Butterfly cakes

Serves:

24

Ingredients

Make the jelly the night before

• 1 packet raspberry jelly
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 1 å_ cups milk
• å_ cup thick or whipped cream
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar

Method

Dissolve jelly in a jug with 300mL boiling water and then make up to 500mL with cold water. Leave to set overnight.

Preheat oven to 180å¡C. Place cupcake papers in two 12-hole muffin trays. In an electric mixer, beat butter for 2-3 minutes until pale in colour and creamy. Add sugar one third at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute between each addition. Add the vanilla essence and beat until combined. Sift flour and add half to butter mixture with half the milk, mix until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.

Spoon into cupcake papers (an ice cream scoop is perfect for this) and bake for about 15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Use a small knife to cut a circle from the top of each cake. Angle the knife toward the centre; you will end up with a cone shape. Slice each cone into 2 wings. Spoon some jelly and cream into each hole and press wings into cream. Dust with icing sugar. Awwww.

Store in the fridge until serving.

Notes:

• I only needed half the jelly, but the remainder was happily eaten by my helpers.
• Experience allows me to report that these are a little tricky to eat, perhaps provide spoons and be prepared to clean up butterflies that unfortunately crash to the floor. Paper towels for butterflies and tissues for the distressed child.
• Recipe created by Melissa Hughes for Kidspot.