Mirror’s Fairy Cupcakes

What to prepare

For the cakes:

• 110g softened butter

• 110g caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 110g self raising flour

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp milk 

For the buttercream:

• 300g icing sugar

• 150g softened butter

• 2 tsp vanilla paste

• 2 tbsp milk or cream

To decorate:

• strawberry jam (optional)

• sprinkles/food colour 
  

How to make them

1. Heat oven to 180°C and line a cupcake tin with 10 cases.

2. Tip the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and milk into a large mixing bowl and beat with either a hand whisk or electric mixer until smooth, pale and combined.

3. Divide the batter into two bowls and add food colour to one of the bowls.

4. Add one spoon of mixture to each cake case and then add another spoon of the coloured mixture.  Using a toothpick or skewer, swirl the colours together. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

6. While the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream by beating together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla until pale and fluffy. 

7. Mix in the milk/cream until the mixture is a piping consistency.

8. Once the cakes are cool, use a sharp knife to slice off the tops, then cut the tops in half.

9. Fill the hole in the cake with a little jam.

10. Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cakes, then gently push two semi-circular halves into the buttercream on each cake, doing this at an angle to look like butterfly wings.

11. Add sprinkles and serve!