Mini Chocolate Cakes
These adorable mini chocolate cakes are a petite 7cm/2.75cm size that’s made for not sharing with family and friends. Right in the spirit of special occasions that I’m suggesting you make these for! 😂 So, let me speak frankly. Individual portion mini cakes do take more time to decorate than a single chocolate cake. But they are more special. They look so great lined up on a platter. You don’t have to deal with the mess of cutting a giant cake. And there is a high ratio of frosting to cake. These mini cakes call for half a batch of chocolate cake but a FULL batch of frosting! Not just because I’m being greedy, but simply because mini cakes have more surface area to cover. So, for your next special occasion, there’s no need to spend $12 for a single mini cake from that posh patisserie down the road, only to be disappointed with how dry the sponge is and how meh the frosting is because it’s not made with real butter for cost cutting reasons. Let’s make our own! (PS This recipe makes 7 mini cakes which is $84 worth for around $13 of ingredients).
Ingredients in Mini Chocolate Cakes
We’re using my classic chocolate cake batter here. It’s the perfect cake to use for mini cakes because it’s moist and stays moist (small cakes dry out faster than large ones) with the bonus that it’s a really quick and easy batter.
Chocolate cake layers
Here’s what you need for the chocolate cake batter:
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. The cake won’t be as soft using self-raising flour. Sugar – Either superfine / caster sugar or ordinary white sugar (granulated sugar). They work the same. Baking powder and baking soda (bi-carb) – This cake specifically uses both because it makes the softest cake with an even rise (rather than a dome). However, if you’ve only got baking powder, you can substitute the baking soda with an extra 2 teaspoons of baking powder. Cocoa powder – Just ordinary unsweetened cocoa powder. Not dutch processed, not hot chocolate sweetened cocoa! Milk – Full fat cow milk is best, though low fat works too. Large egg – A 55-60g/2oz egg from a carton labelled “large eggs”. More on eggs for baking here. Oil is the fat in this cake which is what keeps this cake incredibly moist for days upon days. The sponge is drier if you use butter. Any natural flavoured oil can be used. Coffee powder – Enhances the chocolate flavour, but you can’t taste coffee! Feel free to skip it. Vanilla – For extra flavour!
chocolate buttercream frosting
And here’s what you need for the chocolate buttercream frosting.
Unsalted butter – Softened to room temperature so it can be whipped into a fluffy frosting. Don’t let it get too soft and sloppy else your frosting will be too! Technically in baking terms, “softened butter” should be 17°C/63°F – firmer than you think! 🙂 This is soft enough to whip into creamy fluffiness but firm enough so it doesn’t turn frosting into slop. Soft icing sugar / powdered sugar – As noted above, be sure to get soft icing sugar! If you use pure icing sugar the frosting will not be soft and fluffy, it sets hard. Cocoa – As with the cake, use plain unsweetened cocoa. Not dutch processed or sweetened. Vanilla – For flavour. Pinch of salt – To bring out the flavours in the frosting.
How to make Mini Chocolate Cakes
It really is just your favourite chocolate layer cake in mini form. But I have some little tips to make your mini-baking-life a little easier because it can get a little fiddly!
1. The cake part (super easy!)
This is my classic chocolate cake batter with minor alterations to make a smaller batch baked in a thin layer that we cut rounds out of.
2. Cutting rounds
Use a 6cm / 2.4″ round cutter to cut circles out of the cake. Cut the circles as close to each other as you can to minimise wastage. You should have 21 circles. Feel free to use a different size cutter to make more smaller ones, or less larger ones! Why does this matter? Because if the sticky surface is facing up, it is difficult to cut out neat circles as the sticky surface gets stuck on the ring then drags down the cake as you press down. See below for option to not cut rounds. Prefer not to cut rounds? Or don’t have a cutter? No problems! Make square or rectangle cakes. Cut the cake into 3 equal size rectangles. Frost and stack. Refrigerate to set the frosting (so it doesn’t smear when you cut). Then cut into squares / rectangles, and frost the sides.
3. Chocolate buttercream
This is your standard buttercream, so the only things to watch out for is to start the beater on low once you add the icing sugar (to avoid a snow storm!) and to beat, beat, beat for a good few minutes at the end to get the frosting nice and fluffy!
4. frosting
OK, now that you’re fully on board the frosting piping train (which, by the way, is my standard way of applying frosting to cakes these days, mini or not), let me show you how easy it is to do for these mini cakes! This is my standard way of frosting cakes these days, mini and full size! The crumb smearing frustration – The chocolate cake is soft and delicate because it’s a moist, springy cake (rather than dry and stiff!). What this means is that in mini form, and especially once you’ve cut rounds, the cake is very susceptible to crumbs smearing into the frosting as you spread it across the surface, which makes it look untidy. Getting around the crumb smear – One way to get around this is to do what is called a crumb coat whereby a thin layer of frosting is spread all over the cake to catch and “glue down” the crumbs, and create a smooth surface for the final layer. The cake is then refrigerated to set the frosting, then the final layer of frosting is applied. The piping bag solution! However, we can bypass that fiddly two step process simply by using a piping bag. By piping the frosting on, we essentially avoid contact with the surface of the crumbs on the cake layers when spreading! So, trust me on this. A piping bag is the way to go! You can even just use a freezer bag because this frosting is so smooth. Just something to pipe it on. You don’t need a piping tip. 🙂
5. CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS FOR DECORATING
Decorate as you please! The easiest would be a dusting of cocoa or icing sugar / powdered sugar, or colourful sprinkles for cheerful mini birthday cakes. Pictured in post are chocolate shavings. Here’s how to do them:
I know, you’re already visualising the look on everybody’s face when you walk into the room with a platter of these mini cakes. Surprise. Delight. And of course, so, so impressed. So if the eat part isn’t enough to spur you on to make these, do it for the praise! People will be talking about your mini cakes for days to come. Weeks! Month! (I really need to grow up. Who encourages people to bake things just for the praise? 😂) – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Life of Dozer
In today’s recipe video, you get to watch Dozer following me around the house while I eat the chocolate cake then eventually trapping me in a dead end (laundry). No chocolate cake for Dozer!!
