Butterfly buns recipe

Store your butterfly buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. You can freeze these buns without the buttercream and jam for up to one month.

Making buttercream can be a messy job. To stop the icing sugar from dusting the work surfaces or kitchen countertops, firstly soften the butter. To do this, leave the butter to sit at room temperature. 

Or to speed up the process, microwave on a low heat (the measured amount of butter in a microwavable bowl or cup) in short bursts, stirring each time. You don't want the butter to liquidise, however, so be careful. 

Gradually add the icing sugar a few spoonfuls at a time and combine. You could also start creaming the butter and icing sugar together with a wooden spoon before opting for an electric whisk. 

The two cupcakes have almost identical ingredients and methods. The main difference is in the presentation. With butterfly buns, you slice the tops off the cakes and make a little cavity in the centre that is usually filled with jam. The offcuts are sliced to look like butterfly wings and are pressed on top of the filling. Fairy cakes are kept whole and can be dusted with icing sugar or topped with a frosting of your choice.

If your fairy cakes are flat and dense, it could be because you over-whisked the ingredients.

For an all-in-one cake method, like our butterfly buns, you want to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed but don’t knock too much air out of the batter.

It’s also very important that the oven is heated to the correct temperature and that as soon as your batter is combined, you quickly and efficiently distribute it between the cases and get it into the oven.

The raising agents in the flour are activated as soon as they combine with liquid, so if you take too long to get the mix in the oven, the reactions will have expired and the batter will not rise as much when it reaches the heat of the oven. 

If you want to take the butterfly theme to the next level, consider buying some edible, paper or wafer butterflies for decoration. They can be attached to your cupcakes using a little icing or melted chocolate to secure them in place.