Tag: mini cake

Little Strawberry Heart Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

A cute little, stress-free, perfectly pink heart cake is my gift to you for Valentine’s Day. The vanilla cake is soft and fluffy. The frosting is super easy and delicious, with only two ingredients. It all comes together with fresh strawberries and it’s so good, you won’t want to share.

Little Strawberry Heart Cake

A six inch heart shaped vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and two-ingredient frosting
Print Recipe
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup chopped strawberries
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…“ cup whole milk, room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 7.5 ounce jar Marshmallow Fluff
  • tiny drop pink gel food color I used Americolor deep pink*

Optional Decor

  • strawberries
  • meringue powder** or pasteurized egg whites
  • sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, combine strawberries and 2 teaspoons sugar. Set aside to macerate for about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of a 6-inch heart shaped cake pan*** with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and oil with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in egg and vanilla in two separate additions until well combined.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together milk and sour cream.
  • Beat flour mixture into batter in two additions, alternating with milk mixture.
  • Transfer batter to prepared cake pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool.
  • In a large bowl, stir cream cheese with a spatula to smooth out lumps.
  • Add marshmallow fluff and beat until well combined. Add food gel color with a toothpick and beat until evenly distributed.
  • Split cake into two layers. Top the bottom layer with frosting. Drain strawberries and spoon onto cake. Top with second layer, then more frosting.

Optional Decor

  • To make sugared strawberries, mix 1 part meringue powder with 3 parts water. Dip strawberries in meringue mixture, cover with sugar, then let dry. Alternately you can dip the strawberries in pasteurized egg whites, cover with sugar, then let dry.

Notes

*To find the gel food color I used, click here.
**To find meringue powder, click here.
***To find the heart cake pan I used, click here.
 
Keyword cake, strawberry

Chocolate Lovers’ Valentine Cake for Two

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

My relationship with Valentine’s Day has transformed over the years. When I was a child, I joyfully skipped home from school with my bounty of tiny Valentine cards, candy hearts and a cupcake someone’s mother baked. As I grew older, I was hot and cold towards Valentine’s Day, depending on the state of my love life at the time. After having kids, Valentine’s Day became about red construction paper, doily hearts and glue sticks. I happily cleaned up sprinkles and kissed chubby, frosting-stained cheeks. Now I think of Valentine’s Day as simply a day to celebrate love. I embrace Valentine’s Day and all the hearts, roses and chocolates that go with it! Show your loved ones that you love them on Valentine’s Day, but more importantly, show them throughout the year, by loving, respecting and accepting them for who they are every day.

If your heart beats for a chocolate lover, then this Valentine cake for two will have them swooning. It’s small in size, but grand in chocolate indulgence. It has three layers of moist chocolate cake, rich, white chocolate buttercream and a silky chocolate glaze. As if that isn’t enough, I loaded the top with chocolate candy! Some of the candy is store bought and some I made with candy melts and chocolate molds. Click here to find the cherub mold. Click here to find the heart mold.

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Drip Cake for Two

I hope you share this Valentine cake with someone you love! However you celebrate the day and whoever you love, have a happy one!

Chocolate Lovers' Valentine Cake for Two

A mini chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream, topped with chocolate glaze and chocolate Valentine candy. Perfect for sharing!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake for Two

  • â…” cup (3 ounces) all purpose flour
  • â…“ cup (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ plus â…› teaspoons salt
  • ¾ cup (5.25 ounces) sugar
  • 1 small egg
  • â…“ cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup hot coffee

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • 6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
  • 1 ½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • â…” cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted

Chocolate Drip Glaze

  • 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon corn syrup or honey

Cake Decorating Supplies

  • cake board
  • piping bag
  • chocolate sprinkles
  • assorted chocolate candy

Instructions
 

Chocolate Cake for Two

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease & flour three 4-inch cake pans. *See note below.
  • Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Add sugar and stir to combine.
  • Combine egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk lightly to combine.
  • Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix on low speed with a handheld electric mixer, until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat for 1 minute.
  • Add hot coffee and stir until incorporated.
  • Pour batter into prepared cake pans, dividing batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool.

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • Melt white chocolate in a double boiler over gently simmering water. (Alternately, you can melt the white chocolate in the microwave. In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the white chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat again for 10 second intervals, stirring until melted, being very careful not to overheat it.)
  • Set white chocolate aside to cool until lukewarm and still soft.
  • In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and creamy.
  • Add vanilla extract, salt and melted white chocolate. Beat at low speed until combined. Stop mixer. Scrape sides of bowl with spatula.
  • Add powdered sugar. Beat at low speed, until powdered sugar is combined. Beat at medium speed until buttercream is smooth, stopping to scrape the bowl occasionally. Keep covered at room temperature until ready to use.

Cake Assembly

  • When cakes have cooled completely, trim the cake layers to 1-inch tall.
  • Attach one of the layers to a cake board with some of the white chocolate buttercream. Apply 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream to the top of the cake layer, followed by the second cake layer, another 1/4-inch thick layer of buttercream, then the final cake layer.
  • Apply a crumb coat (thin layer) of buttercream to the cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  • Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Apply chocolate sprinkles to the bottom edge of the cake.
  • Melt chocolate drip glaze ingredients together in a double boiler over gently simmering water. Let cool slightly.
  • Spoon chocolate glaze into a piping bag. Snip off the end of the bag with kitchen scissors. Drizzle chocolate glaze along the edges of the perimeter of the cake, then fill in the middle. Smooth top with a small offset spatula.
  • Top cake with assorted chocolate candy. If desired, you can stack some of the candy and adhere them with melted chocolate to give some variation in height.

Notes

*Click here to find 4-inch cake pans.