Aren’t we all looking forward to Christmas? Don’t we start to feel the festival vibe this time of the year?
I love decorating my chocolate dessert with gold. And my favourite is to use gold crystal sugar sprinkles. All elegant, chic and festive.
To decorate these mini cakes, all it takes is time and patient. No skill is involved. I came up with the idea by using the chocolate flakes, so you don’t have to worry about the smoothness of the exteriors. You can go as rustic as you prefer. And trust me, if you are making these for your guests for a dinner party, you will blow them away.
Ingredients (4 mini cakes):
Chocolate Cake
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Chocolate Ganache
200 grams dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Garnish
100 grams dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon gold crystal sugar sprinkles
Directions:
To prepare the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line a 9×13-inch sheet pan.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Crack in the egg, spoon in the sour cream, and pour in the oil and the vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Pour in the boiling water, and slowly mix until smooth and liquidy.
Pour batter in the prepared pan, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Then invert it and let cool completely.
To prepare buttercream, beat butter for a few minutes in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add powdered sugar and turn the mixer on low, beat until the sugar incorporates with the butter. Add vanilla, heavy cream and cocoa powder, beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes, or until buttercream becomes light and fluffy.
Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut 12 cake circles. Sandwich three cake circles with buttercream for one mini cake. Place four frosted mini cakes in the refrigerator to chill.
To prepare ganache, place the chocolate, heavy cream and corn syrup in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Remove cakes from the refrigerator, and place them on a wire rack over a sheet pan to hold the ganache dripping.
Pour ganache over the top and sides of the cakes.
To prepare the chocolate flakes, melt the chocolate and pour it onto a large parchment paper. Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate in a thin and even layer. Let it dry completely. Peel away the parchment paper while breaking the chocolate pieces.
Press chocolate flakes around the sides of the cakes. Sprinkle gold crystal sugars on top as garnish. Preferably leave the cakes in room
temperature and serve on the same day.
43 comments
hello there! I would love to make this beautiful chocolate ganache cake. I was wondering what I could use instead of corn syrup. Because in my country they don’t sell corn syrup
You can use honey or light molasses.
If making 2 8 inch, does the cooking time change?
Hi Rhonda, I would say it’s pretty much the same. Check your cake layers at 18 minutes. Then add 2 minutes at a time. :)
Wow, great article.Much thanks again. Will read on
I am going to attempt this receipt for a Thanksgiving dessert. I am thinking of using a shaped cookie cutter, or a smaller round one. Not sure yet. I believe I would be feeding 12 people. Does this recipe only make 4 mini cakes?
Hi Elizabeth, this recipe makes 4 mini cakes. But you can easily double the recipe to make more if you prefer. Hope you like the recipe. :)
How many servings is this?
Title says it makes 4 mini cakes using a 3″ circle cutter if this helps or answers your question.
Can I make this a day in advance of dinner? Should it sit at room temp or in the fridge?
Yes, Andrea! You can make these a day in advance, and keep them in fridge. Leave them in room temp for half an hour before serving.
hey fanny how are you? its sarah here after long time can you pls suggest me any substitute for sour cream?
Hi Sarah, try to use plain yogurt. It should work fine. :)
This recipe is out of control amazing delicious. And worth every single solitary bite. I will say that I was frustrated the first time I made it because it seemed above my skill level and mine looked a mess, so I had to sit down and think about how to put this masterpiece together so it would not only taste good but be beautiful. Here’s what I did.
1. I used a normal size muffin tin and made all of the layers of my little cake. They were all uniform in size and there was no waste of precious cake.
2. While they were baking I made the chips for the outer layer and after I spread the thin layer on the parchment paper I put it in the fridge to get solid cold. I also made the ganache, transferred it to another bowl and let it get completely cool and kept it room temperature.
3. After the cakes cooled I spread the frosting on them and made them double layer and put in the fridge to get cold for about a 1/2 hour.
4. I poured the ganache on them and then removed the cooled chocolate from the fridge. I took the parchment paper and folded it up and simply crumbled the chocolate up that way without ever touching it and pressed the pieces up against the soft ganache.
They were BEAUTIFUL and just as amazing.
FYI- I didn’t assemble all of the cakes at once. For those that I didn’t make that night I froze them. I put the little cake layers that I didn’t use in a freezer bag and froze them. And stored the icing and ganache in the fridge.
cant wait to make it .it looks soooooooooooooooooooooooh ddddddddd .
Let me know how you like it, lulu! :)
I don’t understand how you can get 12 cutouts using a 3″ cutter from only a 9×13 sheet cake. Maybe six but not 12, correct? I’m making this today and I just don’t see how that’s possible unless you make 2 sheet cakes.
Hi Rebekah, I just did it last week. And I got 12 cutouts with a tiny portion of leftover cake. I would say I was doing it pretty tightly between the cutout circles though if that makes sense to you. :)
Hi Fanny,
I made an 8 inch cake using this recipe, and it was an absolute delight. I can safely say it was the best chocolate cake I have ever had. It was for hubby’s b’day and he loved it, despite the sweetness level, which is saying something. :)
I thought of also letting you know that I am planning to post the cake on my blog, with credits to you. Trust that is ok with you :)
Regards,
Remya
Hi Remya, I am so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. I can’t wait to see your post on your blog. :)
I want my sister to make this SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD!
if I wanted to make this into a standard two layer cake, could you please tell me how much of each ingredient to use? also, instead of grams, how much by ounces would I use for the chocolate? thank you so much….this cake sounds delicious.
Hi Shirley, thanks for stopping by. This recipe is perfect to make an 8-inch 2-layer cake. For the ganache, 200 grams chocolate equals to around 7 ounces. :)
A warm hello! I love , love the elegant appearance of this dessert, but that it also looks like it will satisfy even the most dedicated chocolate lover. My question is whether or not the buttercream frosting is placed just in between the layers or all over and then the ganache is poured over the cake. Also, for times sake, can the frosting and ganache be made ahead and stored in fridge?
Hi, Tammi! Thanks for your kind words! The buttercream is just placed between the cake layers, not the sides and top. The sides and top will be covered by ganache.
Yes, both the buttercream and ganache can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Make sure you leave them in room temperature for at least an hour, so they will be work-able.
In fact the whole cake with buttercream can also be made in advance. Just plastic-wrap the whole cake and freeze it. The day you are ready to serve, leave the cake in room temperature until it’s not solid anymore before you pour the ganache on top.
Hi!
Can you beat by hand instead of using a mixer and get the same results?
Hi Mila, if you are talking about the buttercream, I highly recommend to use a mixer or hand blender to achieve the fluffiness of the buttercream. :)
And for the frosting (iam taking out the cocoa and adding creamcheese ) because I want the frosting white .
Hi Sarah, first of all, congratulations to your cousin. I am so happy that you are going to try my recipe for the wedding. That cake freezes really well. You can make the chocolate cake circles weeks in advance, wrap them with plastic wrap, and freeze them. Leave them in room temperature the day you frost the cakes. Don’t worry if it’s a little too hard, it will be easier for you to frost. Just make sure the cakes are in room temperature before serving.
Hope it helps. And let me know if you have further questions. :)
Iam going to make 200 mini cupcakes for my cousin’s wedding :D excited but little worried about quantity of cupcakes mix and frosting .how to store and how many days ahead should make, Can you help me ?
it’ll be big help:D.
Hey fanny
Ohh great thanx a lot fanny you made my day:D
You are welcome, Sarah. :)
Thanx for reply sweetie:)
Want to ask you can I make this cake as 2 tiered cake with fondant pls pls reply as soon as possible I want to make it for my daughter’s birthday party.
Sarah, you can make this cake into a 2-tier cake and cover the cake with fondant. But I am afraid you may have to skip the ganache before you place your fondant. Or simply use ganache frosting between the cake layers. :)
Thank you sooo much for great recipe I made this for my husband he loved it .it was yummiest cake I’ve ever made :D.(can I bake and freeze this cake ahead).pls reply.
Thanks, Sarah. I am so happy that you liked this recipe. Yes, you can make the cakes and freeze them. When you are ready to frost, just leave the cake in room temperature for 30 minutes.
I absolutely love how you used the broken pieces of chocolate to decorate these cakes. They are really strikingly beautiful. Pinning!
Awwww…thank you, Beth!
Looks beautiful, such a classy way to showcase chocolate!! Okay now I HAVE to buy those mini pans!! Or maybe I’ll ask my kids to put on my Christmas list. Fanny, good thing you are far away from me, otherwise I would gain LOTS of weight. xo :)
Thanks, Shelly. You know I would love to have you around to share my baked goods. :)
these cakes look amazing!
Thanks, Dina. :)