In celebration of this 1st Day of May, also known as May Day, the midway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, I foraged some little wild violets that were growing in our backyard to make the icing for these little fairy cakes.  The violets have a lovely sweet/piquant fragrance, and they lend a mildly floral flavour to the icing.

Normally, I prefer to use maple or coconut sugar, but for these I chose to use organic granulated cane sugar, because it has the most neutral flavour, and I didn’t want to overwhelm the delicate flavour of the violets.  If you would prefer to use an unrefined sugar, I think maple would be the most neutral.

The cake recipe is a simple one, made with einkorn flour, which I adapted from the Jovial foods website:

Ingredients

For the fairy cakes:

1 cup (120 g) all-purpose einkorn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons (90 g) Melt (a butter substitute), or refined coconut oil, melted
¼ cup (60 g) plain coconut yogurt, or any other plain, unsweetened yogurt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2⁄3 cup (135 g) granulated organic cane sugar

For the icing:

1/4 cup freshly foraged wild violet blossoms, and a few more for garnish if you wish
1/2 cup (100 g) organic cane sugar
1/2 cup (89 g) organic, sustainable palm shortening, or grass-fed butter if not dairy-free (optional)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon blueberry juice for colour (optional)
pinch of sea salt

Instructions

For the fairy cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Fill a muffin tin with 12 parchment paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes, until the mixture is thick and frothy, and doubled in size.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the Melt or coconut oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract.

Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the egg mixture, and fold in with a silicone spatula.  When it is almost completely blended, fold in half of the yogurt mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and then yogurt mixture until combined.

Divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the baked cakes, still in the pan, on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and cool on a rack until completely cooled, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

For the icing:

Blend the violet blossoms together with a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar in a spice/coffee grinder.  Scrape this mixture into a medium sized bowl.

Blend the rest of the sugar in the same manner, until a fine powder is formed, and then add this sugar to the violet mixture in the bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients, and beat with an electric mixer until the icing is light and fluffly.  If you wish, you can add a bit of blueberry juice (1 teaspoon or so) to colour the icing a bit more.  Taste, and adjust flavourings as you wish.

To serve, spread the icing on the fairy cakes, and top with one of the reserved violets just before serving. To make a traditional fairy cake icing, leave out the fat and use a bit of water with the lemon juice to make a glaze, something like royal icing, which you can spoon over the cakes.

The cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and in the refrigerator for 3 days.  They can also be frozen, without the icing, in a sealed container for up to three months. The icing can also be frozen, and re-whipped after thawing.

* each fairy cake is low oxalate, at 1.5 mg total oxalates per cake.  I couldn’t find what the oxalate content of the violets might be; they could be left out of the icing and just one placed on top for garnish.

Spring Violet Fairy Cakes {dairy-free}

Print Recipe

Servings 12 fairy cakes

Author Samantha

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup /120 g all-purpose einkorn flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons /90 g Melt (a butter substitute), or refined coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup /60 g plain coconut yogurt, or any other plain, unsweetened yogurt
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup /135 g granulated organic cane sugar

For the Icing:

• ¼ cup freshly foraged wild violet blossoms, and a few more for garnish if you wish
• ½ cup /100 g organic cane sugar
• ½ cup /89 g organic, sustainable palm shortening, or grass-fed butter if not dairy-free (optional)
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon blueberry juice for colour (optional)
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions

For the Fairy Cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Fill a muffin tin with 12 parchment paper liners.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for approximately 2 minutes, until the mixture is thick and frothy, and doubled in size.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the Melt or coconut oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
• Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over the egg mixture, and fold in with a silicone spatula.  When it is almost completely blended, fold in half of the yogurt mixture. Repeat with the remaining flour and then yogurt mixture just until combined.
• Divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the baked cakes, still in the pan, on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and cool on a rack until completely cooled, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

For the Icing:

• Blend the violet blossoms together with a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar in a spice/coffee grinder.  Scrape this mixture into a medium sized bowl.
• Blend the rest of the sugar in the same manner, until a fine powder is formed, and then add this sugar to the violet mixture in the bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients, and beat with an electric mixer until the icing is light and fluffly.  If you wish, you can add a bit of blueberry juice (1 teaspoon or so) to colour the icing a bit more. Taste, and adjust flavourings as you wish.
• To serve, spread the icing on the fairy cakes, and top with one of the reserved violets just before serving. To make a traditional fairy cake icing, leave out the fat and use a bit of water with the lemon juice to make a glaze, something like royal icing, which you can spoon over the cakes.
• The cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, and in the refrigerator for 3 days.  They can also be frozen, without the icing, in a sealed container for up to three months. The icing can also be frozen, and re-whipped after thawing.

Notes

* each fairy cake is low oxalate, at 1.5 mg total oxalates per cake.  I couldn’t find what the oxalate content of the violets might be; they could be left out of the icing and just one placed on top for garnish.