High Altitude Mini Black Velvet Cake
This mini black velvet cake is moist, dark and rich, made with black cocoa powder for an intense dark chocolate flavor and black color that's perfect for Halloween. And the petite size is just enough for 2-4 people.
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
- 4-inch Round Cake Pans (x2)
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp black cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup full-fat sour cream
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp black cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp meringue powder (optional)
- pinch coarse Kosher salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp super-black gel food coloring
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottoms of two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powders, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk for 10-15 seconds until well combined.
- Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake the cakes on the center oven rack for about 25-28 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched, or a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- Separately, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powders, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, mixing until mostly combined. Add the vanilla extract and the black food coloring.
- Whip the buttercream on medium speed (#4/6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until very light and fluffy.Note: Black cocoa powder is more bitter than Dutch-processed cocoa powder. If the buttercream doesn't seem sweet enough to you, you can add more powdered sugar a tablespoon or two at a time, but you'll need to add a small amount of milk, too, so the buttercream isn't too stiff.
Assembly
- If needed, use a sharp knife to slice off a small portion of the domed top on the cakes, so they're level for stacking.
- Place one of the cooled cakes on a small plate or cake pedestal. Frost the cake with a layer of buttercream, then add the second layer of cake. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Chill the cake for a few minutes in the refrigerator to set the crumb coat, then frost all over with a final coat of buttercream.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with the leftover buttercream. Pipe a border around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Decorate with chocolate skulls and other chocolate decorations for Halloween.
Notes
Keep the leftover cake in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
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