Wood & Spoon

Mini Yellow Cake

March 17, 2022

Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com

I refuse to accept we are halfway through March. We’re three months into 2022, and, somehow, my brain is stuck somewhere back in November of 2021. Sure, I’ve packed a whole lot into life over the past few months (Trips! A book launch! Christmas!), but I seriously need to get it together. In moments like this, when my mind is going into overdrive, I’m grateful for the consistency this site offers me. It’s nice to know that, rain or shine, 2021 or 2022, busy or slow, I need to show up here every 8 days with a fun sweet something or another for you, and as hard as that is sometimes, it’s good for me. So, thanks!

Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com

Even though we’re going on the SIXTH year at this blogging thing, I have yet to post a yellow cake. Isn’t that bizarre? Growing up, yellow cake (well, and funfetti, obvi) was the classic cake flavor I could count on at every special occasion. When you grow up in house that depends heavily on Betty Crocker, you get super familiar with the deliciousness that is box cakes, and I’m not alone here. Yellow cake is a classic, and I think it is high time we carved out the space it deserves on Wood and Spoon. But instead of going full-on 1990’s with this yellow cake madness, I’ve decided to offer something a little different: a Mini Yellow Cake! With it’s petite size, crowd-pleasing flavor, and limitless decor options, this is going to your go-to cake for all your pint-sized celebrations. Let me tell you how to make it!

  • Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com
  • Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com
  • Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com

The first thing you need to know about this mini yellow cake is the composition of the cake layers themselves. Yellow cakes attribute their color, flavor, and fluff to egg yolks and butter. With those two ingredients, this cake has a tender crumb and rich flavor. The frosting here is a bit different too- in lieu of a powdered sugar and cocoa powder tooth ache, I opted for a chocolate ganache-esquire frosting that is silky and fudgy without being too sweet. YUM.

Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com
Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com

So what if you’re not after a super mini yellow cake? Simply double the recipe, bake the cake in 2- 9” pans at the same temperature, and once a toothpick inserted comes out clean, call it a day! I love having a tiny cake recipe in my back pocket, but we can easily adapt to make more cake for more friends. After all, sometimes more is more!

So happy Thursday, happy 2022, happy whatever the heck today is. But most of all, happy baking this mini yellow cake!

Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com
Mini Yellow Cake by Wood and Spoon blog. This tiny yellow cake is perfect for small celebrations, small batch bites, and smash cakes! Learn how simple it is to make a moist yellow cake from scratch with a fudge chocolate stovetop frosting on thewoodandspoon.com

If you like this mini yellow cake you should try:

Smash Cake Tutorial
Almond Toffee Cake
Milk Chocolate Chip Cake
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
Brownie Batter Cake
Mini Layer Cakes

Print

Mini Yellow Cake

This mini yellow cake packs all the flavor, fluff, and festivity of any standard cake- just in half the size!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 25
  • Total Time: 240
  • Yield: 4-5 Servings
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the cake (Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum):

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 1–1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1–1/2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk

For the frosting:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, diced
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

To make the cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit. Lightly grease 2-6” round cake pans and cut out rounds of parchment paper to fit inside of the bottoms. 
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the yolks one at a time, followed by the extract. Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir in any unincorporated bits. In a small, separate bowl, stir together the cake flour baking powder, and salt. Add half of the mixture to the butter, stirring on low until nearly integrated. Add the milk and stir. Scrape the bowl and add in the remaining dry ingredients. Fold the mixture until smooth.
  3. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake in the preheated oven for about 22-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. 

To make the frosting:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Stirring consistently, melt the ingredients until the mixture is nearly smooth. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to melt completely. Pour the mixture into a bowl and place in the fridge. Allow to cool, stirring ever 15 minutes or so, until the mixture comes to a thickened, fudgy consistency. Then frost the cake. Level the cakes using a serrated knife and use and offset spatula to smooth the frosting on top of the first layer. Place the second cake on top and finish frosting as desired.

Notes

To make a larger, 2 layer, 9″ cake, simply double the ingredients for the cake and bake in 2 (9″) pans! Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

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