Vegan Fairy Cakes Recipe: Light, Fluffy Mini Cupcakes

📝 What you need

Ingredients

• Dairy-free block margarine (see expert tips below)
• Plain dairy-free yoghurt (plain unsweetened soya works well)
• Unsweetened dairy-free milk (soya, oat or nut milk)
• Caster sugar
• Self-raising flour
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Icing sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Sprinkles (check they are vegan)

Equipment

You can make these entirely by hand with a large bowl and a sturdy spatula, but an electric whisk or mixer helps achieve a really light sponge.

A good hand whisk will do the job and is handy for many vegan bakes. A stand mixer is a bigger investment but makes cakes, frostings and doughs much easier to prepare. An ice-cream scoop with a trigger is brilliant for portioning batter into cases quickly and neatly.

👩🏽‍🍳 Expert Tips

Small adjustments make a noticeable difference in vegan baking. These tips elevate the result but the recipe will still work if you skip them.

1. Store overnight in an airtight container. After cooling, dairy-free cakes often form a slightly crisp crust. Sealing them overnight loosens that crust as moisture redistributes, leaving the cake soft and more evenly moist.
2. Use block vegan margarine, not tub spread. Tub margarines have higher water content which can affect texture. Block baking margarines like Flora Plant Butter, Stork Baking Block or Naturli block give a more reliable, buttery bake.
3. Get the cakes into the oven quickly. Raising agents start working when they meet wet ingredients. Mix wet and dry only when you’re ready to fill the tin, then bake promptly. Before baking, bash the filled tin gently on the work surface to release large bubbles for an even crumb.
4. Beat plenty of air into the margarine and sugar. Whisk the margarine and sugar for 2–3 minutes until pale and fluffy. This traps air that helps produce a light, sponge-like texture.
5. Check dates on flour and bicarbonate of soda. Old flour or bicarb loses rising power and can result in a flatter bake.

❄️ Freezing

These fairy cakes freeze very well, making them ideal for batch baking. For best results freeze the plain cakes without icing; the icing can be applied after thawing. If you do freeze iced cakes, expect a slight change in icing texture.

🔪 What else can I bake with kids?

Cooking with children can be chaotic but rewarding. Here are a few low-stress family-friendly bakes to try:

• Vegan Soda Bread — quick, no-yeast bread that’s easy for kids to mix.
• Lemon and Chocolate Fork Biscuits — simple biscuits pressed with a fork to make a pretty pattern.
• Vegan Cheese Scones — great for picnics and simple to make with helpers of all ages.
• Vegan Strawberry Milkshake Muffins — fun muffins with a jam pocket, ideal for lunchboxes.
• Vegan Lemon Cupcakes — zesty cupcakes finished with lemon drizzle and buttercream.