Hello lovelies,
Can you believe in the 3 years I’ve been posting my bakes that I’ve never shared a red velvet cake? I know, me neither.
Well, let’s just say, every single time I’ve attempted to make a red velvet cake (or red velvet anything actually) it’s gone wrong. Wether that’s been the texture of the cake or the fact it came out brown instead of red – it’s just continuously not worked out for me so I’ve stayed well away.
That was until I saw a picture on Pinterest of these mini red velvet cakes and it caught my eye instantly. I knew straight away that these would be the perfect valentines bake so I riled myself up and gave it one last shot. Much to my surprise, it worked out perfectly unlike before, therefore, I am here today sharing with you my first ever red velvet cake recipe. I hope your as excited as I am!
Why it took me so long to achieve I’ll never know nor understand as honestly, these cakes are pretty darn easy to achieve! Oh, and the finished, decorated product… chefs kiss. Need I say more.
So if you’d like to get baking the easiest most tasty mini red velvet cakes with a silky smooth buttercream centre, then keep on reading:
Category: Sweet Treat
Serves: 12 Mini Cakes
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 Minutes
Decorating Time: 10 Minutes
Overall Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients You Need For Cake:
- 300g Of Butter / Stork
- 300g Of Caster Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 170ml Of Buttermilk
- 330g Of Self-Raising Flour
- 1tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 3tbsp Of Cocoa Powder
- 4tsp Of Vanilla Extract
- 3-4tsp Of Good Quality Red Food Colouring
Ingredients You Need For Decorating:
- 100g Of Unsalted Butter
- 200g Of Icing Sugar
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Extract
- 12 Large Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- Handful Of Heart Sprinkles
How To Make Red Velvet Cake:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line a 12inch deep edged baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 160C / 180C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl using an electric whisk, beat together the 300g of butter with 300g of caster sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy in texture.
- Next, one at a time, beating well between each addition, add in the 4 large eggs and 4tsp of vanilla extract.
- Now, using a whisk, whisk in the 170ml of buttermilk, 330g of self-raising flour, 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 3tbsp of cocoa powder until fully combined.
- Lastly, add in the 3-4tbsp of red food colouring and mix in until the entire cake batter is a rich red colour.
- Pour the cake batter into the baking tray and using a spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth out the cake until it’s even all over.
- Place the tray into the oven for around 30-40 minutes, until a skewer placed into the centre comes out clean.
- Once baked, take out the oven and place tray onto the side. Allow cake to cool down completely before removing it from the tray.
How To Make The Buttercream
- When the cake is almost cooled, it’s time to make the buttercream.
- Add the 100g of unsalted butter to a large bowl and using an electric whisk, beat the butter for 2-3 minutes to loosen it.
- Once loosened, slowly add in the 200g of icing sugar, beating well between each addition until a thick yet smooth buttercream has come together.
- Once your happy with the thickness and texture, add the 2tsp of vanilla extract and give the buttercream one final beat.
- Place a star shaped nozzle into a piping bag, then add the buttercream into the piping bag. Set aside until ready to use (TIP: do not leave the buttercream in a warm place as the buttercream will soften pretty quickly so I’d always recommend keeping at room temperature).
How To Assemble & Decorate The Cakes:
- When the cake has fully cooled, carefully lift/tip the cake onto your work surface.
- Using a 8cm circle cookie cutter, cut out 12 identical circles of cake (or however many your cake will make).
- TIP: if the cake is deeper than the cookie cutter, push the cutter down slightly into the top of the cake to secure and using a sharp knife, push it to the bottom of the cake and slowly cut around the cookie cutter until you get your perfect circle.
- Once you’ve cut out all your circles, cut each of the circles of cake in half using a sharp knife (this will make for a cleaner cut).
- TIP: You could even cut the cake into 3 layers, depending how much your cake has risen whilst cooking.
- Make a decision on what will be the bottom half of the cake and then pipe the ready-made buttercream onto it. I piped a circle of buttercream around the edge of the cake (as that’s the part which is seen in person & pictures) and then filled in the centre.
- Once your happy with the piping, place the other half of cake ontop of the buttercream.
- To finish off the piping, pipe a small swirl of buttercream in the centre of the top cake.
- Finally, I added one large dried strawberry to the side of the buttercream swirl on the centre of the top cake and added a few heart sprinkles to finish the mini cakes off.
That’s your Mini Red Velvet Cakes prepared, baked, decorated and ready for you to enjoy with a loved one or two…
You can’t tell me that these aren’t the perfect mini cakes to share with your loved one/s this valentines?
They say all good things come in small packages and this recipe certainly solidifies that! The size of these are perfect, it’s just the right amount to fill you up nicely but isn’t to sickly or overwhelmingly sweet.
Let me know in the comments below if you make these mini cakes yourself and if you do, what you thoughts are on them? Did you make it for a partner or loved one this valentines, if so, what was their thoughts on these cakes also?
Sending you all tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
