These 2-layers 8cm (3.15inch) Mini Chocolate Cakes with raspberry filling and whipped chocolate ganache are a great recipe for cake buffets, small celebrations or as a present for the office. If you scale down the recipe to half the batter, this Mini Chocolate cake recipe would make a great dessert for Valentine’s Day or date night too. One for each person and one to share. Perfect, right? ❤️😊
What I love about this 8cm / 3.15 inch chocolate cake recipe.
- The recipe is easy to follow what is always a huge plus point in a recipe.
- The chocolate frosting is a delicious 3 ingredients whipped dark chocolate ganache . Shiny, super delicious, and simple.
- The cake batter is a chocolate sponge cake which means: soft, airy and the right kind of sweet
- There isn’t a complicated filling to make. It’s simply raspberry jam thinned with a little water. Great shortcut and the perfect thickness achieved in seconds 😉
- The chocolate flavor is just perfect. The subtle airy flavor of the sponge cake combined with the rich velvety flavor of the chocolate ganache.
- One tiny cake has the perfect size to avoid falling into a sugar coma after enjoying it.
- One small cake is the perfect combination of flavors: The not so sweet chocolate sponge cake, combined with the rich chocolate ganache , filled with the tangy sweet raspberry jam and decorated with fresh raspberries on top of the cake .
Ingredients:
- Flour: I’m using simple all purpose flour for the chocolate cake batter but you can use cake flour as well.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: unsweetened natural cocoa powder thats what is needed in this recipe. Im using dutch-processed cocoa powder. Don’t use any hot chocolate mix for this recipe. Thats something entirely different 🙈🤣
- Sugar: it’s simple baking sugar im using here but you can use powdered sugar as well for the cake batter . This might shorten your mixing time a little bit because of the finer consistency of the powdered sugar.
- Eggs: This recipe calls for large eggs at room temperature . So don’t forget to take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before starting with the baking.
- Salt: a ich of salt can’t be missed in any cake recipe
- Heavy Cream: The heavy cream is for the rich dark chocolate ganache . The dark chocolate gets melted in the heavy cream.
- Chocolate: For the ganache Im using chopped dark chocolate 55%-80% . But you can use dark chocolate chips as well.
- Honey: Im adding 1 tsp of honey to the ganache . It’s just takes out a little bit of the bitterness.
- Raspberry jam: I add some tablespoons of water to the warmed up jam to thin it a little bit.
- Fresh berries: You can decorate the top of the cakes with whatever berries you have at hand and are in season . I used raspberries here.
This recipe doesn’t need baking soda, unsalted butter, hot coffee, pure vanilla extract or espresso powder. It’s amazing as it is. ❤️😊
What other things you need for making these Mini Chocolate cakes.
- A stand mixer or an electric mixer. It makes your baking life so much easier 😉.
- Parchment paper for the baking sheet
- A small bowl, medium bowl and a large bowl for weighing all the ingredients.
- Double boiler for melting the chocolate in the heavy cream
- Rubber Spatula
- Stainless steel cake ring 8cm / 3.15 inch
- Offset spatula or a spoon to swirl some chocolate ganache on the cake tops
- Piping bag and a round tip, 1,5cm(0,6 inch) large
What is important to pay attention to in this mini cakes recipe.
- Make sure that all the ingredients are weight properly.
- Start mixing together the eggs and the water at low speed and increase to medium speed when it starts to get frothy.
- It’s the same for the egg yolks and the sugar. Start out at low speed and increase after 2-3 minutes to medium speed.
- In a large mixing bowl carefully start to fold in 1/3 of the stiff egg whites into the egg yolk sugar mixture. When that 1/3 ist folded in fold in the rest.
- Make sure that you don’t beat out the air when folding in the egg whites and the flour.
- When you start mixing together the melted chocolate and the heavy cream make sure that it’s a homogenous batter.
- Let the chocolate ganache cool completely to room temperature before whipping it up.
- When the sheet of chocolate cake is cooled and you beginn with cutting out the mini cake layers you can either be brutal and just push down the cake ring into the batter or… You lay the cake ring on top of the cake and cut the cake layers out with a serrated knife very carefully . This way the edges will look more beautiful .
The best way to store left over Mini Chocolate Cakes.
If you really have some mini cakes left, store them in an airtight container in your fridge up to 4 days. Before serving just put them in to the microwave for a couple of seconds.
Did You make this recipe? Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram and tag me. I love to see your creations.
Warm Hugs Nina ❤️😊