fairy cakes! 
Our friend GirlyNYC took this picture of cupcakes while vacationing in London. They called them "fairy cakes" in jolly old England. Our resident Cupcake Grinch thinks the reason why the British called them "fairy cakes" is because they are ONLY for kids. We here
at CTTC disagree. To steal an old kiddie cereal commercial,
Silly Ellen, cupcakes are meant for everyone.
9 comments:
The original fairy cakes named by us British are because of a certain way they are decorated. When the cake is ready to be iced we scoop out the top with a spoon. Not a deep scoop but making sure this disc of sponge is kept in one piece and put it to the side. Fill the scoopy-out part with fluffy butter icing. Then cut the spare circle of cake in half and squidge the pieces into the icing at an angle, opposite each other. Thus creating a little pair of fairy wings on your cake...then sprinkle with a little icing sugar oops, I mean fairy dust!
Hi. The cake Jessica rarebit is describing is actually a butterfly cake. I wonder whether we British call them fairy cakes because of their small size and light texture. I'm British and I'm still in the dark - is this a British recipe or have we nicked the idea from another country?
I really think that isn't a origianl british recipe, i think like the anonymouse say that we have nicked the idea from another country!. :P lol
I thought they were called fairy cakes because they're not big enough to be a 'real' cake, but just the right size for the fairies. :)
Fairy Cakes are much lighter in texture than a traditional U.S. cupcake. If you look at a fairy cake recipe, you'll see why. The batter itself is more of a genoise than a regular cake batter. Otherwise, a Fairy Cake is just a British word for cupcake.
The statement "Fairy Cakes are much lighter in texture than a traditional US cupcake" is enough of a generalization that it's misleading, I think. While it may be true that British fairy cakes are of a particular batter, such as a genoise, there is no standard cake type for a cupcake - the term refers to the size and shape and the fact that it's baked in those pans. People bake all kinds of batter in them, including genoise, and even mixes have different textures according to brand.
Perhaps it's simply that cupcakes are more diverse than fairy cakes. I've baked a variety myself, from red velvet cupcakes to what we in the US would call 'angel food' cupcakes. These are very light indeed.
I remember fairy cakes haing bits of maraschino cherries through them, i think it may have been a mix
who cares about cup cakes and fairy cakes and whether there brittish or american we ALL know its the food fronm ireland thats the best good irish grub spuds and gravy and hot scones
I believe that scones are Scottish in origin, not Irish. But they are yummy!
Post a Comment