Mini iced buns

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5. Cream the butter until soft, add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the beaten eggs, followed by the vanilla. Fold in the flour and baking powder and spoon the cake mixture into mini bun cases sitting in mini bun trays.

Bake for 7-10 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack, before icing the cakes.

For the icing: sieve the sugar in a bowl and add enough water to make a coating consistency icing. Spoon onto the cakes and level off with a palette knife dipped in boiling water. Decorate with sweets before the icing sets.

Alternatively, to make coloured sugar sieve 100g of icing sugar into a bowl and add a few drops of food colouring. Sieve the sugar twice or three times more, or until the food colouring has tinted the sugar. Dip the top of the soft-iced bun into the coloured sugar and leave to set.