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Make these Pretty Little Butterfly Cakes (aka Fairy Cakes) for a lovely mid-morning snack, or for a birthday party. Or a random Tuesday.
Step by step photos and instructions below!
I so MISS morning tea, done properly. It doesn’t seem to be much of a thing here in the US, but I live in hope that it eventually catches on.
What is “Morning Tea”?
Well, officially, it is a small meal or snack eaten between breakfast and lunch; a period of time set aside for this purpose, taken as a break from schoolwork, work, a conference, etc.
Unofficially, It involves much sitting around, tea drinking, and eating of butterfly cakes.
Convinced yet?
Want to know something even better? There’s also such a thing as AFTERNOON TEA. Anything that potentially involves cake, gets a vote from me as valid, and essential.
When I lived in Brisbane (Australia), there was this little place I liked to stop by and grab a mid morning treat – and I almost always went for butterfly cakes. Fluffy cupcakes with “proper filling” aka, not frosting, topped with sprinkles. Yes please! They’re known and fairy cakes in some parts of the world, but whatever you call them – they’re super fun and delicious!
I’ve been making this fairy cakes recipe since forever, and it’s always popular with young and …. well, more mature. Ha. These have always been super popular at birthday parties. Just change up the colors on the sprinkles and the paper cases/paper liners, and you can pretty much match any theme needed.
My little boys LOVE Butterfly Cupcakes – they love pulling off the wings (sounds so psychotic, but it is about the cake, people the CAKE), and then using them to scoop out the filling. They then devour the rest of the cake. It’s a process.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- They are so CUTE!
- Easy, common ingredients.
- They bake in 20 minutes!
I have included step by step photos and instructions, as well as tips and tricks in the post. If you’d rather skip all that, scoot right on down to the recipe card located at the bottom of the post.
Kylee’s Notes
- These cupcakes are designed to not be huge and domed. We want them to not get too tall so the tops are pretty flat. If you feel like you don’t have enough batter – you do! Just make sure it’s evenly divided among the 12 cupcakes liners.
- You can always use boxed cake mix instead of the vanilla cupcake recipe. Just be sure to underfill the cups so you don’t get too big of a dome!
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, a hand held beater will work just fine.
- If you want to get fancy, add some pieces of licorice for butterfly antennas. Otherwise, keep it simple (and delicious).
Substitutions/Additions
Almond extract is a great substitute for vanilla if you like those flavors.
Ingredients
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The full list of ingredients and quantities is found in the printable recipe card below.
How to make Butterfly Cakes
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The full list of ingredients and quantities is found in the printable recipe card below.
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 12 well cupcake pan/muffin pan with paper liners.
Make the batter
- In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and a very pale yellow color. You can use a hand held mixer and a large bowl and beat the butter and sugar if you need to.
- Add the vanilla extract, milk and the eggs (one at a time) beating well.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Fold the flour mixture into the batter, until just combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the paper lined muffin cups evenly.
Bake
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Tops should be lightly golden brown, and spring back when touched.
- Transfer to wire racks, and leave to cool completely before decorating.
Make the Whipped Cream
- In a medium sized bowl, sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top of the heavy whipping cream.
- Beat until stiff peaks form, but don’t go too far and make it butter!
Assembly
- Using a sharp knife cut a circle out from the top of each cake, angling towards the center.
- Cut the tops in half and set aside. Trim them if necessary!
- Pipe whipped cream into each cupcake hole.
- Finish the butterfly cakes by placing two cake pieces over the cream to resemble butterfly wings.
- Sprinkle with sprinkles and dust with icing sugar.
- Devour.
More baked goods to love!
- Slutty Brownies Make this decadent dessert from scratch! With cookie dough on the base, oreos in the middle and brownie batter poured over the top, these are the ultimate dessert!
- Oreo Dirt Pudding Parfaits. Make this classic chocolatey deliciousness into individual servings, for an easy dessert!
- Blondies. A super easy recipe for a classic, this Blondie Recipe mixes up fast, contains only 7 ingredients, and tastes amazing!
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Pretty Little Butterfly Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbs powdered sugar
Serving
- 1 Tbs sprinkles
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a 12 well cupcake pan with paper liners. In your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and a very pale yellow color.
- Add the vanilla, milk and the eggs (one at a time) beating well. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Fold the flour mixture into the batter, until just combined. Portion the batter into the paper liners evenly.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Tops should be lightly browned, and spring back when touched.
- Transfer to a cooling rack, and cool completely before decorating.
For the Sweetened Whipped Cream
- In a medium sized bowl, sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top of the heavy whipping cream.
- Beat until stiff peaks form, but don’t go too far and make it butter!
Assembly
- Using a sharp knife cut a circle (about the size of a quarter) out from the of each cupcake.
- Cut the tops in half and set aside.
- Pipe whipped cream into each cupcake hole,
- Finish the butterfly cakes by placing two cake pieces over the cream to create wings.
- Sprinkle with sprinkles and dust with powdered sugar.
- Devour.
nutrition facts
Nutritional Disclaimer
Recipes written and produced on Kylee Cooks are for informational purposes only. Kylee is not a certified nutritionist. Nutritional data provided on Kylee Cooks has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration.
Update: This recipe was originally published in May of 2018. It was republished with updated photos in June of 2021.
