Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!
These Mini Chocolate Cakes are just as delicious as they are adorable! They make the perfect gifts! I love to box them up and give them to my friends and neighbors. They also make the cutest desserts on a dessert bar or at a mini tea party. The cakes are actually so fun and easy to make because they are naked cakes without frosting on the outside edges. In fact, they are so easy, I have personally made them with my kids and their friends without any problems.
These mini cakes are like a cake and a cupcake had a baby. They are elegant like a cake, but small enough to be considered single serving. Below I will walk you through how I made them, they are simpler than you might think!
The Chemistry of Chocolate Cake
The chemistry of baking this lies in the balance and reaction of ingredients. Baking soda and baking powder act as leavening agents, reacting with the acidic components (sour cream, cocoa powder) to produce carbon dioxide, which helps the cake rise. The cocoa powder, beyond adding flavor, reacts with the hot water to bloom, enhancing its rich chocolatey taste. The addition of sour cream introduces moisture and a slight tang, balancing the sweetness and richness of the cake.
Supply List
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Cake Acetate Plastic Wrap
- Mini Pastry Ring
- Clear Pastry Box
- 4″ cake rounds
Step by Step
Making these mini cakes is actually quite simple. First you will bake your cake in a cookie sheet rather than a regular cake pan. This way the cake comes out thinner. After the cake is baked use the mini pastry ring to stamp out circle cake pieces. Once you have stamped the cake all out take the Acetate and measure it to be the same size as the pastry ring. Tape the acetate together so that it forms a circle the same size as the mini pastry ring.
Now you have your form ready and your cake cut out. The next step is to put your frosting inside of a piping bag, you do not need a tip on the piping bag, just cut the tip of the bag off so frosting can squeeze out.
Take a 4 inch cake round and smear a bit of frosting on it, so that the cake will glue onto it. Place the acetate cake form you just made on top of the cake round. Push a cut cake circle into the form all the way to the bottom so that it glues on the cake round. Squeeze frosting on top of the cake layer with your piping bag. Repeat 2 more times.
Now you must chill your cake inside the form for about 15-20 minutes in the freeze so that it it set. Once chilled, remove from the freezer, cut off the acetate cake form and drizzle some chocolate ganache on top. Ta-da! You are done!
What recipe should you use?
You can really use any chocolate cake recipe and frosting that you would like. But for this one I used my Chocolate Cake recipe and my Ganache recipe and they turned out delicious!
Storage Tips
This cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Cake is best served at room temperature so if you are pulling it out of the fridge, leave enough time for it to sit on the counter for an hour before enjoying. As always, you want to make sure to store your cake in an airtight container. I used these super cute clear pastry boxes to store my mini cakes, that way there were also ready for me to give away as gifts!
Making Ahead
You can totally make these ahead of time. When I am serving these mini cakes at a party, I make them all the day before and then store them in the fridge. That way I am not overly stressed the day of my event.
Why Make Mini Cakes
The real question is, why not make these mini cakes? They are so adorable, so classy and so easy! Not to mention, divine! They taste so good and the cake to frosting ratio is much superior to a cupcake or full sized cake. A little frosting and a little cake in each bite.
Recipes You May Love
Recommended Products
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!
Mini Chocolate Cakes
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter
- 12 ounces chocolate chips 1 bag
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Ganache
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda and salt
- Add the hot water, whole milk and vegetable oil, Stir until combined
- Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir until the batter is smooth
- Pour the batter into 2 cookie sheets greased and lined with parchment paper
- Bake the cake for 20 minutes
- Once the cakes have cooled, leave in the pan, wrap up and place in the freezer so they are easier to cut.
Frosting
- In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and cream
- Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir the chocolate mixture. Repeat and then stir vigorously until all the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer whip the butter until smooth
- Add the powdered sugar and mix it until combined.
- Pour the chocolate ganache mixture into the standing mixer and stir until combined.
- Once combined, whip the frosting for 2 minutes until lighter in color and texture.
Ganache
- In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and cream
- Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir the chocolate mixture. Repeat and then stir vigorously until all the chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Assemble
- Once the cake is chilled, use the small pastry rings to cut out cake circles
- When all the cake is cut, take the cake acetate paper and measure a circle the same size as the pastry ring. Tape the acetate together to make a mold the same width as the pastry ring.
- Scoop your frosting into a piping bag, snip the end of the piping bag off, you do not need a tip for this.
- Take the 4" cake round and smear some frosting on top. Place the acetate form you just made on top of the cake round. Take 1 of the cake circles and press it in the form all the way down to the cake round so that its glued on with the frosting. Pipe a layer of frosting on top of the cake. Repeat twice until the cake is 3 layers tall.
- Place the mini cake with the acetate form into the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up.
- Once chilled, remove from the freezer and cut off the acetate form.
- Take the ganache and drizzle a spoonful on top of the mini cake.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
I’d love to see it! Follow @_mrs.madi_ on Instagram and tag your photos with #mrsmadi.
