Mini vanilla cake for two for celebrating anniversaries, date night, or just for fun. This small cake recipe is perfect for a small party or just two people!
As a die hard vanilla lover, this cake is a love letter to myself. It's not that I have anything against chocolate, but vanilla holds my heart. When I set out to make a vanilla cake recipe, I hit it hard with a full tablespoon of vanilla extract. After one bite of this cake, you'll agree it's the best recipe for vanilla cake out there!
Incidentally, if you need a mini chocolate cake for two, I've already written you that love letter.
Vanilla cake best recipe easy:
Making a small cake is almost the same as making a regular-size cake, but you do need a specific pan.
To make a mini cake for two people, you will need a 6" round cake pan. The one I like is here.
You're looking for a 6" cake pan with 2" high sides. I've tested 6" cake pans with 3" high sides, and I've found that the extra inch radiates more heat in the oven and the cakes can sink after baking.
I find my 6" round cake pans at Michael's or Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section.
The easy part about my small cake recipes is that they only require one bowl, since we're using such few ingredients! First, mix the wet ingredients thoroughly with a hand mixer, sprinkle the dry ingredients evenly on top, and then fold together.
Vanilla 6 inch cake:
This cake makes 4 small slices of cake, which I love, because then I can eat two slices of cake in one day! It's perfect for celebrating an anniversary (side note: have you seen my wedding cake cupcakes?), or for having a fun date-night at home.
This recipe comes from my latest cookbook, Sweet & Simple: Desserts for Two, and I decorated it with chamomile flowers in the book.
Today, we did easy buttercream roses, which are so simple if you have the right tip. I use an open-star tip, and make a circle that starts in the center and moves outward.
All you need is a Wilton 1M piping tip to make pretty circles around the outside edge of the cake. Since this is a mini vanilla cake for two, we only have room for one row of roses. However, next time you're decorating a big cake, try making several lines of them. Buttercream roses look difficult, but they are so easy to do!
Just cut the cake into 4 equal slices, and serve it!
If you love 6 inch cakes, check out my other recipes! They're perfect for small parties, date night, or for gifting to friends on their special day!
Recipe from: Sweet & Simple: Desserts for Two, my third cookbook, full of EASY desserts that have less than 10 ingredients.
Mini Vanilla Cake
Mini vanilla cake for two people with vanilla buttercream roses.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar*
For the vanilla buttercream recipe:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and spray a 6" round cake pan with 2" sides with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper.
- In a medium-size bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat very well, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well-combined, about 15 seconds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add half of the this to the batter and beat for just a few seconds before stirring in half of the milk and vinegar. Continue beating. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat, and then stir in the remaining milk.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth out the top, and bake on a small sheet pan for 37-39 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack in the pan. Carefully remove it from the pan, pulling away the parchment paper once it has cooled.
- To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a medium-size bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream, and beat until light and fluffy. If the mixture seems too stiff, add a splash more heavy cream.
- Use a little more than half of the buttercream to frost the cake. If you made the cake ahead of time and frozen it, it's best to apply a crumb coat of buttercream before applying a second layer.
- Place the remaining ¼ of the buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip, and pipe roses along the outside edge of the cake. To make a rose, pipe a spiral shape, starting inside of moving around the center.
Notes
*Instead of whole milk and apple cider vinegar, you can use 6 tablespoons of buttermilk.
The cake may be baked and frozen, tightly wrapped for up to 1 month. Defrost before frosting.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 542Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 119mgCarbohydrates: 66gFiber: 0gSugar: 54gProtein: 3g
Lori says
This was a perfect and moist little cake! I used the airfryer at 320 degrees for 25 min. Perfectly moist and wonderful.
Christina Lane says
Wow, thank you for the air fryer cook times! I will be using this :)
Uphambili Simamane says
This cake is so heavenly!! Loved making it, but my mother and I loved eating it even more! Thank you.
Krystal says
This cake was delicious and the perfect size!
Ana says
I did this recipe twice but instead used a muffin baking pan and turned out perfect. Its my go to recipe now for quick homemade muffins 😍