A high altitude mini yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles that’s so soft, fluffy and moist. This classic recipe for a mini birthday cake is just the right size for only four people.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for mini lemon coconut cake, mini cinnamon sugar cake, and mini berry cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Small Size. High altitude bakers love my mini cake recipes, and this mini birthday cake has the perfect retro flavor combination of buttery yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting. When you want to make dessert, but you don’t need too much leftover, a mini layer cake is a great option for a small birthday celebration, smash cake, or any other special occasion. This little cake yields four slices, so it’s just enough for a few people to share.
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.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Cake Flour. I recommend using cake flour instead of all purpose flour. The lower percentage of protein in cake flour will make a softer, lighter, fluffier cake.
- Butter + Whole Milk + Sour Cream. The fat in these rich ingredients will make a cake that’s so soft, moist and tender, while a little oil keeps it from being too dense.
- Cocoa Powder. For my chocolate buttercream, I prefer to use Dutch processed cocoa powder for a richer flavor and darker color. But you can also use natural cocoa powder, if that’s what you have.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the insides of two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the melted butter, milk, sour cream, egg, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined. Divide the batter between the pans.
- Bake the cakes for about 28-32 minutes, until the centers of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cakes, then turn them out of the pans. Let cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- Using an electric mixer (either stand or hand-held), beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, meringue powder, salt and vanilla, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- If needed, slice a small portion of the domed top off the cakes before frosting.
- Stack and frost the cakes with the buttercream. Before the buttercream crusts over, decorate with sprinkles.
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
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
You can use two 6-inch round cake pans, for a layer cake that’s wider and not as tall. If using 6 inch pans, your cakes will need 5-10 minutes less to bake. If using 4-inch cake pans, note that the small layers will be thick, making the assembled cake taller than it is wide. This can be challenging to frost, especially for an inexperienced baker. If you’re unsure of your cake frosting skills, I suggest using two 6-inch cake pans instead. The wider width and shorter height will be easier to work with when frosting such a small, lightweight cake.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Mini Yellow Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting
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
- 4-inch Round Cake Pans (x2) (or two 6-inch round cake pans)
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ tsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp meringue powder, optional
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk, if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the insides of two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.You can also use two 6-inch round cake pans, for a layer cake that's wider and not as tall. If using 6 inch pans, your cakes will need 5-10 minutes less to bake.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the melted butter, milk, sour cream, egg, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined. Divide the batter between the pans.
- Bake the cakes for about 28-32 minutes, until the centers of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cakes, then turn them out of the pans. Let cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- Using an electric mixer (either stand or hand-held), beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, meringue powder, salt and vanilla, mixing until combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- If needed, slice a small portion of the domed top off the cakes before frosting.
- Stack and frost the cakes with the buttercream. Before the buttercream crusts over, decorate with sprinkles.
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