Introduction: Mini Chocolate Cakes!
Get your tall glasses of chilled milk ready! These mini, rich, and indulgent cakes are a chocoholic's delight! Add these to your baking repertoire for a special / romantic occasion for that extra WOW factor.
Step 1: Gather Cake Ingredients, Tools, and Prep
Recipe
- 1/4 cup (56g) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (150g) golden brown sugar (packed)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) boiling water
- 1 ounce semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (no more than 61% cacao), chopped
- 1/4 cup (20g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk
- 2/3 cup (85g) cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Tools
- 12in x 16in jelly roll pan
- 2 medium bowls (1 nonreactive, such as Pyrex)
- 1 large bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Electric mixer
- Parchment paper
- Cooling racks
- Cookie cutter (2.75" diameter)
- Cake tester (a toothpick)
- Measuring cups (or food scale)
- Measuring spoons
- Offset spatula
- Knife
- Cutting board
Preparation
- Set butter out at room temperature for 20 minutes, allowing it to soften
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line pan with parchment paper. Add butter to top of parchment paper
- Adding a little butter between pan and paper helps keep the paper in place
Step 2: Make the Cake: Cream Mixture
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended (small, consistent lumps)
- Add egg and vanilla
- Beat until light and creamy, set cream mixture aside
Step 3: Make the Cake: Chocolate Mixture
Instructions
- Boil water
- Chop chocolate and combine with cocoa powder in medium, nonreactive bowl
- Pour boiling water into chocolate and cocoa powder mixture, whisk until smooth
- Whisk in buttermilk until combined
Step 4: Make the Cake: Final Mixture
Instructions
- Pour chocolate mixture into cream mixture. Beat until combined
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together
- Add flour mixture to cream and chocolate mixture to complete cake batter. Beat until flour disappears and no lumps exist. Do not overmix (cake will become too dense)
Step 5: Make the Cake: Bake It!
Instructions
- Transfer cake batter into prepared pan. Spread with offset spatula
- Bake cake until cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean (about 10-12 minutes)
- Cool cake on cooling racks
Step 6: Make the Cream Filling!
Recipe
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup (30g) powdered (confectioners) sugar*
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*Note: Powdered sugar features corn starch, which stabilizes the cream (do not substitute granular sugar)
Tools
- Medium bowl
- Electric mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups (or food scale)
- Measuring spoons
- Piping bag or ziploc bag (quart or larger)
- Scissors
Instructions
- Optional: Chill whisk beater and medium bowl (helps the cream whip-up faster)
- Add cream, sugar, and vanilla into bowl
- Beat on medium high speed until cream begins to thicken, then lower to medium speed until stiff peaks form
Step 7: Make the Ganache!
Recipe
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup (180g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Tools
- Medium bowl (nonreactive, such as Pyrex)
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
Instructions
- Bring heavy whipping cream to a simmer in heavy small saucepan*
- Place chocolate chips into medium, nonreactive bowl
- Pour simmered cream over chocolate chips and stir gently with whisk until smooth
- Important: To ensure a smooth finish, do not incorporate air into the ganache
- Let ganache cool for about 15 minutes
- If you wait too long and the ganache is not pourable, simply reheat
*Note: A heavy saucepan transfers heat evenly (less likely to burn cream). Thin pans tend to heat unevenly, which can cause cream to burn.
Step 8: Assemble the Cake!
Instructions
- When the cake has completely cooled, use a cookie cutter to cut out cake layers
- Cookie cutter edges may need to be wiped every 3 cuts to prevent cake from sticking
- Transfer whipped cream into ziplock bag, then cut off a corner
- Place cooling rack on top of cookie sheet (the cookie sheet will collect excess ganache)
- Build the cake layers on cooling rack (cake, pipe on the cream, cake, cream, cake)
- Using a knife, clean up the whipped cream (making cream flush with edge of cake)
- Using a knife, spread thin layer of cooled ganache onto the side of the cake
- The goal here is to trap crumbs (it doesn't need to look beautiful)
- Let cakes rest for 5-10 minutes, or until ganache is set
- Pour a generous amount of ganache over the top of cakes
- Using a knife, gently push some ganache off the top, allowing it to spill over edges
- Do not use a knife on the sides - Allow ganache to flow down freely to maintain a clean, crisp look
- To help ganache cover sides of cake, carefully lift and tap cookie sheet down on table surface
- Let cakes rest for about 20 minutes, ensuring excess ganache has dripped off.
- Transfer to container or plate, then place in fridge to allow ganache to fully firm
Step 9: Make Decorations: Whipped Ganache
Tools
- Electric mixer
- Piping bag and tip (Wilton 1M)
- Rubber spatula
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, whip the extra room temperature ganache to make it pipable
- If over-whipped, just warm it up a little, let it cool to room temperature, and re-whip - See picture for reference
- Place whipped ganache in piping bag and pipe onto cakes
Step 10: Make Decorations: White Chocolate Hearts
Tools
- Parchment paper
- Microwavable bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Offset spatula
- Heart shaped cookie cutter
Instructions
- Microwave 1/8 cup (25g) white chocolate chips for about 45 seconds or until melted
- Spread onto parchment paper using offset spatula
- Let cool for 45 seconds. If chocolate cools too long, it may become too brittle
- Once the white chocolate hearts have set, place onto cakes
Step 11: Final Touches - Serve & Enjoy!
For an added touch, garnish with fresh strawberries! Om nom!
Thanks for reading my first Instructable! Feedback is welcome :D
I would appreciate your vote in the Sweet Treats Contest!