Christmas fairy cakes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Put about 18 foil paper cases into 2 muffin or fairy cake tins. Put the butter into a bowl. Add the sugar and orange zest, and beat well using a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. You can use an electric whisk instead of a wooden spoon. This is called creaming.
2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk well. Gradually add them to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour over the mixture and carefully fold in with a metal spoon. The mixture should be soft enough to drop easily from the spoon – this is called dropping consistency. If it isn’t, stir in the milk to soften it slightly.
3. Fill the paper cases three-quarters full with the mixture. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Ask an adult to remove the tins from the oven and transfer the cakes to a wire rack. Put the icing sugar into a bowl, add a little hot water to mix to a thick pouring consistency. Spoon the icing onto the cakes and decorate with silver balls, candles and fondant icing. Leave to set. Store in an airtight container.
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