Cupcakes (fairy cakes)
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and measures (hob, grams, gas marks); the US version uses stove, cups and °F. · US version of this page
Light little sponge cakes made by the creaming method, then iced – the first cake most children bake.
- Makes 12
- About 50 min
- Oven
- Best for: KS2 (ages 7–11)
- Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 100 g butter, soft – contains milk
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs – contains eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g self-raising flour – contains gluten
- 1 tbsp milk – contains milk
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Need a different amount? Use the recipe finder to change the servings.
Equipment
- digital scales
- 12-hole bun tin
- 12 paper cases
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon or electric hand mixer
- small bowl
- sieve
- 2 teaspoons
- oven gloves
- cooling rack
Safety first
- Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, tie back long hair and put on a clean apron.
- Ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes. This recipe contains: gluten, eggs, milk.
- Wash your hands after cracking eggs.
- Do not eat raw dough or cake mixture – raw flour and raw egg can carry harmful bacteria.
- Use dry oven gloves for anything that has been in the oven or under the grill.
Allergens: Cereals containing gluten, Eggs, Milk. Always read every label and ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes.
Method
- An adult turns the oven on to 180 °C (160 °C fan, gas 4). Put the paper cases in the tin.
- Beat the soft butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy – this is creaming, and it traps air. (Younger children: Take turns to beat the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon.) (3 min)
- Crack the eggs into a small bowl, beat them, then add them a little at a time with the vanilla, beating well. Wash your hands.
- Sieve in the flour and fold it in gently with a metal spoon, with the milk, so you keep the air in.
- Share the mixture between the cases using two teaspoons. Do not taste the raw mixture.
- An adult puts the tin in the oven. Bake until risen, golden and springy when pressed. (15 min)
- An adult moves the cakes onto the rack. Cool completely before icing. (20 min)
- Sieve the icing sugar and mix with the water a few drops at a time until thick but spreadable. Spoon a little on each cake.
What this recipe teaches
Using an oven safely, Creaming (beating butter and sugar), Folding in, Assembling a dish, Presenting food. Steps marked “Adult” are always done by an adult; steps marked “Teacher-led” are done by an adult for primary-age children.
Nutrition per serving
| Energy | 702 kJ / 168 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 7.7 g |
| of which saturates | 4.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 24.3 g |
| of which sugars | 17.6 g |
| Fibre | 0.3 g |
| Protein | 1.8 g |
| Salt | 0.26 g |
Worked out from the raw ingredients (optional ones and pinches not counted) using CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, Public Health England). Brands vary – check labels. Figures for semi-skimmed milk (the recipe finder shows the other choices).
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021, Public Health England.
Eatwell Guide groups in this recipe: Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins; Dairy and alternatives. Learn about the Eatwell Guide.
Foods high in fat, salt or sugar sit outside the Eatwell Guide – enjoy them less often and in small amounts.
Curriculum links
- KS2 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet”
- KS2 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques”
Try the interactive lesson
Step by step: a quick safety check, questions marked by Classfern, timers for each cooking step, then an honest look at how it went – a teacher or parent judges the cooking, and learners rate their own work. Photos of the finished dish stay at home.
Use the code your teacher gave you – never your name. Progress is kept on this device.