Chocolate Mini Cakes - Celebrating Sweets

Mini Cakes baked in ramekins and decorated with vanilla frosting and fresh berries or sprinkles. Serve as single layer cakes or double layer cakes. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or as a smash cake.

Small double layer chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. Hello there! I’m stopping in with one last Valentine’s Day recipe. Although I am not the hugest fan of Valentine’s Day, I am a HUGE fan of chocolate (duh). Soooooo, I will not turn down the opportunity to bake, eat, and share some chocolaty goodness this Valentine’s Day. That brings me to these adorable Mini Cakes!

Small round cake topped with frosting and raspberries.

Mini Cakes

No special cake pans are needed for these cuties; the cakes are baked in ramekins. I’m sure you have some ramekins lying around. Grab them from the back of your cabinet, whip up this easy one-bowl chocolate cake batter, and before you know it you’ll be diving into chocolate cake.

I used 7-oz (4 inch) ramekins, which made 4 miniature cakes. You can either serve the cakes in single layers or you can double them up and make two double layer cakes. I’ve included a recipe for a small batch of vanilla frosting, which I simply spread on the cakes with a butter knife. Top the cakes with fresh berries or sprinkles, and serve them to someone you love.

These mini chocolate cakes are great for Valentine’s day, anniversaries, or as a smash cake. And since this recipe feeds just a few, you really don’t need a reason to make these. The fact that it’s a Thursday is reason enough. 😉 Enjoy!

You might also like: Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes, Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes, Small Batch Fudge.

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Recipe

Small round cake topped with frosting and raspberries.

Mini Chocolate Cakes

Miniature chocolate cakes baked in ramekins and decorated with vanilla frosting and fresh berries or sprinkles. Serve as four single layer cakes or as two double layer cakes. Perfect for Valentine's Day, anniversaries or as a smash cake.

4.85 from 26 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 398kcal

Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Vanilla Frosting:

Instructions

For the cakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of four 4-inch (7oz) ramekins with rounds of parchment. Grease the ramekins well. Set aside.
With a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes. Add hot coffee or hot water, and beat until just combined. The batter will be thin.
Divide evenly between four prepared ramekins (I used a little over ⅓ cup batter per ramekin). Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the top springs back when you touch them, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting and decorating:

Run a thin knife around the edge of each ramekin and carefully remove each cake. With a serrated knife, gently cut the dome off the top of each cake. Discard or save the cake scraps for another use.
For the frosting: Using a deep bowl, with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter until smooth (starting the mixer low, then slowly increasing the speed). Add vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of milk. Beat on medium speed for a minute or two, until light and fluffy. If the frosting appears too thick, add an additional teaspoon of milk.
Spread the frosting onto the top of each cake. You can leave the cakes in a single layer or stack them to make a double layer cake. Decorate the top with berries or sprinkles.

Notes

The flavor of the coffee will not come through in the cupcakes. The coffee flavor will help intensify the chocolate flavor. If you'd rather not use coffee, you can substitute hot water.