Chocolate Orange Butterfly Cakes

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These dainty Chocolate Orange Butterfly Cakes are perfect little treats to serve at kids parties, bake sales, afternoon teas or just because. Despite their fancy looks they're very quick and easy to make and classic chocolate orange flavour is truly delicious too.

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine British

Keyword butterfly cakes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Decorating 15

Total Time 40

Servings cakes

Calories 193kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

Cakes

120 g self-raising flour or use plain (all-purpose) flour + 1.5tsp baking powder
120 g caster sugar
120 g butter or margarine softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract or zest of one orange + ½tsp orange extract

Chocolate Orange Buttercream

80 g butter or plant butter or margarine softened
150 g icing sugar
20 g cocoa/cacao powder
1 teaspoon orange extract
drop of milk/plant milk to adjust consistency if necessary

Optional extras

orange marmalade (1 teaspoon per cake) see notes
chocolate chips to make body for the butterfly
more icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

Fairy Cakes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line 12-hole muffin or bun tin with paper fairy cake cases.
In a large bowl mix butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Use hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix for good 2-3 minutes, scraping the walls of the bowl as you go.
120 g caster sugar, 120 g butter or margarine
Gradually mix in the eggs (one at a time). Don't worry if the mixture starts looking as if it curdled, that will be fixed once you've added flour.
2 eggs
Next, add orange zest and/or extract and mix it in as well.
1 teaspoon orange extract
Sift the flour into a bowl with your sugar/butter/egg mixture.
Using spatula gently fold in the flour into the mixture only until incorporated. Don't over mix it.
120 g self-raising flour
Fill prepared cases approximately halfway with your cake mixture. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until nice and golden and they spring back when touched gently with a finger. Take them out onto cooling rack to cool completely

Chocolate Orange Buttercream

As your cakes cool, prepare buttercream by mixing together butter, icing sugar cocoa powder and orange extract until nice and creamy. If mixture appears a bit stiff, feel free to add a drop of milk/plant milk to loosen it a bit (1tsp at a time).
If you like a lot of buttercream or are not using marmalade you might want to double the amount of buttercream.
80 g butter or plant butter or margarine, 150 g icing sugar, 20 g cocoa/cacao powder, 1 teaspoon orange extract, drop of milk/plant milk

Decorating Butterfly Cakes

1. Insert a small knife angled at approx. 45° roughly half way into the fairy cake and cut out a cone shape piece. Gently remove the cone and cut it in half into 2 semi-circles which will be our "wings".
2. Optional but recommended: Dollop approx. 1 teaspoon of orange marmalade into the centre of each cake.
3. Pipe the buttercream over the marmalade (if using) to cover the cut out space completely.
4.Place "wings" into the buttercream to finish the look.
You can then decorate it further (I put some chocolate chips in between the two wings to make the body of the butterfly) and as a final touch dust with some icing sugar.
orange marmalade (1 teaspoon per cake), chocolate chips, more icing sugar for dusting

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per one butterfly cake based on 16 servings and it should be treated as a rough guideline only. It doesn't include marmalade, chocolate chips or any other decorations you might use for your cakes.

Butterfly cakes are best eaten within day or two of being made and will be fine kept in the airtight container on the kitchen counter during that time. For longer storage keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. They're best at room temperature so take out of the fridge at least an hour before serving.

Undecorated fairy cakes are freezer friendly.

For more details regarding ingredients and more helpful tips I would highly recommend you refer to 📝 Ingredients to make Chocolate Orange Butterfly Cakes and 💭 Pro tips.

Nutrition