Easy & Delicious Flower Fairy Cake Recipe with Edible Flowers – Dairy & Egg Free + GF & Sugar Free option!

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Fairy cakes are a sweet and fun spring baking project to do with your kids! We made these as part of a kindergarten Flower Fairy Spring Botany homeschool learning block that I created for our 6 year old who is obsessed with fairies.

To read about how to make baking with edible flowers an educational experience for your kids, click here.

Soon, I hope to release a free guide to this homeschooling idea here on my blog for any other homeschoolers with Fairy-obsessed kids!

In the meantime, we’ll start with this fun recipe for Fairy Cakes..

Fairy cakes are mini-sponge cupcakes that are more simply flavored and frosted than traditional cupcakes that usually feature mountains of buttercream on top. Fairy cakes have been around for generations, and were traditionally a staple for afternoon teas.

Fairy cakes have been around for over two centuries, with the first known recipe appearing in a cookbook published in 1796. Originally called “number cakes” or “Queen cakes”. These small, light cakes were made with a few basic ingredients such as butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and currants. Over time, the name evolved into “fairy cakes,” likely due to their magical and whimsical appearance.

Since our household follows a plant-based diet we have adapted the traditional Fairy Cake recipe to be diary and egg free, as well as the option to make them gluten-free.

We did use a vegan buttercream frosting for these because my kids love it, but this a bit of a deviation from traditional Fairy Cakes. The key is to add just a dollop of frosting to each fairy cake if using buttercream, so that they aren’t overly-frosted. Most fairy cakes in bakeries are frosted simply with a glaze and/or sprinkles.

Tips for Making the Perfect Fairy Cakes:

If you’re interested in making fairy cakes with your children, here are some tips to ensure they come out perfectly every time:

1. Use high-quality ingredients. The better the ingredients, the better the final product.
2. Measure your ingredients accurately. Baking is a science, and even small variations in ingredient measurements can affect the final outcome. Use a kitchen scale for precision.
3. Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing can cause the cakes to become tough and dry. Mix the batter just until all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Use a muffin tin with cupcake liners. This will help the cakes keep their shape and prevent them from sticking to the pan.
5. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting them. If the cakes are still warm, the frosting will melt and slide off.

So without further ado, here is the recipe!

Diet: Vegan

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Servings: 48 servings

Calories: 380kcal

Ingredients:

For the Fairy Cakes

• 1 and ¾ cups / 235g all-purpose flour (use cake flour for an extra light cake) or use Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for gluten free Fairy Cakes
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup room temperature almond milk
• 1 cup / 195g granulated sugar or granulated monkfruit for sugar-free option
• ⅓ cup / 80ml melted coconut oil
• ¼ cup / 60ml unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon zest

For the Vegan Buttercream Frosting

• ½ cup vegan butter room temperature (Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks work best)
• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar or for sugar-free option, Lankanto Powdered Monkfruit, up to 3½ cups (sifted)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt
• 2 tablespoon almond milk

For the decorations:

– Edible flowers such as violas (as we used), violets, lilacs, dandelions, or nasturtiums

Instructions

For the Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 177° C (350° F) and line mini cupcake trays with cupcake liners, unbleached preferred
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
• In a separate bowl whisk together the apple cider vinegar, dairy-free milk, sugar, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla extract, & lemon zest.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry and gently whisk until smooth. Don’t over-mix, otherwise your cupcakes will have a rubbery texture. Better to leave some lumps than to over-mix the batter!
• Spoon the batter into each cupcake liner, about ⅔ of the way up.
• Bake for 9-15 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the centre of a cake. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing the cakes. After 10 minutes, remove the cakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting them.

For the Vegan Buttercream Frosting

• Add the vegan butter to a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) or a large bowl using a hand-mixer and cream it for 2 minutes on medium to high speed.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the sifted confectioners sugar to the butter one cup at a time, beating for 3 to 5 minutes in between each cup. Add the vanilla, salt and dairy-free milk and continue to beat until thick and creamy. Add more sifted sugar if needed.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag (or a large zip lock bag with a corner snipped and a frosting nozzle fitted) and pipe on to the cakes once they are completely cooled. 
• Serve immediately or store, covered, in the fridge for 3 days.

For the decorations:

• Gently rinse your edible flowers and pat dry on a paper towel
• Place a single flower on each frosted fairy cake

Notes

Tips to Making Perfect Cupcakes

1. Measure your ingredients properly, either by weight or by spooning your ingredients into a measuring cup and leveling them off with the back of a knife.
2. Leave all cold ingredients on the counter to warm until they reach room temperature
3. Don’t over-mix your batter. Whisk until the ingredients are combined and just smooth – over-mixing will give your rubbery cakes.
4. Only fill your cake liner two-thirds of the way up. Fairy cakes don’t have a muffin top – they should sit in a dome just at the lip of the cupcake liner.
5. Use room temperature butter in the buttercream to avoid lumps.
6. Sift the icing sugar (confectioners sugar) before adding it to your frosting a cup at a time.
7. If making frosting isn’t your thing, or if you want to save time, the Miss Jones pre-made buttercream frosting works really well, and tastes wonderful. Plus, it’s vegan and organic!

So there you have it! Everything you need to know to make these beautiful and delicious Fairy Cakes with your kids.

Happy Baking!

Click here for another delicious recipe using edible flowers: Lemon-Lilac Loaf Cake