Fairy cakes recipe

Name: Fairy cakes
Yield: Serves 9
Ingredients: 125g salted butter; 125g caster sugar; 2 eggs; 125g self-raising flour; 5ml vanilla extract; 15ml milk; 150g unsalted butter; 250g icing sugar; 10ml vanilla extract; 60ml strawberry jam; icing sugar, for dusting

Created by The Tesco Recipes team

This easy fairy cake recipe is lovely for afternoon tea at home or birthday parties. Fluffy vanilla sponge, creamy icing and sweet strawberry jam are a classic combination, and the butterfly decoration is simple to do but oh-so-pretty. Find out how to make fairy cakes with our step-by-step recipe and how-to videos.

See method

Serves 9
15mins to prepare and 20mins to cook, plus 15mins to decorate
485 calories / serving

Shop your ingredients

Tesco British Salted Block Butter 250G
Aldi Price Match
125g salted butter
£1.85
£7.40/kg
Silver Spoon Caster Sugar 1Kg
125g caster sugar
£2.25
£2.25/kg
Tesco British Barn Eggs 10 Pack
2 eggs
£1.70
£0.17/each
Stockwell & Co. Self Raising Flour 1.5Kg
Aldi Price Match
125g self-raising flour
£0.70
£0.47/kg
Tesco Madagascan Vanilla 38ml
5ml vanilla extract
£1.15
£30.26/litre
Tesco British Whole Milk 568Ml, 1 Pint
Aldi Price Match
15ml milk
£0.85
£1.50/litre
Tesco British Unsalted Butter 250G
Aldi Price Match
150g unsalted butter
£1.85
£7.40/kg
Billingtons Golden Icing Sugar 500G
£1.65 Clubcard Price
(£3.30/kg)
Offer valid for delivery from 03/09/2026 until 29/10/2026
250g icing sugar
£1.85
£3.70/kg
Tesco Strawberry Jam 454G
Aldi Price Match
60ml strawberry jam
£0.89
£1.96/kg

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 9 cupcake cases.
Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and whisk until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating between each addition. If the mixture splits, add a tablespoon of flour and whisk until the batter is smooth.
Sift the flourinto the mixture and using a large metal spoon, then gently fold the flour until well combined. Stir in the vanilla essence and milk. The mixture should easily drop off a spoon.
Spoon into the cases and cook for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
To make the buttercream icing, put the butter in a large bowl and beat until creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and whisk until well combined. Add the vanilla extract. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little milk.
Cut the top off each cake and then cut the slices in half. Cover each cake with the butter icing. Put a little strawberry jam on top of each cake and push the 2 half-slices into the buttercream at an angle to make a pair of wings.
Dust with icing sugar and serve.