Who doesn’t like a good slice of cake now and then? I personally do. Especially if the cake has a tender crumb and a deliciously smooth buttercream. However, in my family, one large cake can never be finished between the 5 of us. I have no idea why! Like I have mentioned in the past, I think I live amongst some animals since clearly, they are not big fans of cake!
With that being said, I came up with the perfect solution! An Ombre Pink Mini Vanilla Cake. The inspiration for this recipe came from my recent purchase. Sweetapolita’s blue and pink sprinkle mix. I was really inspired by the colours and then decided that I wanted to try my hand at doing an ombre cake.
However, I can tell you with complete confidence that my attempt at an ombre cake was a complete disaster! For many obvious reasons that I will explain below. Yet, despite the appearance, I can guarantee that this cake is as delicious as it gets and it is super duper easy to make.
What I particularly like about this recipe is that you can make the original amount and have the perfect cake for 2 people, or you can double it (like I did) and have enough to comfortably feed 4-5 people.
In any case, this Ombre Pink Mini Vanilla Cake is decadent, tasty and the perfect size for your next celebration – no matter how big or small!
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES
Speaking of celebration, I also made this cake in honour of my 8-month blogg-iversary! Yay, happy birthday to me! In keeping with this same theme, I bought some candles that I think fit my blog perfectly.
The Dream Big candles are super adorable and they are on sale at Chapters (this isn’t sponsored but if you are reading this please sponsor me Chapters!!). I really love these candles, but I love the message more. This blog really is my dream and I didn’t think I could make it a reality. And although it isn’t super famous and I barely have any followers on Instagram, I don’t really care.
I chose to follow my passion, I put in a lot of work, and I am seeing it through! And on the plus side, I get to make delicious baked treats, photograph them, share the recipes with you and then eat them all 🙂 . So I would say that is a win-win!
If you can take anything away from this post (aside from this delicious recipe) it is to really follow your dreams. No matter how big they are.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt”
It may be a cliche but if the world lost all the dreamers, then life would be extremely dull. So dream big or go home!
Ombre Pink Mini Vanilla Cake
Time to divulge into the recipe. First things first, I doubled the recipe to fit two 4 inch spring-form cake pans. To know more about the type of cake pan I used, see my recipe for Chocolate Bailey’s Mini Sprinkle cake. If you want to only make one small cake, then do not double the recipe.
I used full cream in my recipe instead of buttermilk. I personally do not recommend doing this. It provides a more denser cake but did not enhance the texture of the crumb. Just stick to the buttermilk (or whole milk) instead.
The real secret to this recipe is the almond essense. I think the almond essence enhances the flavour of the vanilla cake. Do not skip this ingredient!
Finally, when it comes to making the icing, I make a simple vanilla butter cream icing. The recipe makes more than enough, so feel free to either half the recipe or freeze your buttercream for later. I used plain old red food colouring to achieve the pink ombre look. The colours of the icing (and the taste) is delicious.
However, the real pity is in how I frosted my cake. I made two major mistakes. First I did not let my cake cool completely before frosting. I do not know why I did this. Actually I do. I am a glutton and I couldn’t wait to eat the cake. THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.
Second, I did not whip my buttercream prior to frosting the cake. This meant that I was working with buttercream that already began to crust. A quick fix is to just whip it with a spoon or in a stand mixter to bring it back to the right consistency.
Aside from these two big mistakes, I realize that frosting a mini cake in an ombre style is a lot harder than it looks, due to the size of the cake. There isn’t a lot of room to work with, and the cake sort of slides from side to side on the cake board. All of these proved to be challenging.
However in the end, the cake turned out tasty despite it’s slightly sad looking appearnce. I tend to fix my mistakes by adding more sprinkles. Because sprinkles fix everything!
THE RECIPE
Ombre Pink Mini Vanilla Cake
This cake is the perfect bite-sized dessert for any occasion. Or you can eat it all by yourself. It has a tender crumb and a tasty pink vanilla buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 1/3 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
- 3 tbsp buttermilk (or whole milk)
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease your cake pan(s) with butter and set aside.
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In a bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
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In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, about 3 minutes, until it is nice and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on medium speed. Add the vanilla and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and the milk and beat the mixture for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again making sure you get any butter at the bottom. Beat for an additional 20 seconds.
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With your stand mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated (you do not want to overmix the batter). Divide the batter between the 2 pans (if using) and bake for 20-25 minutes.
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Cool on wire racks for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pan and cool completely before frosting.
Recipe Notes
Buttercream Frosting Recipe
For my go-to recipe for basic vanilla buttercream frosting, check out my post right here!
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I cannot believe it has been 8 months since the inception of this blog. I have gone through a lot of changes in these 8 months and I think my blog reflects that. I have a huge passion for food and desserts, and I am so happy I can share my recipes with you. Although I do not know where I will be in the next 4 months, I do know that dreams are super important. They are the hope that keeps us going. Nevertheless, for now all I can say is eat cake and celebrate!
