Butterfly Cakes

Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Makes 12

Recreating treats from my childhood is something I love to do so thought it was about time I veganised the classic Butterfly Cakes! A lovely vanilla cake topped with cream and jam, perfect for a birthday party or afternoon tea. I reckon these ones taste even better than the ones I had as a kid, what do you reckon?

Ingredients

• 1 x 270mL cans coconut cream (Woolworths Select works great for this recipe)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup icing sugar
• Raspberry or strawberry jam to serve

 Method

1. You’ll need to pop the coconut cream upside down in the fridge for 24 hours beforehand (hint: keep some in your fridge at all times so you’re always ready to go!)
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a muffin tray with liners like the ones pictured (at a stretch you could use regular cases but don’t fill them up as much!)
3. In a medium bowl or jug, whisk together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, or electric mixer bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Now whisk the sugar and oil into the almond milk mixture.
6. Gradually add the wet mixture to the dry while mixing with your electric mixer. Add the 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract also.
7. Mix well until only small lumps remain.
8. Fill the liners to the top of the pan. Because you’re using liners with higher edges you can afford to do this!
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden.
10. While the cakes are cooling, make your whipped cream. First you will need to drain the clear liquid from the top of the can.
11. If the remaining cream is still pretty runny, just let it sit on the bench for a while until it starts to firm up.
12. Chuck the coconut cream into your electric mixer and whip until it becomes light and airy.
13. Add the icing sugar and remaining vanilla and whip some more until incorporated.
    Once the cakes have cooled completely, grab a small, sharp knife and cut out a circle while the blade is pointing to the middle of the cake. This should leave you with a cone-shaped piece of cake.
14. Fill the hole with cream and jam before cutting the cone in half and placing back on top.
15. Serve fresh.