There is something very whimsical about a butterfly cake. They take me back to childhood. Back to childrens birthday’s, tea parties with a crowd of dolls and stuffed animals and back to one of my very initial baking experiences. I distinctly remember butterfly cakes being one of the first things I really wanted to make. Most little girls are enamoured with butterflys and I was no exception – I loved the fact they resembled two dear little butterfly wings sitting atop a mound of fluffy frosting (or cream).
Ordinarily my butterfly cakes consist of the cake with a smudge of jam or lemon curd followed by a dollop of cream, and of course the wings and a sprinkle of icing sugar. These particular cakes are a little more complex and what I would call the adult version – being that the cream contains creme fraiche and a little alcohol (optional of course).
I have made these for a dinner party we are having tonight. Sometimes I like to do my desserts tapas style – so my guests can opt not to have anything at all or graze over a selection of sweet confections (and the obligatory stinky cheese). I am serving these with some tiny chocolate mousses, mini lemon tarts and a big bowl of fresh strawberries. Yum!
1 1/4 cups plain flour (all purpose), sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
125 grams/4.4 ounces butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup of full cream milk (whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Raspberry Cream
125 grams/4.4 ounces raspberries (about 1 punnet)
75 grams/2.6 ounces caster sugar
½ a lemon, juice only
2 teaspoons of raspberry liqueur (optional)
100 grams/3.5 ounces crème fraîche
100 mls pouring cream
30 grams/1 ounce pure icing sugar (confectioners sugar), sifted
Preheat oven to 160c/325f.
Place flour, baking powder, eggs, sugars, milk, vanilla essence and melted butter into a large mixing bowl and beat until well combined. Spoon into 24 medium sized cup cake cases setout in muffin tins and bake for around 20 – 25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. Use a 3.5cm-diameter cutter to cut a circle part-way through the centre of each cake to about 1cm deep and remove cake round with a sharp knife. Halve each round and set aside.
Meanwhile, for raspberry cream, combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and liqueur in a small saucepan and stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, cook until jam-like (6-8 minutes), remove from heat and cool completely. Whisk crème fraîche, cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form, then fold in the raspberry mixture, a teaspoonful at a time, to taste. I opted to add only a couple of teaspoons but you may wish to increase the colour and flavour intensity with more (or the entire amount).Transfer to a zip lock bag and store in refrigerator until required.
To assemble, cut a small hole (1/2 inch) in the corner of the zip lock bag and pipe raspberry crème fraîche into holes in cakes. Top with reserved halved cake circles, dust with icing sugar and serve.
Notes: I made these using the smaller cupcake cases – which made 24 and cooked for 15 minutes.
Source: Raspberry Cream adapted from Gourmet Traveller
© 2010, Michelle. All rights reserved.
