Fairy Cakes for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

The current read for our Cook the Books Club is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, selected for us and hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats.   My special vintage edition, beautifully illustrated with paintings by Angel Dominguez, was found online through Etsy.  If you'd like to read (or re-read) this old classic, and join the party, you have until the end of September.  What we do is read the selected book, get inspired by something in it to cook, then post our food and thoughts.

After getting into the book it soon became obvious that I hadn't actually read it before. I'm pretty sure I read Through the Looking Glass, but maybe not. Who knows? Read but all forgotten. What a surreal trip!  It felt as though I were having flashbacks! Won't mention to what :).... very strange and hallucinagenic at any rate. Not much food is mentioned really, aside from tea with bread and butter, and of course, Mock Turtle Soup. Tarts are stolen, but we don't know what kind.  Luckily our imaginations can usually supply something, as well as delicious courses for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

A Christmas Greeting poem after the prologue was written "from a fairy to a child." And that was my inspiration - to make Fairy Cakes for the Tea Party.

Fairy Cakes

From Mary Berry's Baking Bible  (she says it makes 12, but mine only extended to 11.  Perhaps her bun pans were smaller).

Ingredients

For the cakes:
100 g (4 oz) softened butter
100 g (4 oz) caster sugar
2 large eggs
100 g (4 oz) self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder

For the icing:
225 g (8 oz) sifted icing sugar

2-3tbsp warm water
handful of sweets, to decorate - I used pieces of gummy bear type "Organic Fruit Slices"

Method

To make this fairy cakes recipe, heat the oven to 200C fan, 180C fan, gas 6. 

Place fairy cake cases into a 12-hole bun tin, to keep a good even shape as they bake.
Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 2-3 mins until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Fill each paper case with the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the cakes are well risen and golden brown. Lift the paper cases out of the bun tin and cool the cakes on a wire rack.
Put the icing sugar in a bowl and gradually blend in the warm water until you have a fairly stiff icing. Spoon over the top of the cakes and decorate with sweets.

These cakes were lovely with tea, and also with a glass of sparkling Prosecco.  I am really looking forward to seeing everyone else's entries for this wild party at the Roundup.  Stay tuned for that.  All this to be linked up of course with Cook the Books, with Heather for her Foodies Read Challenge, September edition, and with Weekend Cooking, hosted by the Intrepid Reader, Marge.