Mary Berry Chocolate Fairy Cakes

Mary Berry’s chocolate fairy cakes are small, light chocolate sponges made by swapping 25g of the self-raising flour for sifted cocoa powder, baked in paper cases in bun tins at 200°C (Gas 6) for 15-20 minutes. The recipe makes about 18 cakes using her all-in-one method, with everything beaten together in one bowl for 2-3 minutes.

Berry’s headnote in the Ultimate Cake Book (2003) says simply “chocolate cakes of any size are always popular with children.” The recipe is her plain fairy cake base with one small change: she reduces the flour from 100g to 75g and adds 25g of sifted cocoa powder. That ratio gives a gentle chocolate flavour without making the sponge heavy or dry.

The tip Berry gives in her Secrets of Success note is easy to overlook but makes a real difference. She says “if cocoa is used dry, it can cake together if not sifted first.” Unsifted cocoa leaves dark streaks and dry pockets in the batter. Sifting it with the flour before everything goes into the bowl ensures the chocolate distributes evenly through every cake.

Mary Berry Chocolate Fairy Cakes

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

From the Ultimate Cake Book (2003), Berry’s plain fairy cake base adapted with cocoa powder for a light chocolate sponge. Same all-in-one method, same baking time, one ingredient swap.

Ingredients

• 100g (4 oz) soft margarine

• 100g (4 oz) caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 75g (3 oz) self-raising flour

• 25g (1 oz) cocoa powder, sifted

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

• Prepare: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Place about 18 paper cake cases in bun tins.
• Mix: Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases to half-fill.
• Bake: Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the cakes are well risen and spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. Lift the cakes out of the bun tins and cool on a wire rack.

Notes

• Her later recipes in Mary Berry Cooks (2014) switch to “baking spread” and Foolproof Cooking (2016) uses butter. The taste difference is noticeable. Butter gives a richer flavour that pairs better with the cocoa, while margarine produces a lighter, more neutral sponge.
• Calories: 100g margarine (717) + 100g sugar (387) + 2 eggs (156) + 75g flour (259) + 25g cocoa (62) = 1,581 ÷ 18 = 88 → rounded to 90 kcal per cake (unfrosted)

FAQs

How do I know when chocolate fairy cakes are done?

Berry changes her doneness test for the chocolate version. For plain fairy cakes she says “golden brown,” but chocolate sponges are already dark so colour doesn’t help. Instead she says to bake until they “spring back when pressed lightly with a finger.” Press the centre gently; if it bounces back and doesn’t leave a dent, they’re done.

I check at 15 minutes and pull them if they spring back. The cocoa makes these slightly drier than the plain version, so an extra 2-3 minutes can push them from moist to crumbly. Better to err on the side of slightly underdone because they firm up as they cool.

Can I add chocolate icing to these?

Berry makes Chocolate Butterfly Cakes in the same chapter of the Ultimate Cake Book (2003), using the plain sponge base with a chocolate buttercream made from 2 tablespoons cocoa dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water, beaten into 175g softened butter and 350g sifted icing sugar. She notes “chocolate butter cream looks very attractive on a plain fairy cake.”

That chocolate buttercream works beautifully on these chocolate sponges too, doubling the chocolate hit. For a simpler finish, melt 50g dark chocolate with 25g butter and drizzle over the tops with a teaspoon. It sets into a thin, glossy shell.

Why only 25g of cocoa? Can I add more?

Berry’s ratio of 75g flour to 25g cocoa is precise for a reason. Cocoa absorbs more liquid than flour, so replacing too much flour makes the sponge dry and dense. At 25g, the chocolate flavour comes through clearly without changing the light, tender texture of the base recipe.

Her Red Velvet Cupcakes in Foolproof Cooking (2016) use the same 25g cocoa ratio alongside 125g flour, which confirms she sees this as the right balance for small cakes. If you want a stronger chocolate flavour, add chocolate icing on top rather than more cocoa in the batter.

What is the difference between these and Berry’s cupcakes?

Berry’s chocolate fairy cakes use the shallow bun tin base from 2003 — 100g each of margarine and sugar, 2 eggs, baked at 200°C. Her Red Velvet Cupcakes from 2016 use deeper muffin tins, 150g sugar to 100g butter, and bake at the lower temperature of 180°C/160°C fan.

The fairy cake version is lighter, smaller, unfrosted and meant to be eaten by hand at a children’s party. The cupcake version is richer, taller and built to carry a thick layer of piped cream cheese frosting. Berry keeps both in her books because they serve different purposes.

Can I make these with butter instead of margarine?

Berry’s original calls for “soft margarine” because the all-in-one method needs a fat that’s already soft enough to blend quickly with the dry ingredients. Butter works perfectly if you soften it properly first. Take it out of the fridge a full hour before baking, or microwave it in 10-second bursts until it dents when pressed but isn’t melting.