This chocolate Bailey’s mini sprinkle cake is the most delicious thing that comes in such a small form. Do not let the size of this cake fool you. It is a delicious combination of Bailey’s and chocolate. How could anyone pass up a slice?
Now, if you live in a family like mine then this is the perfect sized cake for you. Why? Because I live with a bunch of lunatics that are always on some sort of diet, or they are watching their sugar intake, or they do not like buttercream icing. I know. I know. I live in a family of crazy people 🙁
See the thing is, whenever I bake something at home, my family act as the de facto Master Chef critiques. Meaning, they always have some sort of issue with me making something I want versus what they want.
And as you know I love chocolate cake. However, it is a complete waste of ingredients (and time) to make a regular 9-inch cake and only have 1/3 of it eaten. So a few days ago I came across a Youtube video on mini cakes, and I felt inspired to make my own!
Mini cakes are around 4 inches wide and about 2 to 3 inches deep making them the perfect size for those who do not have a massive sweet tooth. Or if you are like me and you live with a bunch of people who do not like buttercream *cue eye rolling*.
BIG THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES
Now majority of the mini cake recipes call for 4 inch cake pans. However, I didn’t have any on hand and because I wanted to make the cake immediately, I didn’t want to run to the store to buy some. Nevertheless, what I did have on hand are mini spring form pans – the same ones I used in my baked blueberry french toast recipe.
Before I started making the cake, I did a quick Google search to see if anyone else made mini cakes in spring form pans. I didn’t find a recipe that specifically used them but a forum did mention that is possible provided the batter is thick enough that it doesn’t leak out the sides. So essentially I could technically make mini cakes in mini spring form pans.
The recipe I found the most attractive Cake Merchant’s Mini Mocha Layer Cake. What I love about her recipe is that there is no egg! Why is that important? Well like she mentions, when it comes to scaling down recipes, it becomes tough to scale down the amount of egg you need. That doesn’t mean it isn’t doable, it’s just a pain in the butt. And I would prefer to use that time to make the cake more quickly so that I can eat it faster.
In her recipe she uses milk but I decided to use full cream because that is what I had on hand (and it was going to expire soon). Full cream has 35% fat so I figured it would mimic that richness that butter provides in a cake.
When I make chocolate cake I always add a cup of espresso. However, since I did not want to make my batter too watery, I added Bailey’s and some coffee extract to compliment that chocolate flavour.
SPRINKLES, SPRINKLES & MORE SPRINKLES
I was lucky enough to already have chocolate buttercream in my freezer from the last cake I made. I set it outside to thaw but it was not thawing fast enough. To speed up the process, I placed the frosting (it was in a glass container) into a tray of hot water. Once my buttercream was thawed, I added a few more tablespoons of icing sugar and a tablespoon of Bailey’s, to bring the consistency back to normal.
Now, the main reason I wanted to make this mini cake is that I bought some new sprinkles from HomeSense. Is this a logical enough reason to make a mini cake? Yes. Yes it is. If you do not know this, I have a sprinkle obsession. However, I should mention that adding sprinkles to the side of a cake looks much easier than it is. Or rather, the professional food bloggers do it with such grace and ease that it looks easy.
I struggled a bit to add the sprinkles (as you can tell) but I am sure I will get better at it with time. Really this is just an excuse to make another mini cake.
Anywho’s, so now that you know the real reason why I made this mini cake (i.e. I bought new sprinkles and I wanted to test them out) I present to you my recipe for a Chocolate Bailey’s Mini Sprinkle Cake.
Chocolate Bailey's Mini Sprinkle Layer Cake
This chocolate Bailey's mini cake is the most delicious thing to come in such a small form. Do not let the size of this cake fool you. It is delicious! It is a breeze to bake and frost this cake, giving you more time to eat it!
Ingredients
THE CAKE
- 1/3 cup full cream (you can use a milk substitute)
- 1/4 tsp white vinegar
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Bailey's
- 1 tsp coffee extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
THE FROSTING
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar (or more if needed, for consistency or sweetness)
- 3 ounces melted chocolate, cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp Bailey's
Instructions
MAKING THE CAKE
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the spring form pans and dust them with a light coating of cocoa powder, set aside.
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In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cream and vinegar and let it rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture looks bubbly/frothy. Add in the sugar, vanilla, Bailey's, coffee extract and vegetable oil and mix until foamy.
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Add the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if the centre comes out clean. If the batter is still runny, cook for another 5 minutes. Once the cakes are completely cooked, let them cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then turn the cakes out and let them cook completely before frosting.
F IS FOR FROSTING
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While the cakes are cooking and cooling you can begin to prepare the frosting. Beat the butter and sugar until it is nicely combined. Add in your vanilla and Bailey's and stir once more. Add the cooled chocolate and mix. If the frosting is too thin, add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add splash or cream or Bailey's.
Recipe Notes
*This recipe makes enough to fill one 4-inch pan. I double the recipe so that I filled two pans to make the layer cake.
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DON’T THESE PICTURES LOOK SO CUTE. IT WAS A SAD DAY WHEN THE CAKE WAS FINALLY FINISHED. NOW THAT I AM TYPING THIS RECIPE UP AND LOOKING AT THE PICTURE, I AM LONGING FOR A BITE OF THIS CAKE. AND WHAT ABOUT THE SPRINKLES? AREN’T THEY SO PRETTY! HOWEVER, THE BEST THING ABOUT MAKING A MINI SPRINKLE CAKE IS THAT THE CALORIES COME IN A MINI FORM, MAKING THIS THE PERFECT CHEAT DESSERT… RIGHT?!?!?
