Have you ever wanted to decorate and plan a cake, but you feel like its a lot to just jump straight into making a HUGE cake, only to possibly mess it up? Well, thats exactly what I thought when I went searching for a mini cake recipe. I wanted to find an easy recipe to make miniature cakes whenever I felt like decorating cakes, but I don’t want a whole cake or I don’t have enough ingredients. Pan sizes that work include 4 inch and 6 inch pans. This recipe makes 3 4-inch layers that are perfect for a small celebration.
This recipe can be easily made gluten, dairy, and egg free! To make gluten free, use equivalent measures of your preferred gluten free baking flour mix/blend, for dairy free you can use your preferred milk substitute (I recommend unsweet almond) and you can use your favorite dairy-free butter or even equal oil in this recipe. To make this egg-free, you can use these substitutions for 1 egg
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 3 Tbsp peanut butter
- blend 1 Tbsp Ground Flax with 3 Tbsp water
For frosting, you can probably use 1 or 1/2 of a frosting recipe for 12 cupcakes, depending on your pan size and decor plans. And now, the pictures! (The recipes for the mini vanilla cake will be located under the pictures)
Mini Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free blend)
- 1 Cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup unsalted butter, melted (1/2 a stick, or dairy-free butter or oil)
- 1/4 Cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 egg (or Vegan substitute)
- 1/2 cup milk (or dairy free sub)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- gel food coloring (optional to dye cakes) or sprinkles (confetti cake)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line three 4-inch or two 6″ round pan with parchment rounds, and grease them with non-stick baking spray
Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) with a whisk until fully combined
Pour the melted butter, oil, and egg into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. The batter WILL be thick
Add the milk and vanilla extract, and mic until just combined ( the key is to mix until the ingredients are JUST incorporated, so that the batter isn’t overmixed
If desired, add in gel food coloring or sprinkles. Mix in the color/sprinkles by hand using a rubber spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl part way through
Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans
Bake for 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the pans to cool for 10 minutes, then run an offset spatula around perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the pan
Place cake layers in the freezer fo 20 minutes, to accelerate the cooling process. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers from the pans
Use a serrated knife to level the tops of the layers, and then frost and decorate as desired
enjoy! 🙂
-Addison (The Dairy-free Daughter)
The Dairy Free Daughter 