Butterfly Cakes

Close up of a butterfly cake on a cakestand.

5 from 1 vote

Butterfly cakes (aka butterfly buns) are quick and easy to make and often make an appearance at children's birthday parties. Their eternal popularity is down to their kid-friendly dainty size and retro cute styling. I mean, who can seriously resist a cake with wings?

Prep Time40

Cook Time18

Total Time58

Course: Baking, Dessert

Cuisine: British, English

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

12 hole bun tins
12-15 Paper fairy cake cases

Ingredients

For the Cakes

110 g Butter or baking margarine soft, room temperature
110 g Caster sugar
2 Eggs large, free-range
110 g Plain flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

For the Buttercream

125 g Butter soft, room temperature
250 g Icing sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Optional Extras

1 tablespoon Seedless jam raspberry or strawberry
Sprinkles
Small sweets e.g Jelly Tots or mini Smarties

Instructions

Make the cakes

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM 6 and put the paper cases into the 12-hole bun tins.
Use electric beaters to cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Add the vanilla (if using), 1 egg and a spoonful of flour. Beat well.
Beat in the second egg.
Sieve the remaining flour and baking powder into the bowl and beat until just combined. The batter should have a soft dropping consistency. If it is too thick add ½-1 tablespoon of milk to loosen it.
Divide the batter between the paper cases. Fill 12 first and then use any leftover batter to create a few extras (the exact number of cakes made depends on the size of the paper cases used).
Bake for 15-18 minutes until well risen and golden. Lift the paper cases out of the bun tin and let cool on a wire rack.

Make the buttercream

Beat the butter with the vanilla extract until soft and smooth.
Sieve the icing sugar then add a spoonful at a time into the butter, beating well between each addition.

Assembling the cakes

When cold, cut a shallow circle from the top of each cake leaving a small border around the edge. Use a small serrated knife held at a 45-degree angle to do this.
Cut the removed piece of cake in half.
Put the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a wide nozzle suitable for piping rosettes. Fill the holes cut into the cakes with buttercream.
Poke the two small pieces of cake into the buttercream to resemble butterfly wings.
Optional: press sweets and cake decorations into the buttercream.
Dredge with a little icing sugar just before serving.

Notes

I recommend using grams and digital kitchen scales when baking cakes as this is the best way to ensure that the ingredients are measured accurately. The cup system is a hugely inaccurate method for measuring and I don’t recommend it.
Make sure you use small paper cases to make your butterfly buns in rather than cases designed for cupcakes. Cupcake cases are much bigger so you’ll get far fewer cakes if you use those (around 6).
Put the paper cases into the bun tins before baking begins. Once the batter has been mixed the raising agent (baking powder) is activated, so getting the cakes into the oven as soon as possible is the best course of action to ensure you get light and fluffy cakes.
Use a small sharp serrated kitchen knife to cut the circle from the sponge cake.
Hold the knife at a 45-degree angle to avoid cutting too deeply into the cake.
Pipe rosettes of buttercream or cream into the holes for a neat finish.

Freezing Instructions

Butterfly cakes can be frozen. If you intend to do so, opt for a buttercream filling rather than fresh cream as it fairs better in the freezer. Leave any additional adornments, such as sweets, sprinkles or icing sugar off and add these once defrosted.

Open freeze them, then drop the butterfly buns into a freezer bag, ready for pulling out when required. Let defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours before proceeding to decorate.

Nutrition