Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes (35 page)

These sweet little fairies are so easy to make you’ll be able to whip up a batch between Christmas shopping and festive partying. I know you don’t like anything too tarty – therefore the white chocolate icing counteracts the tartness of the dried cranberries. This delicious but not-too-sweet treat is perfect to serve with sherry when the gay swimming team arrive unexpectedly after a vigorous Boxing Day breast stroke down the cocktail lane. Makes about 12-14 cakes.

Ingredients

150g or 5 oz self raising flour

150g or 5 oz butter, softened

3 free range eggs

150g or 5 oz caster sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Several drops of vanilla extract

75g or 2 ½ oz dried cranberries

12 gold paper cases

For the Icing

60g or 2 oz white chocolate, chopped

Edible gold stars and glitter

Method

Set the oven to 180°C/350°f/Gas Mark 4 and first sift the flour into a large bowl from a great height. Then add all the ingredients and beat until smooth...and that’s it! Yes it’s as easy as that. Don’t forget to stir in the cranberries! Now divide the mixture between 12 gold cases, and bake in the centre of the oven for 18-20 mins, or until the cakes have risen and are just firm to the touch and springy. While this festive fairy feast is baking, pour a glass of egg nog and find some hymns on the iPlayer.

Take the cakes from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

For the Topping

When the cakes are cool, simply melt the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a simmering pan of water – or if in a real rush in the microwave. When melted, spoon the white chocolate onto the Christmas Fairies and bling it with some edible gold stars and glitter. Serve to hungry boys.

Sue Watson was born in Manchester long ago and after attending Manchester Polytechnic and hanging around the Hacienda for far too long, moved to London to seek fame and fortune. She found neither, but had a wonderful time working as a journalist on tabloid newspapers and women’s magazines.

Moving into television, Sue became a producer with the BBC and worked on garden makeovers, kitchen takeovers and daytime sofas – all the time making copious notes so that one day she might escape to the country and turn it all into a book.

She still has the notes and now writes novels in Worcestershire, where she lives with husband Nick, daughter Eve, two cats and a rather glamorous goldfish.