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mini chocolate sheet cake

May 22, 2024 Stephanie Inman
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This is just a wee little cake for when you need a bit of cake and you don’t want a giant one hanging around for days afterwards. It makes six pieces, a perfect little size for a few folks to enjoy, or for one or two hungry people. For me, baking a tiny cake fulfills my childhood longing for an Easy Bake oven, which I always thought seemed like the most exciting possible toy. I never got one, and I suspect in reality, the easy bake treats may have been more than a little underwhelming. But this cake is rich, tender and really chocolatey, with a fudgy, fluffy frosting.

This cake used buttermilk to keep it really tender and moist, and butter to add richness. I use a little bit of instant coffee to deepen the chocolate flavour, without making it coffee flavoured. It’s optional but it adds a lot of richness and depth. The frosting is a variation on american buttercream, with a little dark chocolate melted to make it a bit more chocolatey and rich.

mini-chocolate-sheet-cake

  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar

  • 3 tbs butter, melted and cooled slightly

  • ⅓ cup buttermilk (or milk with a splash of lemon juice/vinegar to sour it)

  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

  • ⅓ cup pastry flour (sub all purpose if you don’t have pastry)

  • 3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

  • ¾ tsp baking powder

  • ¼ tsp salt

  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda

  • 2 tsp instant coffee

  • ¼ cup hot water

Heat oven to 350°F.

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand with a whisk), beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until thick and frothy.

Beat in melted butter, followed by buttermilk, beating until smooth after each addition.

Sift in flour, cocoa, baking powder, instant coffee, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into wet ingredients until just combined with no flour streaks. Stir hot water into batter until even and smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre cake comes out with no wet batter (a couple crumbs are ok). Let the cake cool on a wire rack.

chocolate frosting

  • ½ cup butter

  • 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar

  • ¼ cup cocoa powder

  • 2 tbs heavy cream

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • ½ ounce dark chocolate, chopped

  • pinch of salt

Melt cream and chocolate together in a glass dish in the microwave, in 10 second bursts, stirring in between. When mostly melted, stir until evenly combined and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Whip butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and coco, mix on low until combined (drape a large tea towel over the mixer to prevent a sugar-coco cloud). Increase speed and mix until evenly combined. Add vanilla, room temperature cream and chocolate and salt and mix until evenly combined and very fluffy.

Spread over the top of the cooled cake. Top with sprinkles or chocolate pearls or curls if desired.

← rhubarb raspberry cobbler with buttermilk biscuitscream tea scones →
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These bright and sunny cookies are stuffed full of tart lemon curd, and slightly vegetal from a good amount of basil pulsed into the sugar. The result is a chewy, herbaceous cookie that bursts with gooey lemon centres. Link in bio or here www.theverd
These bright and sunny cookies are stuffed full of tart lemon curd, and slightly vegetal from a good amount of basil pulsed into the sugar. The result is a chewy, herbaceous cookie that bursts with gooey lemon centres. Link in bio or here www.theverdigris.ca/blog/basil-lemon-curd-sugar-cookies * * * * * * * #cookies #lemon #basil #baking #kitchn #foodfluffer @foodblogfeed #foodblogfeed #instafood #thebakefeed #gloobyfood #hautescuisines #f52grams #huffposttaste #huffpostgram @feedfeed #feedfeed #foodphotography
From the archives: Crispy chocolate peanut butter squares: a candied, crispy puffed cereal base with layers of peanut butter and chocolate, all balanced with a good pinch of flaky salt. It’s like the best combination of a rice-crispy and a Reec
From the archives: Crispy chocolate peanut butter squares: a candied, crispy puffed cereal base with layers of peanut butter and chocolate, all balanced with a good pinch of flaky salt. It’s like the best combination of a rice-crispy and a Reece’s peanut butter cup. Search “the verdigris crispy peanut butter chocolate squares or use this link for the recipe: www.theverdigris.ca/blog/chocolate-peanut-butter-crispy-squares * * * * * * * #chocolate #peanutbutter #ricecrispy #kitchn #foodfluffer @foodblogfeed #foodblogfeed #instafood #thebakefeed #gloobyfood #hautescuisines #f52grams #huffposttaste #huffpostgram @feedfeed #feedfeed #foodphotography
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Apricot and amaretti crumble - crisp, crumb topping softens on the bottom where it meets thick, gooey, sticky sweet-tart fruit. Crunchy, almond scented amaretti cookies spike through the crumb topping. Plus, fresh apricots look like the cutest little butts. Link in bio or here www.theverdigris.ca/blog/apricot-and-amaretti-crumble * * * * * * * #crumble #apricots #amaretti #baking #kitchn #foodfluffer @foodblogfeed #foodblogfeed #instafood #thebakefeed #gloobyfood #hautescuisines #f52grams #huffposttaste #huffpostgram @feedfeed #feedfeed #foodphotography
From the archives: A bit of a twist on a classic: these cookies have white chocolate, macadamia nuts and a little toasted coconut. I boosted the coconut flavour with a tiny bit of coconut extract, which you can leave out if you aren’t a fan. Wh
From the archives: A bit of a twist on a classic: these cookies have white chocolate, macadamia nuts and a little toasted coconut. I boosted the coconut flavour with a tiny bit of coconut extract, which you can leave out if you aren’t a fan. White chocolate can sometimes be way too sweet, so I also salted the tops of the cookies just a little, to round the sweetness. Also, I think it’s crucial to just slightly underbake them so they stay chewy and soft. Search for “the verdigris macadamia white chocolate coconut cookies” or use this link: https://www.theverdigris.ca/blog/macadamia-coconut-white-chocolate-cookies #cookies #macadamianuts #coconut #whitechocolate #kitchn #foodfluffer @foodblogfeed #foodblogfeed #instafood #thebakefeed #gloobyfood #hautescuisines #f52grams #huffposttaste #huffpostgram @feedfeed #feedfeed
These bright and sunny cookies are stuffed full of tart lemon curd, and slightly vegetal from a good amount of basil pulsed into the sugar. The result is a chewy, herbaceous cookie that bursts with gooey lemon centres. Link in bio or here www.theverd From the archives: Crispy chocolate peanut butter squares: a candied, crispy puffed cereal base with layers of peanut butter and chocolate, all balanced with a good pinch of flaky salt. It’s like the best combination of a rice-crispy and a Reec Apricot and amaretti crumble - crisp, crumb topping softens on the bottom where it meets thick, gooey, sticky sweet-tart fruit. Crunchy, almond scented amaretti cookies spike through the crumb topping. Plus, fresh apricots look like the cutest little From the archives: A bit of a twist on a classic: these cookies have white chocolate, macadamia nuts and a little toasted coconut. I boosted the coconut flavour with a tiny bit of coconut extract, which you can leave out if you aren’t a fan. Wh

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