These lavender fairy cakes are infused with fresh lavender flowers. The flowers are blitzed in a food processor to make them fine enough to mix perfectly through the sponge.
The beautiful colour of these lavender cakes is achieved with purple, violet or lilac liquid or paste food colouring. For a more vibrant colouring, opt for food gel instead of liquid. These dainty fairy cakes are one of our best afternoon tea ideas and take just 20 minutes to prepare and decorate.
Ingredients
For the cakes:
- 125g (4oz) caster sugar
- 125g (4oz) self-raising flour
- 2tbsp lavender flowers, fresh or dried
- 125g (4oz) butter, softened
- 2 medium eggs
- 2tbsp milk
For the topping:
- 350g (12oz) fondant icing sugar
- Purple, violet or lilac liquid or paste food colouring
- 12 sprigs of lavender
- 12-hole bun tray, lined with paper bun cases
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Set the oven to gas mark 5 or 190°C. Tip the sugar and flour into the bowl of a food processor, add the lavender flowers and whizz to grind the flowers a little. Sift the mixture into a mixing bowl, then discard the pieces of flower left in the sieve.
- Add the butter, eggs and milk to the bowl and beat the mixture until smooth then spoon it into the paper cases in the bun tray.
- Bake the cakes in the centre of the oven for 15-18 mins, or until they have risen and are just firm to the touch. Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
- To make the topping, sift the fondant icing sugar into a bowl and then beat in 4-6tbsp cold water to give a thick, glossy icing. Add some food colouring to the icing to give it a lilac colour, mixing well so that it's not streaky.
- Use a small palette knife to spread some icing over the top of each cake and, before the icing sets, place a sprig of lavender on top of each cake. Leave the icing to set before serving.
Top tips for making lavender fairy cakes
Fondant icing sugar has glucose in it to give it a glossy finish. If you can't get hold of this type of sugar, you can use icing sugar, but it won't dry quite as shiny.
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Mary Berry’s fairy cakes
Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 11 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies.
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