Butterfly Cakes

Butterfly cakes were my sister's first culinary succes, and I promised to put some onto the blog for my young cousins in Kenya, Jessica and Isabella, to get them started!  They are very quick and easy, with the only fiddly bit cutting out the butterfly wings from the tops of the cakes. 

Orange Butterfly Cakes

Orange or Lemon Butterfly Cakes

Cakes

4oz/50g softened butter or spread

4oz/50g self raising flour

4oz/50g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 level tsp baking powder

the zest of an orange or a lemon

Icing

6oz sieved icing sugar (no cheating!)

3oz softened butter

approx ¾ of the juice of an orange or lemon, depending on size

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C, and put twelve cake cases into a muffin/cupcake tin.  Beat together all the ingredients until they are well mixed.  You could do this by hand, or in a food processor, but there should be no lumps!      Drop spoonfuls into each cake case, so that each one has the same amount.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes until they are well risen and golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.   Cut circles out of the tops, leaving a little margin around the edge.  It helps to keep each top with its own base.  Cut each little top in half.

Make up the icing by mixing the butter into the icing sugar and adding the orange juice so that the icing is not stiff, but not sloppy either.   Put a large teaspoonful of icing on each cake, and spread it out so that it almost covers each one.   

Carefully place the two halves of the top so that they look like little butterfly wings, and press them into the icing.   Chill briefly so that the icing sets.