This high altitude recipe for chocolate wedding cake is moist, dark, and perfect for any occasion, small wedding or anniversary celebration.
You might also love this mini tiered vanilla cake, mini chocolate cake for two, and classic white almond wedding cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Smaller Size. I’ve added a few mini layer cakes to my site this year, and I love the idea of a mini tiered cake, too. It looks so fancy and so special, but it’s petite, serving about 12 people, so it’s about 3/4 the size of a standard layer cake that serves 16 people. This makes it perfect for a small chocolate wedding cake or other celebration, where you don’t want to be left with a ton of uneaten cake after the party. Assembling this mini tiered chocolate cake is not much different from stacking and frosting four layers of cake.
Double Chocolate. Chocolate wedding cake with chocolate buttercream isn’t nearly so common as white wedding cake. So I really wanted to create something elegant that highlights the richness of chocolate, but in a mini size. A tiered cake with chocolate frosting can be just as stunning as one with vanilla.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. Today’s recipe is scaled down from my popular chocolate cake recipe.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake + Chocolate Buttercream. My original chocolate cake post contains lots of tips about making an incredible chocolate cake, so I don’t want to repeat all of the details in today’s post. It’s a wonderful recipe, incredibly popular with high altitude bakers, always moist, soft and so delicious. I scaled down the recipe to about 3/4 its size, to bake it in two 6 inch pans and two 4 inch pans. For the buttercream, though, I scaled the recipe up, since piping uses more buttercream than just spreading it on with an icing spatula.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottoms of two 6-inch round cake pans and two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then whisk until evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk the batter for about 15 seconds, until well combined.
- To divide the batter evenly between the pans so that your cake layers are all the same height, measure a scant 3/4 cup of batter into each of the 4-inch pans. Then divide the remaining batter evenly between the 6-inch pans.
- Bake the cakes for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, meringue powder, vanilla and salt, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium, and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times. If needed, beat in some milk, a tablespoon at a time, if the buttercream is too stiff. Then turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute.
Assembly and Crumb Coat
- Place one of the 6-inch cakes on a cake board or serving plate. Frost the top of the cake with a layer of buttercream. Stack the other 6-inch cake on top, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.
- Now place one of the 4-inch cakes on top, and frost the top with a layer of buttercream. Place the last 4-inch cake on top, and frost the 4-inch cakes all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.
- If your top 4-inch tier looks a little crooked after frosting it, use the side of a bench scraper to push it back into place, and make sure it’s straight all the way around. You may also find it helpful at this point to insert a straw or dowel down the center of your cake to keep the layers in place.
- Refrigerate the crumb-coated cake for 30 minutes.
Decorating
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill no more than 2/3 full of buttercream. You can refill the bag as needed.
- Pipe vertical rows on the top tier, as pictured. Starting at the base of the top tier, pipe up, then curve back down when you reach the top, in one continuous motion. Don’t release pressure on the bag until you reach the base of the tier again. Continue to pipe rows all the way around the cake.
- Using the same piping tip, pipe drop flowers all over the bottom tier. Don’t pipe them too tightly together, or you may run out of buttercream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the cake?
Keep the frosted cake refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day in advance, then let come to room temperature for several hours before serving. Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
What’s the best way to cut and serve a tiered cake?
This mini wedding cake will yield about 12-14 servings. To serve the cake, it’s easiest to cut the top tier into 4 pieces first, then cut the bottom tier into 8-10 pieces. Don’t try to cut tall pieces all the way from the top to the bottom.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Mini Tiered Chocolate Wedding Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- (2) 6-inch Round Cake Pans
- (2) 4-inch Round Cake Pans
- Disposable Piping Bag
- Tip 1M
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- â…” cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tbsp instant espresso powder (optional)
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup full fat sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 2 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.Lightly spray the bottoms of two 6-inch round cake pans and two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then whisk until evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk the batter for about 15 seconds, until well combined.
- To divide the batter evenly between the pans so that your cake layers are all the same height, measure a scant 3/4 cup of batter into each of the 4-inch pans. Then divide the remaining batter evenly between the 6-inch pans.
- Bake the cakes for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, meringue powder, vanilla and salt, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium, and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times. If needed, beat in some milk, a tablespoon at a time, if the buttercream is too stiff. Then turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 more minute.
Assembly and Crumb Coat
- Place one of the 6-inch cakes on a cake board or serving plate. Frost the top of the cake with a layer of buttercream. Stack the other 6-inch cake on top, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.
- Now place one of the 4-inch cakes on top, and frost the top with a layer of buttercream. Place the last 4-inch cake on top, and frost the 4-inch cakes all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.If your top 4-inch tier looks a little crooked after frosting it, use the side of a bench scraper to push it back into place, and make sure it's straight all the way around. You may also find it helpful at this point to insert a straw or dowel down the center of your cake to keep the layers in place.
- Refrigerate the crumb-coated cake for 30 minutes.
Decorating
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill no more than 2/3 full of buttercream. You can refill the bag as needed.
- Pipe vertical rows on the top tier, as pictured. Starting at the base of the top tier, pipe up, then curve back down when you reach the top, in one continuous motion. Don't release pressure on the bag until you reach the base of the tier again. Continue to pipe rows all the way around the cake.
- Using the same piping tip, pipe drop flowers all over the bottom tier. Don't pipe them too tightly together, or you may run out of buttercream.
If l wanted to make this cake not in layers what size pan would you suggest using, a 9 inch pan or larger/smaller?
Thank you!
You might need a 10-inch pan to bake all the batter in one layer, but if your 9-inch pan has a 3 inch depth, that would probably work, too.
The cake looks amazing! The decoration with those delightful colorful flowers gives it a wonderful springtime garden party vibe.