FAIRY CAKES

Easter Sunday found us at home with the sun shining and Mairi and the 2 wee ones over late morning. Mairi and Iain did some spring cleaning in the garage and I got out the baking bowls - real ones for Ishie (now 3 and a bit) and IKEA's plastic kiddy dishes for Alastair, our "helper".

We have definitely moved into new territory! Ishie is now interested in baking. She is very good at using her hands and when shown what to do is remarkably tidy about how she goes about things.

Full marks to Asda (a supermarket) for its Sponge Cake Mix! As a person who bakes from scratch I was very impressed with the results of our baking these 12 Fairy Cakes in the coloured cupcake baking cases that Maggie gave us from her supply.

6 tablespoons of water - well, more or less using real measuring spoons by little hands - and one egg. Mix and plop into the paper cases.

The trick to making a very ordinary cupcake into a Fairy Cake is to cut a well in the top. Take off the 'lid', turn it over and cut in half. Fill the well with cream and replace the 2 halves, inverted, so that they stick out like butterfly .. well, Fairy ... wings.

(I had some last week that a lady - another Maggie - made and she used a Victoria Sponge recipe i.e. basic white cake using fat, and filled the well with butter icing and jam with the wings on top.)