Fairy Cakes
This dish 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.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: not verified. We could not confirm strawberry jam from the ingredient list, so we make no dietary claim for this recipe.
Contains: Gluten Dairy Egg
Allergen labels are informational and may not cover cross-contact; verify every package and consult a qualified professional for medical dietary needs. Diet labels are derived from the ingredient list on this page — how we verify diet and allergen labels.
Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
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 suitable for my diet?
We make no dietary claim for this recipe: at least one ingredient could not be resolved to a definite plant or animal source, so labelling it either way would be a guess. The full ingredient list is above.
Related recipes
Adapted recipe — rewritten in our own wording from an open-licensed community cookbook, not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Fairy Cakes is adapted by Consomee from the Wikibooks Cookbook, rewritten in our own wording and used under CC BY-SA 4.0. 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 — how we source recipes.