(makes 12 cakes)
Ingredients For the cakes 100g (4oz) soft margarine 100g (4oz) caster sugar 2 eggs 100g (4oz) self-raising flour 1 tsp pure vanilla essence For the chocolate buttercream 100g (4oz) unsalted butter (room temperature) 150g (6oz) icing sugar, sieved 50g (2oz) plain chocolate, melted For the decoration 750g (1lb 10oz) ready-to-roll icing green, red, brown food colouring pastes 2 chocolate flakes edible silver balls edible red candy balls black liquorice chocolate chips For Royal Icing 1 egg white approximately 225g (8oz) icing sugar, sifted
Method Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the eggs one at a time together with one tablespoon of the flour. Add the vanilla and fold in the remaining flour. Line a bun tin with paper cases and half fill each case with the mixture. Bake in an oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and put on a wire rack to cool before decorating. For Christmas pudding fairy cakes To make the chocolate buttercream, beat the butter until softened and gradually beat in the icing sugar, then beat in the cooled melted chocolate. Spread the chocolate buttercream over four of the fairy cakes. Roll out some of the ready-to-roll icing and cut out shapes to form the brandy butter topping on the Christmas puddings. Colour a little of the ready-to-roll icing green and cut out holly shapes, which can be decorated with red candy balls. For Robin Red Breast fairy cakes Colour some of the ready-to-roll icing red and some brown. Roll out the red icing into circles large enough to cover the fairy cakes. Spread a little of the chocolate buttercream on the tops of the cakes and place the circles of red icing on top. Cut out shapes from the brown icing to form the robin's face and attach the strips of chocolate flake with some of the buttercream icing to form the tail. Add edible silver balls for the eyes. For Father Christmas fairy cakes Roll out some of the white icing and cut out circles to fit the fairy cakes. Attach these to the cakes with a little of the chocolate buttercream. Colour some of the icing red and cut out triangles to form hats. To make royal icing for piping, beat in enough egg white to the icing sugar bit by bit to get a good consistency and use to pipe across the hats and to make beards. Decorate with edible silver balls and liquorice or chocolate chips for eyes. | 
