Easy Recipe for Chocolate Fairy Cakes to Create Mini Black Forest Inspired Cakes

This simple recipe for Chocolate Cakes, or Fairy Cakes as I like to refer to them, for me is another baking essential. Once you have mastered this recipe you can use this as a base to add additional ingredients such as glace cherries or chocolate drops, or pimp your cake up with fancy decoration.

Chocolate Fairy Cakes recipe (makes 20 approx depending on cake case size)

heat the oven to 180 degrees C / Gas 4
Ingredients
100g butter or baking fat100g caster sugar100g self raising flour (sieved)2 eggs (beaten)2 tablespoons cocoa powder (sieved)

• place the butter and sugar into a bowl, and cream together with a hand whisk until pale and fluffy.
• add a third of the beaten egg and whisk on high until combined
• sieve the cocoa powder into the flour
• add a spoonful of the flour/cocoa powder (this will help prevent the mixture from curdling) and mix.
• add some more of the egg and beat together, add a spoonful of flour and mix.
• add the remaining egg and mix, then add the remaining flour and gently fold in using a spatula or wooden spoon until combine together.
• spoon the mixture into your cake cases, filling to half way if you want a level cake or to three quarters full for a larger cake
• bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, test with a skewer which should come out clean
• remove from tray and place on a wire rack to cool

________________To create my Black Forest Inspired Cakes, I used my basic chocolate fairy cake recipe, topped with a rich vanilla bean paste butter cream, flaked chocolate and homemade damson jelly. These Black Forest cakes were made for my mums 70th Birthday celebrations earlier this year. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. If you should every have any leftover, pop them in the freezer to keep for another time.

Vanilla Bean Paste Butter Cream Recipe and Ingredients

250g unsalted butter (room temperature)400g icing sugar1 tsp vanilla bean paste

I always make batches of butter cream in my food mixer. It helps the butter cream to achieve that white look.

• Beat the butter until soft and lump free. 
• Gradually add in the icing sugar, on slow speed. 
• Once all combined add the vanilla bean paste and mix through.
• Now turn up the speed for 3 to 5 minutes. You may need to stop and scrape down the bowl.

Decorating Black Forest Inspired Chocolate Cakes

• Pipe on the butter cream or use a small palette knife, leaving a small dip in the middle for the damson jelly.
• Crumble some flaked chocolate onto a plate, at an angle and using a rolling action coat the butter cream with the chocolate.
• Finish with a small spoonful of the damson jelly.

__________________________________________I am entering my Black Forest Chocolate Cakes into May's Treat Petite Challenge, hosted by Cakeyboi and Baking Explorer with a theme of Eurovision Countries which of course will be Germany. I am also joining in with Cook, Blog, Share at Supergolden Bakes.