Queen cakes: classic sultana fairy cakes

Name: Queen cakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min

Try these sweet and light queen cakes full of juicy dried fruit. They’re a quick, easy and delicious fairy cake to make.

By Saga Magazine | Published - 15 Sep 2025

This recipe is taken from the Berkshire WI Cookery Book (1958), a collection of ‘cherished recipes’, as described by Doris Cumming in the book’s foreword:

“It may be thought that, in the future, pre-packed and prepared food will replace the individuality of home cooking. Although these commodities may have to take their place in the running of a busy home and cannot be ignored, tradition and craft have too strong a hold on the memory to be lost easily; by fostering good standards of home cooking, one has some means of comparison and discrimination.”

Prep time

15 mins

Cooking Time

15 mins

Ingredients

110g (4oz) soft margarine
110g (4oz) caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 eggs, beaten
110g (4oz) self-raising flour, sieved
A little milk, if necessary
60g (2oz) sultanas (or other dried fruit of choice such as raisins or currants)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 12-hole bun or mini bundt tin.
Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well.
Fold the flour into the mixture with a little milk, if necessary, to give a soft dropping consistency. Add the sultanas and mix well.
Place spoonfuls of the mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm to the touch and golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar.

Variations

Use 60g (2oz) of washed, chopped glacé cherries instead of the sultanas, or replace 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to make chocolate fairy cakes.

The Women’s Institute Vintage Teatime, compiled by Jessica Simmons (Simon & Schuster), RRP £9.99

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