Small Buns

I made these buns today (22 May) and have updated the recipe a bit.

This recipe was always one of my favourites when I had other mothers round for tea as you could make so many varieties from one basic recipe.

4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
2 eggs
4 oz self-raising flour
little milk


Cream the butter and sugar together until it is soft and thoroughly mixed. If you are using the butter from the fridge, better to leave it to soften for a while (I didn't and it was very hard work).

Add the flour and eggs in two amounts to make sure the mix doesn't curdle.

Place a good teaspoon in each baking case in a bun tin (makes sure they will turn out fine!)

You should get about 18 buns.

Place in an oven at 160 Celcius for 20 mins (until ready)

For variety you can add to basic mix

sultanas
mixed fruit
Drinking chocolate
mincemeat

You can ice them with plain icing or cut the top off and then cover the new top with butter icing. You then cut the cut off part in half and place them on top of the butter icing to make fairy cakes.

You could use butter icing or chocolate icing or chocolate butter icing, the permutations go on.

With mincemeat I always liked to use icing sugar made to a coating consistency with lemon juice.

For the butter icing, I find it helps to add a teaspoon or so of water to the icing sugar before creaming as this prevents clouds of icing sugar flying all over the place.

For the icing, I used a few drops of lemon juice to give a bit of flavour.