Bring a little sparkle into your life with this fairy bread vanilla cupcakes from scratch recipe! Combining the simple pleasures of vanilla cupcakes and sprinkle-covered fairy bread. Filled with nothing but happiness, rainbows and all types of nostalgia.
With a moist vanilla cake base, topped with buttery light Swiss meringue buttercream, colourful sprinkles (100s and 1000s) and delightfully small pieces of bread on the top, you have yourself a winning snack.
It makes a perfectly playful and tasty snack at any celebration, particularly birthdays. Where both adults and kids can join in on the fun.
Nothing says party like these fairy bread vanilla cupcakes from scratch!
Recipe inspired by Katherine Sabbath’s birthday cake.
What is Fairy Bread?
Fairy bread is common in both Australia and New Zealand, as a snack, mainly served at children’s parties. It’s easy to make, generally inexpensive and consists of only 3 ingredients.
Those ingredients are white bread, butter and colourfully round sprinkles which we call 100’s and 1000s. There’s nothing too fancy about these, they’re meant to be a simple pleasure, that’s easy to make.
All ingredients are readily available at supermarkets, including the simplest loaf of fluffy white bread (generally also the cheapest), butter smothered over the bread (margarine could also be used) and a generous layer of 100s and 1000s on top, stuck on by the butter.
This rainbow bread was then cut into neat portions in half or on the diagonal and generally without the crust, preference dependant.
Fairy bread and vanilla cupcakes
This recipe combines two recipes into one for a bit of a twist on a childhood classic. In some ways, they share a lot of attributes as good wholesome basics. Two simple things come together to create this beautifully tasty treat before your very eyes. Plus it’s super colourful and vibrant, which just calls for a great celebration!
Ingredients for making your fairy sprinkle vanilla cupcakes from scratch…
This recipe consists of three components; the moist vanilla cupcake as the ‘white bread’ base of this dessert, the deliciously light and fluffy icing (aka the buttery spread) and lastly a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles (100s and 1000s).
The extra piece of white bread on top is a bonus but just adds the perfect finishing touch, particularly when you shape it into a tiny little slice of bread or little triangles!
Here’s what you’ll need to whip up your batch…
Dry Ingredients:
- Plain flour: Also known as all-purpose flour. This helps build the foundation for the cupcake and gives it texture. Sifting it helps to remove any clumps of flour that may have been present, gives it some aeration (for a lighter batter) and evenly combines it with the other ingredients.
- Baking powder: Acts as the rising agent within this batter, giving it a lighter texture and crumb. Be sure to sift it in with your flour as it often gets lumpy and pockets of baking powder in your mixture are not what you want.
- Salt: Helps to lift the flavour of all the ingredients, for a great tasting outcome. Here I just used regular table salt so it’s nice and fine and mixes seamlessly into the batter.
- Caster sugar: The superfine white sugar, dissolves well in the mixture to give it sweetness. It’s sifted in with the flour and other dry ingredients to ensure that no large chunks remain.
- Butter: For the buttery base, adding richness and making it moist and delicious! When combining it with the flour you’ll want to make sure that it’s cold so that it doesn’t melt into the ingredients. The aim is to make fine breadcrumbs, before going in with the wet ingredients.
Wet Ingredients:
- Egg: To bind all of the ingredients together into one lovely and moist cake that has a spongy crumb. It also helps enrich the batter and give it colour with the addition of the yolk and white combined.
Related: 7 Culinary uses for eggs, including its function in baking and more!
- Buttermilk: Helps make this cake moist and also lifts the flavour. Buttermilk is one of my favourite additions to cakes as it gives it such a lovely texture, taste and crumb.
- It is a cultured product that is thick and lumpy, containing more acidity than plain milk. Buttermilk also has a bit of a tang to it and richness. It can be found near the milk in the dairy aisle of your supermarket.
Make your own buttermilk by combining 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it has thickened and lumps form, then it’s ready to use.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: For the concentrated flavour, that makes these cupcakes vanilla. It gives it a lovely flavour that works nicely with the sweetness and combination of the other ingredients.
- You could also replace this with vanilla extract.
Related: The different types of vanilla products explained here!
Icing:
- Egg Whites: Room temperature is best to ensure that they mix well with the sugar before they get whisked.
Tip: Crack the egg on a flat surface to prevent the shell from going in the egg. Then split it in half and use the eggshell to remove the yolk from the white. Drop the egg whites into a separate smaller bowl before you add it into the mixing bowl to ensure that no egg yolks or eggshells contaminate the white.
And if you do happen to get a bit of eggshell in the yolk, the best way is to use the broken eggshell to help remove it and lift it out.
- Caster Sugar: This has fine granules, making it easier and quicker to dissolve once it is heated. It melts into the egg whites and then helps stabilise it during the whipping process to produce a wonderfully glossy outcome.
- Butter: Room temperature, to better incorporate into the mix and create a light and fluffy buttercream icing. Adding the butter slowly in cubes helps to ensure that it all gets well mixed in slowly.
Tip: Cube your butter while it’s still cold before you go ahead and leave it out to soften. That makes it a lot easier and cleaner!
No worries if you’ve forgotten to leave your butter out though! All you have to do is cut it up into cubes and then place it in the microwave on 50% for 30 seconds.
If it still needs longer after this you can go ahead and give it a bit of a flip before returning it to the microwave in 10-second increments until it’s nice and soft.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: For the extra touch of vanilla flavour in the icing. You could also replace this with vanilla extract.
Toppings:
- 100’s and 100’s: The rainbow sprinkles which make these cupcakes full of fun and sweetness. Nothing says party like some colourful sprinkles! Use a teaspoon to fill the centre of the cupcake, once you’ve piped on the buttercream border.
- White bread loaf: Without the crust, if you’re going full-on classic. But no judgment if not because that means less wastage! Cut the bread into small pieces for the mini fairy bread topping. I went with tiny triangles as well as small slices of bread, cut with kitchen scissors. You can even butter each piece with some of the frostings and then layer on the sprinkles to make them true fairy breads.
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes from Scratch
1. Combine the dry ingredients with the butter until crumbly.
The first step in making these vanilla cupcakes from scratch is to sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. You can then go ahead and give this a quick mix.
With the mixer on a low speed, add in the cold butter gradually, until it’s nice and crumbly, resembling breadcrumbs. At this point, there should be no large clumps of butter visible.
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients
The next step is to combine the buttermilk with the eggs and vanilla in a medium jug.
This helps reduce the amount of mixing you’ll have to do in the next stages as overmixing will make these cupcakes tough.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until well combined.
With your mixer on low, slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour. You’ll want to mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour present.
The mixture will be a little lumpy, due to the buttermilk but as long as there are no flour pockets (lumps of flour) in the mixture it’s all good to go!
4. Divide amongst cupcake liners.
Evenly divide the mixture amongst your 12-hole muffin tin, lined with paper cupcake cases, filling each two-thirds full. This will allow for the mixture to rise and not overflow.
5. Bake in the oven
Place the cupcakes in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes or until they bounce back when touched and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Once out of the oven, allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before frosting.
Icing and Garnishings
Swiss meringue buttercream:
After you’ve made your vanilla cupcakes from scratch it’s now time for icing.
The process of Swiss meringue buttercream involves first heating your egg white and sugar mixture. This is done over a pot of simmering water, in the bowl of a stand mixer and helps the sugar to dissolve before it is whipped up.
Once the sugar has dissolved, whisk at high speed until the mixture becomes stiff, glossy and firm. The sides of the bowl should be cool and the egg mixture will hold its shape. This may take a little while so be prepared to wait.
Then, the next step is to add the room temperature butter one cube at a time, mixing well between each addition on medium speed.
When all the butter has been added, turn the volume up to high and let it whisk up into a light and fluffy mixture. It may look like the mixture is separated, but that is when you have to push through and keep mixing. It will eventually come together into a smooth buttercream. Then go ahead and mix in your vanilla.
Now that your buttercream’s all ready to go, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Buttercream piping
Start by spreading a small amount of icing in the centre of your cupcakes. This is to help the 100’s and 1000’s stick to the cupcakes.
Then using the icing in the piping bag, pipe around the edge of each cupcake twice (creating 2 layers) to build up the border to contain all the sprinkles in the centre.
100’s and 1000’s
The most important ingredient in this recipe! These colourfully round sprinkles bring all the joy, happiness and well.. extra sugar. Not to mention crunch and the fact that they’re so delightfully fun as the main attraction of fairy bread.
Use a spoon to generously fill the centre of your cupcakes after you have piped a border around the edge of your cupcakes to contain them all.
White Bread
The finishing touch to tie all of it together is the piece of white bread sitting at the very top of the fairy sprinkle mountain.
Cut shapes out of the bread such as triangles or even small slices of bread with kitchen scissors, then add it to each cupcake. You can even use some icing to spread on one side of the bread and then coat with 100s and 1000s for the cutest mini fairy bread topper!
Tips for making the best vanilla cupcakes from scratch
- Make sure that all your ingredients are at the right temperature. This is mainly for the butter and eggs. The butter used in the cake needs to be at room temperature to ensure that it doesn’t melt into the flour. The eggs and butter for the icing need to be at room temperature.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. This will result in tough, heavy cupcakes. Just mix until all the ingredients have combined.
- Put the cupcakes in the oven immediately. Don’t allow them to wait around and sit there. It’s best to put them straight in the oven.
- The cupcakes are done once they bounce back when touched (not sticky and should not sink in when you touch it) and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow them to cool completely to room temperature before you go ahead and ice them. Because you don’t want the beautiful icing to melt.
Storing homemade cupcakes
Any leftover cupcakes can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Before eating, allow them to come back up to room temperature.
TIP: They actually taste better the next day when you pop it in the microwave and heat for 20 seconds on 50% power. The buttercream gets nice and soft and the cake returns back to its moist delicious self. Plus there’s minimal waiting time, even better!
Magical Fairy Bread Vanilla Cupcakes from Scratch
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 160 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g caster sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter cold and diced in small 1cm cubes
- 220 g buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 large egg
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 2 egg whites (60g)
- 120 g caster sugar
- 200 g butter cubed into 2cm pieces and softened
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Toppings
- 100's & 1000's sprinkles
- white bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to bake 160°C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cupcake cases.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix for 1 minute at a low speed.
- Keeping the mixer on a low speed, gradually add in the butter one cube at a time and mix until a sandy texture is achieved, resembling breadcrumbs and no large chunks of butter remain.
- Whisk together the buttercream, eggs and vanilla in a medium jug. Then, with the mixer on low, slowly pour into the flour mixture until just combined. The mixture will become a smooth, thick batter. Note, that there will be some lumps due to the buttermilk, but as long as there are no clumps of flour, then it's all good to go.
- Divide the mixture evenly amongst the lined muffin tray, filling each cupcake case ⅔ full with batter.Place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes or until it springs back when touched and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the muffin tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Bring a small saucepan ⅓ full of water to a simmer over medium heat.
- Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and set the bowl over the simmering water, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves and no granules are visible.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, return to the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks have formed. The mixture should be shiny and stiff and hold its shape well.
- Reduce the mixer to medium speed and slowly add the butter, one cube at a time, making sure that the butter is well mixed in before each addition.
- Once all the butter has been incorporated, whisk at high speed until the mixture becomes smooth and fluffy. Don't be alarmed if it appears separated as it will come together once it is well beaten.
- Stir in the vanilla and then transfer the icing into a piping bag fitted with a large star-tip nozzle.
- Spread a small amount of icing in the centre of each cupcake with a small spatula, then pipe 2 layers of icing along the outer edge of each cupcake, to make a border.Generously spoon 100's and 1000's in the centre of each cupcake to fill it in.Finish off with pieces of white bread, cut into tiny fairy bread pieces on the top of each cupcake.
- Serve while fresh or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Highly recommend slightly heating any cupcakes straight out of the fridge for about 20 seconds on 50% power. The buttercream will soften and the cake will return to its moist self.
If you give this fairy bread vanilla cupcake from scratch recipe a go, don’t forget to tag @theculinaryletter and #theculinaryletter, so I can see all your wonderful creations!
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- The Ultimate Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce and Toasted Walnuts
- Red velvet waffles with a cream cheese whip and chocolate drizzle
Until next time, stay curious!
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