It should be no surprise to long-time OC blog readers that our resident baking babe, MINI MARTHA, would absolutely slay Valentine's Day. These mini red velvet cakes are almost too precious to eat. Key word: almost.
This Valentine's Day, I'm making mini red velvet cakes for my girlfriends. And no, that's not because I'm some sad singleton (unlike in years past, I currently have a boyfriend) but because there's no better excuse than Valentine's Day to whip up the kind of pink, heart-shaped, mega-girly confections that would give Elle Woods a toothache.
Did I mention that they're incredibly delicious and fun to make? These cakes can be kept un-frosted to show the layers, frosted with a tip to create a design, or coated in crumbs, sprinkles, and candies. If you're feeling ambitious, homemade marzipan roses and hearts are a lot easier than you think. But what's really great when you give these cakes as gifts is that each one can be decorated differently depending on who it's for.
The cake recipe is by cake man raven in Brooklyn. You can make whatever frosting you like, but I used an egg white frosting because I like the way it tastes and pipes. Making these cakes isn't too tricky, but depending on how you want to frost them it may take a chunk of your day. For best results, you should make the cake the night before (that's tonight guys!) and freeze it. That way, when you cut out the mini cakes the next day the crumbs hold and don’t fall apart.
Mini Red Velvet Cakes
Cake:
2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder
1 ½ cups of vegetable oil
1 cup of buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of red food coloring
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar
Egg white buttercream:
6 ounces of egg whites (about 6 eggs)
2 cups of sugar
2 ¾ cups of butter, softened
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1. Start with the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take two 12 x 9 inch pans and line them with parchment paper. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In the bowl of an electric mixer mix together the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Once combined with the mixer still running slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet. Continue to mix just until smooth. Pour the cake batter into the two prepared pans––you will most likely need to spread the cake batter thinly so that it reaches the edges of the pan. Put in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the cakes.
2. Once the cakes are out of the oven let them cool at room temperature. Once cooled, lift one cake (by lifting from the parchment paper) out of its cake tin. Stack this cake on top of the other cake with the parchment paper separating them. Wrap these two cakes tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
3. The next morning make the frosting. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a heatproof bowl until combined. Then place the egg mixture over a double boiler and constantly whisk until the mixture reaches the temperature of 150 degrees on a candy thermometer (or hot to the touch, and the sugar should be dissolved). Pour the egg white mixture into an electric mixer bowl that has been fitted with the whisk attachment. Whish the eggs and sugar on medium
This Valentine's Day, I'm making mini red velvet cakes for my girlfriends. And no, that's not because I'm some sad singleton (unlike in years past, I currently have a boyfriend) but because there's no better excuse than Valentine's Day to whip up the kind of pink, heart-shaped, mega-girly confections that would give Elle Woods a toothache.
Did I mention that they're incredibly delicious and fun to make? These cakes can be kept un-frosted to show the layers, frosted with a tip to create a design, or coated in crumbs, sprinkles, and candies. If you're feeling ambitious, homemade marzipan roses and hearts are a lot easier than you think. But what's really great when you give these cakes as gifts is that each one can be decorated differently depending on who it's for.
The cake recipe is by cake man raven in Brooklyn. You can make whatever frosting you like, but I used an egg white frosting because I like the way it tastes and pipes. Making these cakes isn't too tricky, but depending on how you want to frost them it may take a chunk of your day. For best results, you should make the cake the night before (that's tonight guys!) and freeze it. That way, when you cut out the mini cakes the next day the crumbs hold and don’t fall apart.
Mini Red Velvet Cakes
Cake:
2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder
1 ½ cups of vegetable oil
1 cup of buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of red food coloring
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar
Egg white buttercream:
6 ounces of egg whites (about 6 eggs)
2 cups of sugar
2 ¾ cups of butter, softened
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1. Start with the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take two 12 x 9 inch pans and line them with parchment paper. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In the bowl of an electric mixer mix together the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Once combined with the mixer still running slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet. Continue to mix just until smooth. Pour the cake batter into the two prepared pans––you will most likely need to spread the cake batter thinly so that it reaches the edges of the pan. Put in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the cakes.
2. Once the cakes are out of the oven let them cool at room temperature. Once cooled, lift one cake (by lifting from the parchment paper) out of its cake tin. Stack this cake on top of the other cake with the parchment paper separating them. Wrap these two cakes tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer overnight.
3. The next morning make the frosting. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a heatproof bowl until combined. Then place the egg mixture over a double boiler and constantly whisk until the mixture reaches the temperature of 150 degrees on a candy thermometer (or hot to the touch, and the sugar should be dissolved). Pour the egg white mixture into an electric mixer bowl that has been fitted with the whisk attachment. Whish the eggs and sugar on medium