Butterfly Cakes

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius/355 degrees fahrenheit).
2. Line cupcake tins with 12 paper patty pans.
3. Beat butter and sugar to a cream.
4. Whisk eggs well and add to butter and sugar mixture along with vanilla essence. Beat again to combine.
5. Sift flour and baking powder into mixture and gently fold together to form a smooth batter (use a spatula or wooden spoon).
6. Scoop mixture into patty pans, distributing the mixture as evenly as possible between each patty pan.
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
8. Allow to cool completely after removing from the oven.

Mock cream

1. Combine water and sugar over heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
2. Whip butter to a cream, then add sugar syrup very slowly while continuing to beat.
3. Once sugar syrup is added, add icing sugar ⅓ at a time, beating after each addition.

Assembling butterfly cupcakes

1. Cut a round circle in the top of each cupcake, leaving a little space at the edges and angling the knife towards the centre of the cupcake. You should be able to scoop out a cone shaped piece of the cupcake once the circle is complete.
2. You can add a little dob of jam in the centre before piping mock cream into the centre of the cupcake. (Alternatively, add jam in between wings on top of cakes.)
3. Cut the cone-shaped piece of cake in half so you have two "wings" to sit on top of the mock cream. Refer to pictures for the angling of the wings.
4. Once you've added the wings to all of the cupcakes, add the jam (if you're using jam to decorate the top of the cake) and dust lightly with icing sugar.