Elderflower and lemon fairy cakes

How exciting to start off my first blog post with a recipe for Fairy Cakes!

Makes: 12
Prep time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Skill level: Easy peasy
Costs: Cheap as chips

These pretty fairy cakes are just right for a girly get together or little girls birthday party. They are lightly flavoured with sweet and fragrant elderflower cordial and decorated with pastel coloured glace icing and pink shimmer sugar. You can make them a day in advance – leave in a cool place to allow the icing to set completely before storing in a single layer in an airtight container until required. Use paste food colouring if possible to give the icing a good colour and add sparingly with the tip of a wooden cocktail stick.

Ingredients

• 125g caster sugar
• 125g butter, softened
• 1tbsp elderflower cordial
• 1tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 125g self-raising flour
• For the icing:
• 175g icing sugar
• 1tbsp elderflower cordial
• 2-3tsp warm water
• Yellow and pink food colouring
• Pink shimmer sugar and sugar flowers, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 12-hole bun tray with 12 paper cases.
2. Place the butter, sugar, elderflower cordial and lemon zest in a mixing bowl and beat together until very pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a spoonful at a time. Beat well after each addition and if the mixture begins to curdle add a spoonful of the measured flour.
3. Sift over the flour and fold in gently with a metal spoon. Divide the mixture between the paper cases. Bake for 15-20mins until risen, golden and springy to the touch. Leave the fairy cakes in the tray for about 5mins then transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
4. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the elderflower cordial and enough warm water to make a smooth icing. Colour one-third of the icing yellow and one-third pale pink.
5. Spoon the icing over the top of the fairy cakes and decorate with shimmer sugar and sugar flowers. Leave until set.

By Nichola Palmer
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/538133/elderflower-and-lemon-fairy-cakes