One of the best things about my wedding was seeing family members that I hadn’t seen in years. My family is spread out all over the world, and they came from California, Canada, Australia, and India among other places. My grandmother’s 89th birthday just so happened to be two days after my wedding, and with so many family members still around, I had the perfect reason to bake a great big chocolate cake. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of it since it was gobbled up so quickly, but the cake I am sharing with you today is a miniature version of what I made for my family.
My grandmother doesn’t eat eggs, even in cake. This used to be quite an ordeal for me when I tried to bake her birthday cakes growing up. The lack of eggs along with the fact that her tiny little oven only has 2 settings (off and incinerate) made for some interesting cake like concoctions. Having a good eggless recipe comes in handy not only when baking for my grandmother, but also when trying to pair a recipe down for a mini cake. Have you ever tried to use 1/3 of an egg? It’s kind of a pain. Recipes are so much easier to make tiny when there is no egg involved.
For my first recipe after a long hiatus, I just couldn’t resist doing a mini layer cake. They are just too cute, and the perfect size for two (or one if you’re really hungry). I used a 4-inch cake pan and then sliced the cake into three layers, because I wanted more room for frosting. You can also slice it into two, or just leave it as one layer if you like. I also added a shot of espresso to the frosting to give it a mocha flavor, but you can easily leave it out and add an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder for a rich chocolate frosting.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk (non-dairy milk is fine)
- 1/4 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (110 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (115 grams) confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ounce (30 ml) espresso, cooled to room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream, chilled
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cocoa powder for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- Grease and line a 4-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
- Add the sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and whisk together until the mixture becomes foamy.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk together until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then turn the cake out onto the wire rack and cool completely.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder together on low until just combined.
- Turn the mixer up to medium and continue beating for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract, espresso, and salt and beat to combine.
- With an electric mixer or the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, beat the cream until stiff peaks are about to form.
- Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks have formed.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- To Assemble the Cake:
- Slice the cake into 3 even layers.
- Place the bottom layer of the cake on a cake board or plate and spread about 2 tablespoons of frosting on top.
- Do the same with the second layer.
- Place the last layer on top and apply a thin coat of frosting around the top and the sides of the cake to crumb coat it.
- Put the cake in the fridge and let the frosting set for 30 minutes.
- Once the crumb coat has set, spread a thicker layer of frosting on the top and sides of the crumb coat to create a smooth finish.
- Place the whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe the whipped cream on top of the cake.
- Dust with cocoa powder.
Notes:
The frosting makes enough for a 3 layer cake with a crumb coat and a little left over. If you don’t plan to divide your cake into layers or crumb coat, you can cut the frosting recipe in half.
You can make this recipe vegan by using non-dairy milk in the cake, replacing the butter in the frosting with margarine and/or shortening, and omitting the whipped cream.
Cake recipe adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
Pallavi says
The perfect little cake – precious!
Natasha says
🙂
Jessica @ Sweet Menu says
Awww how cute is this little cake! Its decorated beautifully and i love the perfect little layers!
Natasha says
Thank you, Jessica!
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
This is so darling! I love your mini cakes. And you’re right–eggs are the WORST when trying to reduce recipes, you’re a genius for figuring out a way around it. 🙂
Natasha says
Thanks, Elizabeth! I know, I’ve totally tried to divide an egg in 4 before. Doesn’t work to well…
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Natasha, your mini mocha cake is so adorable! I’ve been wanting to buy six inch and four inch cake pans for a long time but I’ve been too cheap to make the investment. Seeing how beautiful this is makes me want to press “order” in my Amazon account! I love the way you dotted the whipped cream over top. Beautiful photos, lady!
Natasha says
Thanks, Nancy! I’m actually pretty cheap when it comes to pans, too. That’s why I didn’t divide the layers into different pans- I only have one 4-inch pan!
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
You are so right, mini cakes are TOO CUTE! I love this cake, it looks so delicious and so adorable! I need to try a mini cake!
Holly says
How great to have an egg-free recipe. My best friend’s husband is allergic, so I keep a few recipes for eggless cake up my sleeve, but I will be sure to try this one out- perhaps for their imminent baby shower cake! The cake looks beautiful too 🙂 Holly
Erika says
Ugh, this is the CUTEST!!! (I love the appropriately sized saucer to go with this mini cake slice ;)) Also, so cute to imagine you trying to bake an eggless cake for your grandma! Have you ever tried Sweetapolita’s vegan dark chocolate cake recipe? I’ll have to compare hers to this one to see if its the same…that is by far my favorite vegan cake recipe that I’ve found so far!
Natasha says
Thanks, Erika! I haven’t tried Sweetapolita’s recipe, but the proportions are almost exactly the same as this one from VCTOTW. I do want to try her vegan chocolate frosting though.
Maggie says
Is the cake moist? It’s so adorable! I love your recipes they’re absolutey delicious! Love your website<3
I don't have a 4 inch cake pan, can i bake it in a big cake pan and then cut out 4 inch circles? Please reply! Thanks 🙂
keona says
This are the cutestest thing ever! Is the cake moist? my moms birthdayday is coming up and i was looking for a mini cake recipe and when i saw yours i knew she would love it. Please reply! i love your website<3
Natasha says
Thanks, Keona! It is moist, as long as you don’t over bake it. Just watch closely near the end of the baking time.
Lisa says
I tried this recipe today and I absolutely love the frosting! It tastes amazing! But I also noticed that you forgot to mention when to add in the milk to the mixture. I obmitted the baking soda as well because I couldn’t find any at the moment, the cake turned out fine but not fluffy. I’m gusessing it’s becuse of the baking soda? But I would definitely make this again! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Natasha says
Thanks, Lisa! Glad you liked the frosting and I’ll update the cake recipe.
Natasha says
I checked the recipe and the milk is in step number 4. You should add everything else into the milk mixture. The baking soda is necessary in the recipe because it reacts with the vinegar and causes the cake to rise.
tonya says
What is the depth of the cake pan you used? I have 4 x 3 in pans and a 4 x 1 3/4 in springform pan. Which could I use and how should I adjust the temp and baking time?
Natasha says
I used a 2-inch pan, but you can use a 3-inch pan without adjusting the baking time.
aya says
hi which number of plain tip did i use? please help thanks
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