fairy cakes

Chocolate spread fairy cakes

13 Comments / cake, chocolate /

In typical English weather fashion, the week before the Easter school holidays was glorious, then the girls broke up from school and it has rained and rained, and snowed and any other horrible weather that you might want to think of.

But in true English style we went for a picnic with friends yesterday anyway.  We sat on a bench in the playground just as it started hailing. Hey ho, these cakes cheered us up as we sat under our umbrella.

They are very easy to make as they make use of a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread instead of having to make a buttercream topping. There is also a lovely dollop of chocolate spread in the middle too to give the cakes a lovely gooeyness when you sink your teeth in.

Makes 12 small cupcakes

110g softened butter
110g caster sugar
2 eggs
120g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
20g cocoa powder
splash of milk

About 100g chocolate hazelnut spread

Method

Place the softened butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and milk in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.

Line a patty pan with cupcake cases and place a scant teaspoonful in the bottom of each case. Then put half a teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread on top of the batter.  Top with another scant teaspoonful of batter. Place the cakes into a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 or the centre shelf of the Baking Oven of the Aga for 15-20 minutes until firm to the touch.

Place the cakes onto a wire rack to cool.  Once cool, spread generously with chocolate spread and decorate to your heart’s content. Enjoy in the hail or the sunshine.

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Nutella fairy cakes

15 Comments / cake, chocolate /

These have been in my mind for quite a while. I have been thinking about how Nutella might taste in the middle of a fairy cake and what would happen to its consistency. I can tell the seasons from a jar of Nutella.  In the winter it is almost impossible to spoon out of the jar, the cold of the cupboard has set it hard.  In the summer it becomes oily and hard to keep on the knife as it is lifted out of the jar.

Well, these little cakes were made when the Nutella is of perfect consistency, on a mild spring day, when the sky is an almost azure ( I am in England after all and we don’t often get an azure sky) and the temperature is that wonderful warm on your back but don’t reach for the sun screen warm. The Nutella stayed soft in the centre of the cakes making for a lovely bite of gooeyness.  This also means that there is no need for frosting – perfect.
Makes 12

110g light soft brown sugar
110g softened butter
120g self raising flour (or plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder added)
20g good quality cocoa
2 eggs
Nutella or hazelnut chocolate spread, about 6 teaspoons

Method

Place all of the ingredients, except for the Nutella, in a large bowl and whisk well until all is combined.

Place a scant teaspoonful of the mixture into a fairy cake (mini muffin) case in a patty (mini muffin) tin.  Place  half a teaspoonful of Nutella on top.  Cover with another scant teaspoonful of cake batter.  Repeat with the remaining eleven.

Place in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 or the baking oven of the Aga for 15-20 minutes until springy to the touch of a light finger.

Place on a wire rack to cool.

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Chocolate buns or fairy cakes

4 Comments / cake, chocolate /

Are these called buns or fairy cakes?  I have no idea so I opted for both. It was the Christmas Fayre at my eldest daughter’s school the other day and they asked for cake donations so these were ours. Show me a kid who doesn’t love milk chocolate and hundreds and thousands…

I liked these too.  I added milk chocolate chunks to the cake mix so there was a very satisfying bite to these little cakes. The ones I held back from donating (well you have to enjoy the rewards of baking!) were soon polished off by me and the girls.

I hope those who bought them at the Fayre enjoyed them as much as we did.

Make sure the eggs and the butter are at room temperature before you start as they will mix much easier and rise better.

Makes 18 cakes

110g caster sugar
110g softened butter
120g self-raising flour
20g good quality cocoa
2 eggs
30g milk chocolate, drops or chopped
splash of milk (if needed to make the mixture a soft consistency, if your egg is big you probably won’t need it)

18 paper cake cases and 2 patty tins (cupcake tins)

For the topping:
50g milk chocolate, melted
your choice of decoration

Method
Put the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder and eggs into a bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until just combined. If the mixture is a little stiff add a splash of milk and stir to combine. Add the chopped chocolate and stir to mix in evenly.

Put the paper cases into the holes of the tin. Put a spoonful of the mixture into each paper case, you want to half fill the cases to give space for rising.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°c (gas mark 4) for 15-20 mins until springy to a slight touch.

Leave to cool, then top each cake with a spoonful of melted chocolate and sprinkle your choice of decorations on top.

Get printable version

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