High Altitude Mini Tiered Chocolate Wedding Cake
This recipe for moist and dark chocolate cake is a smaller size for a mini tiered cake, perfect for a small wedding or special celebration.
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
- ⅔ 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.
Notes
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.
This mini tiered cake will yield about 12 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.
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