into a hearty meal you can have ready in about 60 minutes. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and whisk. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a 12-hole bun tin with paper cases.
- Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together with an electric whisk for 3 to 4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla, then sift in the self-raising flour and fold gently with a metal spoon, loosening with the milk to a soft dropping consistency.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cases, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until risen, golden and springy to the touch, then cool on a wire rack.
- Once completely cold, slice a shallow cone off the top of each cake and cut each cone in half to make two wings.
- Whip the cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks, spoon a little jam into each cake, top with a swirl of cream and set the wings into the cream at an angle to serve.
You'll use: Oven · Whisk
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
- Self-raising Flour
- 1 cup plain flour + 1½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Fairy Cakes take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Fairy Cakes vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Fairy Cakes is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Fairy cakes close up on tray.jpg by User:Lcarsdata, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.