Red Velvet Mini Cakes

5 from 1 vote

Pretty, red velvet mini cakes filled with a sinfully delicious cream cheese vanilla frosting. These small cakes are super easy to make and are a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert.

Prep Time40

Cook Time10

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 795kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

Baking tray 30x40 cm/ 12x18 inches.
Large heart or round cookie cutters (about 6 cm/ 2 ½ inches)

Ingredients

Red velvet cake (Note 1):

50 g unsalted butter 3 ½ tablespoons/ 1.8 oz, soft
150 g fine sugar ¾ cup/ 5.5 oz, Note 2
1 egg large
1 tablespoon pure cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon gel red food coloring Note 3
120 ml buttermilk ½ cup/ 4 fl.oz
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
300 g flour 2 ½ cups/ 10.5 oz, Note 4
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon white wine vinegar

Frosting:

125 g unsalted butter ½ cup/ 4.5 oz, soft
300 g icing sugar 3 cups/ 10.5 oz
150 g cream cheese ⅔ cup/ 5.5 oz
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
a few freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries optional for decoration

Instructions

Red velvet cake:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the baking tray with parchment paper.
Wet ingredients: Beat soft butter and sugar until well combined. Add the egg and beat again until pale and fluffy. Add buttermilk, vanilla extract, food coloring, and vinegar. Combine well.
Dry ingredients: Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Sift them over the buttermilk mixture.
Fold in gently and shortly until just combined. Don’t overmix.
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and level it with a spoon. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Cool: Turn the cake onto a clean kitchen towel and carefully remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting:

Beat the soft butter until paler and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes with an electric mixer or stand mixer.
Add ⅓ of the icing sugar and beat again until fully incorporated. Add the remaining icing sugar in two batches, beating well in between. Scrape the walls of the bowl a few times.
Add cream cheese and vanilla extract and beat again until fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape the walls of the bowl when needed. The frosting should be creamy but still hold its shape.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip or another nozzle of your choice. If the frosting seems too soft for piping, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Assemble the mini-cakes:

Cut circles or hearts out of the red velvet cake. I cut 6 circles of 6 cm/ 2 ½ inches and 12 hearts. I made triple-layered mini-cakes, but you can make them only double-layered and have more, smaller cakes (Note 5).
Pipe frosting on all the cake pieces. Build double or triple-layered mini cakes.
Refrigerate until ready to serve but remove from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving to allow the frosting to soften slightly.
Sprinkle lightly with crushed dried raspberries or strawberries. Crush the berries with your hand.

Notes

Use a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients; it guarantees for best results (Amazon affiliate link).
Or granulated sugar.
I strongly recommend using gel food coloring or paste. If using liquid food coloring, you will need more, at least one tablespoon, and the color won’t be so intense.
I use cake flour most of the time, but plain/all-purpose flour is fine.
Reserve cake trimmings for another use. You can freeze them and use them to make trifles, cake pops, or cake balls.

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