Transform chocolate cupcakes into adorable mini cakes topped with vanilla buttercream and sprinkles ~ they’re festive and delicious!
These mini layer cakes are so cool you’re going to want to come up with an occasion stat so you can try them out. Here’s the deal: they’re just perfect chocolate cupcakes that we repurpose into tiny but perfect layer cakes by splitting the cupcake, filling and frosting with a vanilla buttercream enhanced with a generous dollop of sour cream. Sprinkles are optional (but recommended.) These mini cakes will steal the show at everything from fancy luncheons to kids birthday parties!
gather your ingredients to make mini cakes
- flour
- sugar
- cocoa powder
- unsweetened cocoa powder makes the cake plenty chocolatey.
- baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- vegetable oil
- veggie oil instead of butter ensures a super moist cake.
- eggs
- buttermilk
- vanilla extract
- hot coffee
- blooms the cocoa and enhances the chocolate flavor. Don’t have coffee? Use hot water.
- butter
- powdered sugar
- sour cream
how to construct mini cakes out of cupcakes
It’s super easy to make these petite cakes using cupcakes. Just bake up your cupcakes and follow these steps…
- Bake cupcakes and let them cool completely.
- Trim the cupcakes: unwrap each cupcake. Place upside-down, and using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut away the excess to make a cylinder. You can also trim your cupcakes with a knife.
- Slice the cupcakes in half into two layers using a serrated knife.
- Place a dollop of frosting on top of one half, and place the other layer on top.
- Do a quick “crumb coat” of frosting, because this cake recipe is so deliciously soft and moist. (A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting applied to a cake to seal in crumbs and create a smooth base for the final layer of frosting.)
- Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes until the frosting is set up.
- Frost with a second layer of frosting, top with sprinkles, and enjoy!
tips for making mini layer cakes
These little mini cakes might be a labor of love, but they are so worth it! Both the cake and the frosting recipes are really top notch, so you’re really getting something so much better than your run of the mill cake. Here are my tips for staying organized:
- The cake recipe is super easy to make, but make sure you leave enough time for them to cool completely before frosting, and for the frosting to firm up a bit in the fridge before serving.
- Love the idea of these but aren’t up for all that frosting work? Make these a little simpler by following the instructions for making the mini cake layers, and then instead of doing a full coat of frosting all over the cakes, simply dollop a nice layer of frosting between the layers, and another dollop on top, spread it out a little bit with a spoon like you’re frosting the top of a cupcake, and follow with sprinkles. Voila, cute and easy!
- Would I make 24 of these for a big birthday party? No, probably not. But they are just right for a small, special celebration when you want something fun, delicious, and memorable to finish off the meal.
why do I take the time to trim the cupcakes?
Why not just use them as is, and slice in half? The charm of my mini cakes is that they have that squared off top, like a mini tea cake. You can leave the rounded tops on your cupcakes if you like, it’s a matter of personal preference.
variations for every celebration
For me the combination of devil’s food cake and vanilla frosting is unbeatable, but there are so many different ways you can play with this concept:
Top your mini cakes with fresh berries or use a vanilla cake mix and Chantilly Cream to make mini Berry Chantilly Cakes.
Make my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and chocolate sprinkles for a triple threat chocolate dessert.
Use the coconut frosting from Ina Garten’s Coconut Cupcakes.
Try my Yellow Cupcakes With Strawberry Frosting.
more cute individual desserts
Mini Layer Cakes
Equipment
- muffin pan
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot coffee or hot water
for the frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter, unsalted
- 5 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with muffin tin liners (you will be making 10 cupcakes)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When there are still a few streaks of dry flour remaining, add the hot coffee, and fold everything together until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes. They will rise and spread out a bit, but this is fine.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a rack before proceeding.
to make the frosting
- Add the room temperature butter and powdered sugar to a large capacity food processor (you can also use a stand mixer) and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream, salt, and vanilla extract, and blend again until smooth.
to assemble the cakes
- Remove the cupcakes from their cupcake liners. Take a cupcake and place it upside down. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, trim away the excess cake, forming a cylinder.
- Using a serrated knife, gently cut the trimmed cake into 2 even layers. Repeat for the remaining cupcakes.
- Place about a tablespoon or so of frosting onto one of the cake layers, and place the second layer on top. Repeat for the remaining cakes so that you have 10 2-layer mini cakes.
- For this cake recipe, I recommend doing a quick "crumb coat" of frosting because the cakes are soft and moist. Using a butterknife or a small silicone spatula, frost the cakes with a thin coat of frosting. It will be a little fiddly, but do your best! Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to let them firm up.
- Frost the cakes with a second layer of frosting. It should be much easier this time with the crumbs "locked in" to the crumb coat. Top with sprinkles if desired.
I made these for my daughter’s 10th birthday and they were a huge hit. I put a candle in every little cake so everybody got to blow out a candle!
I love that idea, stealing it!