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Nothing beats going back to baking basics and these Gluten Free Fairy Cakes are the perfect beginner recipe. An easy fairy cake recipe, topped with a icing and sprinkles – just like I used to make when I was a kid. I’ve even got dairy free and egg free options too.
If you love gluten free baking, want to try a nostalgic recipe or after a gluten free bake to make with kids, this easy fairy cake recipe is perfect.
It’s the perfect child-friendly gluten free recipe. To top it off, I’ve even included an egg-free, easily-made-vegan version which I tried and was really pleased with!
Often children have multiple allergies so I wanted to make sure this was an easy fairy cake recipe which was gluten and wheat free, with the option of being dairy free and egg free.
They’re basically allergy-friendly fairy cakes that everyone can enjoy! And the perfect rainy day activity for the school holidays.
A great alternative to my gluten free vanilla cupcakes, gluten free butterfly cakes or my easy vanilla loaf cake.
Ingredients
So how do you make gluten free fairy cakes? Don’t worry, it’s very simple – probably one of the easiest gluten free baking recipes out there!
You’ll need to make sure you have the following ingredients to make these easy fairy cakes:
- Caster Sugar: Look for baker’s sugar in the US.
- Unsalted Butter: Or a vegan margarine such as Stork baking block for dairy free.
- Eggs: See the section below for a tried-and-tested eggless fairy cakes recipe.
- Self Raising Gluten Free Flour: If you don’t have self rising flour, simply add 1.25 teaspoons of gluten free baking powder to a plain gluten free flour blend.
- Xanthan Gum: This is essential for stopping the fairy cakes becoming crumbly.
- Vanilla Extract
- Milk: Use a dairy free milk such as almond or soya milk for dairy free fairy cakes.
You’ll also need the following ingredients for decorating:
- Icing Sugar: Or confectioner’s sugar / powdered sugar in the US.
- Water
- Sprinkles: Or any other type of decoration, just ensure they’re gluten free and don’t have any ‘may contain’ warnings.
Be aware that some sprinkles contain wheat starch and are not gluten free, so you’ll have to make sure you double check the pack ingredients.
Many supermarket sprinkles are gluten free, so definitely have a good rummage around the baking aisle to see what you can find!
How to make Egg Free Fairy Cakes
No eggs? No problem! I also tried-and-tested a gluten free, egg-free fairy cake recipe – which you could easily make dairy free and vegan as well!
The basic recipe is exactly the same as the gluten free fairy cakes, just with a few adjustments.
For an egg free version of these gluten free fairy cakes, mix 2 tbsp chia seeds with 2/3 cup of water and leave for 10-15 minutes until it goes gloopy – kind of like frogspawn!
Add this at the same time as the eggs in the recipe. These may bake for a little longer, around 22-25 minutes. Check out how good they look in the pic below!
Just be aware a lot of cake decorations contain egg, so you may have to hunt around for these or just omit them and perhaps play with some food colouring in the icing instead.
And if you use the swaps above to make the recipe dairy free too, these can be made into easy gluten free and vegan fairy cakes too.
How to make Gluten Free Fairy Cakes
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy these fairy cakes are to make:
Preheat the oven to 180’C (170’C fan) / Gas 4. Fill either one 18-hole or two 12-hole muffin tins with fairy cake cases.
As a top tip, add a couple of grains of rice under each cake case and it will stop the bottom of the paper cases becoming greasy when they bake!
Add the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy.
Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour and xantham gum and then beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined.
Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, mixing in between. You want a fairly thick batter which drops from the spoon easily, so you may need either 2 or 3 tbsp of milk.
Spoon the mixture evenly between the cake cases and then place in the centre of an oven and bake for 20 minutes.
The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool in the tray for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the tray to cool completely before icing.
To decorate the fairy cakes:
Add the icing sugar to a bowl and then add the water one-spoon-at-a-time, mixing in between. Keep mixing with a spoon until it forms a thick paste.
You want the icing to be a little runny, but thick enough that it doesn’t go transparent when it’s put on the cakes, which is why I add the water gradually.
Spread the icing onto the cakes, splitting the amount evenly between them, and then finish by sprinkling with sprinkles before the icing sets. Leave to set for 15 mins before eating.
Storing and Freezing
Once baked these fairy cakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
Don’t refrigerate them – gluten free cake tends to go dry and hard when kept in the fridge!
These gluten free fairy cakes can be made ahead of time and frozen before decorating. Defrost at room temperature before topping with icing.
You can also freeze any leftover gluten free fairy cakes once decorated and defrost them at room temperature whenever you need a cake fix.
Fairy Cake Decorating Ideas
If you’re making these gluten free fairy cakes with kids and want some ideas for how to jazz them up, you could try some of these fairy cake decorating ideas:
- Writing Icing: Grab some ‘writing icing’ from the supermarket and once you’ve put on the white base icing, doodle on your own drawings.
- Chocolate Chips: Add some chocolate chips to the cake mixture so you have a chocolatey treat when you bite into them! You can also add 2 tbsp cocoa powder to the cake batter for gluten free chocolate fairy cakes.
- Chocolate Fairy Cakes: Or maybe you fancy some chocolate icing? Mix 4 squares of melted chocolate into the icing mixture for super scrummy chocolate icing.
- Marble Icing: For something super pretty, add drops of food colouring to the icing and swirl them to create a marble effect before spreading it onto the fairy cakes.
Basically, use this gluten free fairy cakes recipe as a base to get as inventive and colourful as you like! I’d love to see your photos if you give this recipe a go.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Gluten Free Fairy Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
For the fairy cakes:
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter, (softened)
- 2 large eggs, (see notes for egg free)
- 125 g self raising gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp milk
For the icing:
- 120 g icing sugar
- 3-4 tsp cold water
- Rainbow sprinkles, (double check they’re gluten free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180'C (170'C fan) / Gas 4. Fill either one 18-hole or two 12-hole muffin tins with fairy cake cases. (This recipe makes around 18 fairy cakes so I tend to use two 12-hole tins).
- Add the butter, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy. (TIP: If the butter is hard, zap it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl to make it easier!)
- Crack the eggs into the mixing bowl and beat again for 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
- Sift in the self-raising gluten free flour and xantham gum and then beat together with the electric whisk until everything is fully combined. Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, mixing in between. You want a fairly thick batter which drops from the spoon easily, so you may need either 2 or 3 tbsp of milk.
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the cake cases and then place in the centre of an oven and bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes are done when they are well-risen, golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool in the tray for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the tray to cool completely before icing.
To decorate
- Add the icing sugar to a bowl and then add the water one-spoon-at-a-time, mixing in between. Keep mixing with a spoon until it forms a thick paste. You want the icing to be a little runny, but thick enough that it doesn't go transparent when it's put on the cakes.
- Spread the icing onto the cakes, splitting the amount evenly between them, and then finish by sprinkling with sprinkles before the icing sets. Leave to set for 15 mins before eating.
Notes
- For Egg Free Fairy Cakes: Mix 2 tbsp chia seeds with 2/3 cup of water and leave for 10-15 minutes until it goes gloopy – kind of like frogspawn! Add this at the same time as the eggs in the recipe. These may bake for a little longer, around 22-25 minutes.
- For Dairy Free Fairy Cakes: See the blog post above for substitutions.
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups – I have weighed each item individually to ensure the conversion is accurate as possible. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this fairy cakes recipe should look at each stage.
- Storing, Making Ahead and Freezing: Check out the post above this recipe card for more information on how to make these fairy cakes ahead of time and how to freeze any leftovers.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Gluten Free Fairy Cakes!
Nutrition
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This is my go-to recipe for fairy cakes. They always turn out perfectly! Thank you.