I made these "fairy" cakes after attending the launch party for Peyton & Byrne British Baking. Fairy cakes are the British equivalent of American cupcakes. A fairy cake is smaller in size and traditionally has a glaze with some sprinkles (hundreds and thousands) on top.
The chapter in the book is called fairy cakes and in the Peyton & Byrne cafe they are also sold as fairy cakes (as that is the traditional British name) but they are the size of a cupcake.
I made mine fairy cake size as I haven't posted any yet and Dr. Oetker sent me some fairy cake cases. They were very cute but not very greaseproof (maybe I shouldn't have used them for chocolate cake). I love the mini-mini marshmallows. I use them all the time for sweet potato bakes.
The cake was very light and would make a good base for delicate combinations. This was a pretty easy recipe from the book. I'm planning on trying a harder one next.
Double Chocolate Fairy Cakes
makes 24 fairy cakes (or 12 cupcakes)
100g dark chocolate, broken in small pieces
110g unsalted butter at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
2 eggs
140g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
100ml buttermilk
Chocolate Frosting
60g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs boiling water
250g icing sugar
90g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1. Preheat oven to 170 C and line muffin tray with paper liners. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, remove and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
3. Fold in the melted chocolate. Sift in the flour and baking soda and stir into the butter mixture. Add the vanilla and buttermilk and stir until incorporated.
4. Fill each cup three-quarters full and bake for 15 minutes until springy to the touch. Place on a cooling rack.
5. Make the frosting by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. In a small bow, dissolve the cocoa powder in the 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Stir into the melted chocolate.
6. In a large bowl cream together the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix in the melted chocolate until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
