Cute Mini Cakes For Beautiful Celebrations

Birthdays call for themed decorations and cakes. Mini cakes are delicate pieces of art that enhance the beauty of any celebration, whether weddings or birthdays. The colorful decorative cakes are show-stoppers and eye-catching!I attended my best friend Giselle’s wedding in France, and the famous Petit fours caught my attention there. Petit fours are small decorative cakes, meaning “small oven” in French, often served at celebrations. John’s tenth birthday was also around the corner.

I decided to make mini fancy cakes, and countless ideas flashed in my mind. It was not only a great idea but also a fun experience for John and me. While making the batter, I added Nutella chocolate flavor because John is Augustus from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. He is wildly obsessed with chocolate, most precisely ‘A Chocolate Ghost’. John and his friends loved the mini cakes’ ideas, and they were like spying on these cake stands.

Cakes and Mini Cakes Recipe Guide

I bake the cake in rectangular baking pans in two batches. Baking a single sheet cake with double batter will not work with this recipe. I divide the cake batter into two batches. I mention the ingredients of a single-sheet cake. Repeat the cake-making process for the two soft and fluffy cakes. You don’t need to flatten the cake while layering, which makes the recipe much easier. There are countless options while decorating. Use your ideas as well as your imagination and make the decorations according to your theme. Be confident while decorating the cake because your confidence will reflect in the cake.

Things Necessary for Cake Assembling

• Bake two Nutella sheet cakes
• Make Nutella cream or frosting for binding the two sheet cake layers.
• Outer decorations should be according to your theme, including chocolate decorations and toppings like sprinkles, Candied nuts, fruits, or edible flowers.

Why Will You Love Tiny Cakes?

• Soft Yet Sturdy: Unlike dense cakes, soft but sturdy cakes are ideal and hold the frosting well. The layer cakes I bake hold the chocolate filling well. 
• Heaven for Nutella Lovers: A two-layered cake with Nutella filling is a treat for any chocolate lover. You can make it with your favorite frosting.
• Two layers: I split the recipe for you and made it simple. Unlike the single cake, it is cut into two layers with all the crumbly edges, uneven cuts, and difficulty in levelling. No need to level them; instead, bake the two layers separately.  
• Make Your Events Vibrant: Small round cake can make your events colorful. Create fun cakes and serve them at Christmas parties, birthdays, bridal showers, weddings, anniversaries, and special days. It means no more boring celebrations!
• Great Gifts: The whimsical decorative cakes can be an excellent gift for your loved ones. 

Equipment

• Rectangular baking pan measures 31×23 cm
• Round cake/cookie cutter (mine is 3.5 cm in diameter or 3-4 cm in diameter)
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Parchment paper
• Fork

Ingredients

this …

• Butter: I suggest you use unsalted butter at room temperature because hard butter may not be helpful in the creaming process. The butter shouldn’t be too soft at room temperature. Thaw butter until it reaches room temperature. 
• Sugar: I am taking caster sugar due to its finer crystals than granulated sugar. Caster sugar dissolves more quickly and creates ease in creaming. Granulated sugar can be used, but it may take more time to dissolve completely.
• Flour: It’s a myth that perfect cakes can only be made with cake flour. Instead, I find all-purpose flour great for this recipe. 
• Vanilla syrup: For flavor or aroma. I recommend vanilla syrup, but vanilla extract can be a substitute. 
• Salt: Quarter tsp to balance sweetness. 
• Nutella: Take Nutella or any other chocolate cream. 
• Eggs: Medium-sized eggs to hold everything together. 
• Dark chocolate: For making chocolate cream filling. 
• White chocolate: To cover the mini cakes, white chocolate or mix your theme food color to make different chocolate colors. It’s a fun experience. 
• Ruby chocolate: Pink chocolate or your theme color chocolate for chocolate covering.
• Decorations: Sprinkles, chocolate, or your theme decorations. 

Instructions

1.Cream the Butter and Sugar

Place room-temperature butter, sugar, vanilla syrup, salt, and Nutella in a bowl. Mix them with a spatula until they are well combined and form a smooth brown mixture. This process is called creaming.

Whisk eggs one by one until a smooth mixture is created. Each egg should be completely mixed before adding the next one. 

2.Make Nutella Cake Batter

Carefully fold all-purpose flour into the Nutella cream batter until there are no big lumps and the mixture is silky smooth. 

3.Pour in the Pan and Level It

Pour the Nutella cake batter into a rectangular sheet pan, 31×23 cm, lined with parchment paper. Spread the cake batter as evenly as you can to get a level surface; you don’t need to level it separately. Level it as much as possible, but don’t over press to remove the trapped air for a spongy cake. 

4.Bake and Repeat

Bake the sheet cake for 10 minutes at 170°C or 338°F in an oven. After baking, let it cool at room temperature before further handling. Make the recipe twice for two cake layers. 

5.To make Nutella Frosting

Melt dark chocolate on the stovetop using the double boiler or microwave. I microwaved it in a microwave-safe bowl and thoroughly mixed the melted dark chocolate with Nutella. 

6.Layer the Cake

Pour the Nutella frosting onto the first cake and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Place it with the second layer of cake and gently press it together. Transfer it into the fridge for an hour to set. 

7.Cut Double Layer Nutella Cake

For the mini cakes, cut the cake with a 3.5 cm diameter cookie cutter.

I got 44 small cakes, but the number may vary depending on the size of your cake cutter. 

8.Decorate With Love

Dip all the cakes in melted pink, brown, white and semi-sweet dark chocolate. If there is not enough chocolate in the bowl to cover the cake fully, here’s a nice tip. Dip the cake, turn it carefully with a fork, and lift it with a knife when placing it on paper. There will be chocolate all over the cake in this way. Place all the cakes on parchment paper and cool until the chocolate becomes solid. Decorate the chocolate-covered cakes with a drizzle of melted chocolate. Add extra decorations like sprinkles, glitter, and edible flowers to show creativity. 

Decoration Ideas

Pink Cute Mini Cakes Idea

Brown Mini Cake Idea

Chocolate Mini Cake Idea

Pro Tip

I made cake pops with the leftover cake layers and edges. First, I made sugar syrup by boiling ¼ cup of water with ¼ cup of sugar until completely dissolved. Then, I mixed the sugar syrup with the leftover cake in a stand mixer. I scooped the cake pop and let it cool for 30 minutes, then dipped it in leftover melted chocolate. I sprinkled some colorful sprinkles on top and let them cool. They look fantastic and colorful!

Expert Tips

• The main secret of getting more level cakes is the temperature. The cake dome occurs when the temperature is high and the sides of the cake become hot. This causes the corners of the cake to brown faster, and then the middle part of the cake rises, forming a dome. To avoid this problem, the temperature should be ideal for an even layer. The temperature range that works best is 160-170°C.
• Don’t cool the cake in a sheet pan. It will become stiff and may become difficult to remove from the pan. Cooling the cake after baking is necessary to avoid crumbling. 
• If you can’t find ruby chocolate, you can make pink chocolate by adding a few pink food colors in white melted chocolate. Make brown chocolate by mixing white chocolate and dark chocolate. Experiment with different colors according to your theme. 
• The parchment paper should also be on the side so the cake does not leak and form uneven edges. Carefully line the pan with parchment paper. If necessary, hold the paper with holders to level the edges. 
• Remember, cake decoration is your creativity. You can cut cute small cakes in different shapes, like circles, squares, or hearts, and decorate them with strawberries, blueberries, and other fruits. Other decorations are edible flowers, sprinkles, edible glitter, and frostings. 

Storing Suggestion

Obviously, we make cakes a day before the main celebration. These cakes can be fresh for two days. Just make sure to cover the dish by carrying the cakes with plastic wrap after the outer chocolate is completely solid. However, you can extend their life by refrigerating them in plastic wrap and then placing them in an airtight container for four to five days. I recommend you keep them without the chocolate covering, and whenever you want to serve, do further decorations. I would not recommend freezing them. 

Print

FAQ’s for This Mini Cakes