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.
