Why do my fairy cakes always have pointy tops?

[BadGardener]

I only really make them for dd to decorate so how can I get them to have nice smooth gently rounded tops, instead of looking like mini-volcanoes?
I usually use Nigella's recipe from How To Eat but today I did Darina Allen's from Forgotten Skills and they were even worse.
We have a fan oven which is always spot on the right temp.
Any ideas? Thanks!

Just shave top off.They always come out like that.
(Top marks for saying fairy cakes and not bloody 'cupcakes')

That'd be the raising agent you are using in the recipe

I've just made some and they were flatish

No idea why or how!

Thanks Moondog.
OMDB might I be using too much baking powder?

lop the top off or try a heavier cake recipe like madiera cake or carrot cake.

it wouldn't hurt to put less baking powder in if you don't want them to rise much, but obviously you still want some in so it rises a bit.

I made loads on one go once and had to bake them in batches, the ones that had been left out the longest had settled and weren't so pointy. Do yours go in the oven flat on the top?

i think nigella admits to chopping off the top too

mine are gently rounded lol
I weigh the eggs before cracking them then add that amount of butter or marg, sugar and sr flour mix and voila. they must be the least fancy cakes in all the world.
I'd like to know the secret of flat topped cakes though. had a jane asher mix that made them come out like that - it was a liquid cake mix, all runny and weird

I do the egg weighing thing when I make a big sponge. Maybe I should try it for fairy cakes then, instead of following a recipe.

What is this egg weighing thing about?

too hot oveN?

Mine are pointy too

I think I over fill the cases

They are meant to have pointy tops, so you can eat the cut off pointys while dd decorates the flattened version.

it's nature's way

i think they replicate your tits

In that case mine are upturned and perky

you are supposed to use the eggs as weights for the other ingrediants

that s the egg thingy

Mine are fine and perky at first but tend to sink in the middle after a while

sounds familiar

So the same weight for egg, flour and butter? Do they come out better?

Weighing the eggs does make for a delicious sponge. IIRC from home ec too much sugar would make your cakes 'volcano' a bit.

If you scoop the top out and fill with butter icing you could make angel cakes and no-one would know they were pointy.

too hot oven

edge of cake sets before it rises so the middle volcanoes

ignore recipe and try 10 or 20C lower

Well, if you want flat tops then you need to make cupcakes instead of fairy cakes.... Here is a recipe that works great everytime.

Cupcakes

120g Plain Flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
45g unsalted butter at room temp
120ml whole milk
1 large egg (free range obviously)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Put flour, sugar, baking powder, butter and pinch salt in bowl and, using hand held electric mixer on slow, mix till it looks like sand. Gradually pour in half the milk and mix.
In another bowl whisk egg, vanilla and the rest of the milk, then pour into creamed mixture and beat until incorporated ans smooth.
Divide between 12 cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 mins at 180/160 fan/gas4.

They will have lovely flate tops.

p.s. You must use the larger muffin type cases not the fairy cake cases.