Cherry Topped Fairy Cakes

Cherry Topped Fairy Cakes. How can you not fall in love with something called a Fairy Cake? And when they are topped with glace cherries, so much the more!
A fairy cake is the name given to small buttery cakes in the UK. They are generally much smaller than a cup cake and rather than a buttercream icing will have a simple thick sugar and water glaze.
They are delightfully simple to make and are a great way to introduce children to the art of baking. Simple and very forgiving, and yes, very delicious!

You just have to love the names that they give to their baked goods in the UK. I used to love reading Enid Blyton stories when I was a child and a huge part of the appeal was the name of the food that the children ate in the books.

Cherry Cakes, Crumpets, lashings of Ginger Beer, boiled sweeties, etc. it all sounded very exotic to me. I wanted to experience all of it. Midnight feasts, picnics, tuck boxes and adventures. Sign me up!!

This fairy cake recipe that I am sharing with you today comes from the cookery book entitled Vintage Cakes, tremendously good cakes for sharing an giving, by Jane Brocket. There are over 90 recipes in the book and I have enjoyed every one that I have baked thus far.

These fairy cakes were deemed good enough to be portrayed on the cover. As you can see mine did not look all that different from the ones in the book! That's one of mine sitting there on the cover just above the plate of cakes, covering the Victoria Sponge.

The photographs in the book are beautiful and the recipes are really well written. They are written by weight, which is a much more accurate method of baking in my opinion. I started baking by weight when I first moved to the UK.
All recipes over there are done by weight. I had to sink or swim and so I bought a set of scales and just got stuck in to doing it. I still bake by weight, even though I am back in Canada. As I said, it is much more accurate. The potential for error is very small.
For instance cup sizes can vary greatly. Have you spooned your dry ingredients into the cup and leveled it off? Or have you scooped the cup down into them. Those two things alone can make a huge difference, whereas a gram is always a gram is a gram.
Not all cups are created equally either. I have found differences in different kinds of measuring cups, etc. So now I weigh everything. I have, however, provided cup measures for this recipe, as I do all my recipes. I try to make everything easier for all of my readers on both sides of the pond!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHERRY TOPPED FAIRY CAKES
Simple baking cupboard ingredients. Wherever possible I have endeavored to provide adequate substitutions for anything that might be difficult to find.
For the cakes:

1/2 cup plus 2 tsp (125g) butter, softened
2/3 cup (125g) fine granulated sugar
2 large free range eggs
1 cup (125g) self raising flour
few drops vanilla extract
1 -2 TBS milk

For the finish:

1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
2 1/2 TBS water (as needed)
6 glace cherries, washed, dried and halved

The original recipe called for caster sugar, which is a fine granulated sugar. You can use regular granulated sugar so long as it is not really coarse. If it is coarse, it will be helpful to blitz it for a few seconds in a food processor to make it finer.
Self rising flour is an ingredient that is very commonly asked for in British recipes. Self rising flour is a flour that has leavening already added to it.
It is very easy to make your own self rising flour. I make my own, 3 or 4 cups worth a a time. For every cup (140g) of flour, whisk in 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt. Easy peasy.
If you cannot get glace cherries (which are candied cherries) you can use maraschino cherries. Just rinse them and dry them really well before using.

HOW TO MAKE CHERRY TOPPED FAIRY CAKES

These are some of the easiest cakes to make. That is why they are such a good thing to make which children. Children love to bake and this is a very forgiving recipe.Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a 12 cup medium muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. If it starts to curdle you can add a spoonful of the flour, but its not really necessary.Stir in the flour, folding it in with a metal spoon until well combined. Stir in the vanilla and enough milk, as needed to give a soft dropping consistency.Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling no more than 2/3 full.Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen and golden brown on top. The tops should spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.Remove to a wire rack and cool slightly before removing from the tin completely.Once they are cold you can make the icing. Sift the sugar into a bowl. Whisk in the water a bit at a time until you have a smooth thick spreadable type of icing. Spread some on top of each fairy cake and top each with 1/2 cherry.Leave to set the icing before serving. Delicious! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This is a very forgivable recipe and also a very adaptable recipe. You can tint the icing any color you like with gel or paste food coloring. You can add sprinkles to the top rather than glace cherries. They really do add a nice touch.
You can use orange juice or lemon juice instead of water when making the icing to add a different depth of flavor to it. You may need to use a bit more icing sugar in that case and it may tint the icing a tiny bit so that it isn't pure white.
Sugared flowers are really pretty on top of these and make them a beautiful addition for a tea party or a special picnic. Children love cake sprinkles and candies when used to decorate the cakes.

These are best eaten on the day, but will keep for a day or two in an airtight container in a dark cool place. They are great for children's parties, or picnics, and properly decorated, they are a beautiful addition to an afternoon tea party.
With their buttery fluffy sponge texture and that lovely hint of sweet to the tops, they are fabulous when served with hot cups of tea, or glasses of milk, or cold glasses of lemonade!
The next time you are invited to a get-together bake a plate of these and watch everyone's eyes light up when you bring them in. They delight children and adults alike!

Some other small traditional bakes here in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:

QUEEN CAKES - These lovely little cakes are traditionally baked for Mothering Sunday in March and were said to be a favorite of Queen Victoria. They are rich and buttery and studded with plenty of dried currants. You can also use chopped raisins if you can't get currants. A dusting of icing sugar is the only adornment needed.

SCOTTISH SNOWBALL CAKES - How can you not love something called a snowball cake! Its impossible. Two buttery small cakes, sandwiched together with some jam. The filled caked are then rolled in glace icing and coconut. They look like little snowballs. Delightfully delicious!

CUPCAKE MADELEINES - These English Madeleine cakes are very different from their French counterpart. These buttery little cupcakes are brushed with warm jam and rolled in coconut. A glace cherry half decorates the top of each. They are the perfect teatime treat!

Yield: 12 small cakesAuthor: Marie Rayner