Simple fairy cake recipe that is ready in under 20 minutes! (2024)

FAQs

Why are my fairy cakes not fluffy? ›

Why are my fairy cakes not rising? This could be down to a lack of raising agent - or even old self-raising flour where the raising agent has become less effective.

What is the difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake? Cupcakes are bigger than fairy cakes and use a generous amount of frosting on top. In comparison, fairy cakes are often drizzled with icing rather than piled high with the buttercream or cream cheese frostings that American-style cupcakes are famous for.

My cake has sunk in the middle.

There are three main reasons for this: a/ the oven door has been opened before the cake has set, b/ the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or c/ there's too much raising agent.

Over mixing cake batter can result in a heavy, closed rubbery texture. Over mixing acts on the gluten in flour and will make cakes hard instead of the lovely soft spongy texture we associate with a good cake.

Originally Answered: Why do the top of cakes crack? It's simple physics. The top of the cake has formed a crust most probably due to the oven temp being too high for the recipe, the batter has been ovrr beaten leading to, among other things, too much gluten, or the recipe has not been followed correctly….

A cupcake (AmE), fairy cake (BrE), or bun (IrE) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as fruit and candy may be applied.

“Fairy cakes are smaller units, baked in smaller cases and trays,” she told British Baker. ”Traditionally the tops were cut off and set aside, a small amount of jam placed in the centre and a small amount of cream on top.

The cake was originally called grön tårta (green cake), but was given the name prinsesstårta or "princess cake" because the Swedish princesses were said to have been especially fond of the cake.

If you use a cup rather than a scale there's a good chance you're using too much flour: up to 20% too much, if you use the measuring cup as a scoop then tamp the flour down. Any baked good — especially cake —with too much flour will be dry, hard, crumbly …

Too much: If you accidentally overmeasure your baking soda or baking powder, this can also cause your cake or cupcakes to overexpand in the oven, then sink in the middle upon cooling.

Can you eat a cake that has sunk in the middle? ›

If your cake was cooked to the proper temperature, chances are it is still edible even if it sunk in the center. Check that it's baked through the middle, then try a small piece of your cake. It might not taste good if the ingredient measurements were off. Notice the texture to make sure it's not too dense or spongy.

Baking soda is used in small amount in making bread and cake. It helps to make these soft and spongy. An aqueous solution of baking soda turns red litmus blue. It is also used in soda acid fire extinguisher.

Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.) shortens gluten strands, which essentially leads to the most tender baked goods," she adds.

Oh yes, you sure can. This recipe has a combination of butter and oil to give off that nice buttery taste while keeping it soft and moist at the same time. Cake using pure butter tends to be more dense and dry compared to adding oil into the batter.

We don't want our fairy cakes to come out flat, so the raising affects of self-raising flour takes care of that. No other baking powder required either – these are only little cakes and don't need any more assistance to rise to the occaision.

Overmixing ingredients can create a dense batter that doesn't get that same airy rise. Mismeasured baking powder (too much or too little) may also give you a flat cake. Make sure you have just the right amount of this leavening agent to give your cake the right lift.

Why does my cake have a gummy streak in the center? Developing too much of the flour's gluten can make the cake rise beautifully in the oven, but sink as soon as you pull it out. The sinking part is what makes the dense and gluey streaks. This can be result of over-creaming the eggs, butter and sugar.

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.