Butterfly Cakes
Makes 12
As it approaches my little one’s first birthday, cake is on my mind. Butterfly cakes are fun to make and a delicious treat. They’re an excellent addition to a party spread or to accompany an afternoon tea. For dietary requirements they can easily be made dairy-free by switching the butter in the sponge and buttercream to a vegetable fat based block.
We added some coloured sugar sprinkles to make ours colourful, but you can leave them plain, if you wish.
- Ingredients:
- For the sponges:
- 160g softened butter or vegetable baking block/spread
- 160g caster sugar
- 160g self-raising flour (or the same of plain flour with 3 level tsp baking powder)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- For the butter cream:
- 150g softened butter or vegetable baking block/spread
- 250g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Step 1: preheat the oven to 150c (fan) and line a 12 hole muffin tray with cases.
Step 2: Place all the cake ingredients into a mixer and beat using the paddle attachment, until smooth.
Step 3: Divide evenly between the cases and bake for about 22 minutes. They should be risen and spring back to the touch. Allow to fully cool.
Step 4: Make the buttercream by beating the ingredients together until smooth.
Step 5: Use a sharp knife to cut a circle out of the top of each cake. Leave a centimetre rim around the edge, and angle the knife so that you can pop the circle out to reveal a hollow. Slice each removed circle in half to make two wings.
Step 6: Fill the hollows with your buttercream (using a piping bag will make them nice and neat but you can spoon them in if needs be) and then pop the wings back on. Add any sprinkles or extra decorations as you like.
