fairy cakes without mixer

[mamalovesmojitos]

want to make fairy cakes today with dd and her little friend. mine always have a bit of a chewy consistency which isn't great. i do not have a mixer and beat them by hand. would that make a difference? perhaps they're not beaten enough?

they are better my hand imo. make sure the butter issoft and beat in the suger v. well. add a little milk at the end. don't use old self raising floor

perhaps they are not cooked enough?

oh that was quick, thanks ladies! . i always use self raising flour . should i use plain?

no,use self raising flour

oh sorry, don't use old flour. thanks.

you need to sift the flour from a height a couple of times that should make them lighter
And when you fold the flour in do it gently

Add a tablespoon of flour with each egg, beat but then fold in the rest of the flour very gently.

If you do all in one then best to add a spot of baking powder too.

McDougalls supreme sponge flour is great.

I remember delia once saying "the most important ingredient in cakes is air"

So sift the flour a couple of times

I always add baking powder when shoving all the ingredients together

oh god, i really muck the flour into the mixture. that is probably where i'm going wrong. plus, i put in the flour before the egg. can you tell i'm not the most domesticated?

ah that is wrong yes
You need to cream butter and sugar
gradually beat in teh egg with a tiny bit of flour to stop it curdling
then fold rest of well sifted flour in gently

you can do it exactly the way you do it (I do it like that with the children)

but you must add baking powder then