Mini Layer Cakes

If you can bake a sheet cake, you're already on your way!

Hi Bakers!

I put together a tutorial for mini layer cakes using a sheet cake for Mother’s Day circa 2017. While the photos grew stale over the years, the concept holds strong. Here is the newly updated tutorial just in time to celebrate mom this weekend.

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Discount ends at midnight on Mother’s Day.

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You will love making these Mini Cakes for their cute layers and whimsical decorations, but really it is the ease of assembly and amazing taste that will surely win you over. If you can bake a sheet cake, then you can make these adorable little cakes.

What I love about these is that they are super customizable - both flavor and decoration. These ones are made with vanilla cake and whipped vanilla buttercream, but the variations are endless!

Tools and Recipes:

• Baked and cooled sheet cake

• Buttercream of choice (like this easy whipped buttercream frosting)

• Round cookie cutter - 2 to 3 inches in diameter

• Piping bag or offset spatula

• Fresh flowers

• Sprinkles or other edible decorations (meringue kisses, fruit, candied nuts, etc.)

Steps for Making Mini Layer Cakes:

1. Bake, cool, and trim the sheet cake. If it bake ups with a dome on top, feel free to shave it down with a serrated knife so that the top is even.

2. Cut round layers of cake with the cookie/biscuit cutter out of the sheet and set aside. Using a 2 to 3 inch round cutter, you should be able to cut out at least 12 rounds per ¼ sheet cake. Score the cake to make sure they all fit before pressing all the way down with the cutter.

3. Fill a piping bag with buttercream. Pipe buttercream on half of the cake rounds. Take the plain cakes and place them on top to make mini 2-layer cakes.

4. For the top, pipe on more frosting like you did for the filling or decorate as desired.

5. Top with fresh flowers, mini strawberries, herbs, meringue kisses, or candied nuts. If you use a different buttercream or add a filling (like jam or lemon curd), use decorations to give flavor hints.

Tip: If the sheet cake isn't perfectly even, you can trim until flat or mix-and-match the layers so that they stack up evenly.

How to Make Mini Layer Cakes

Decorating Ideas:

• Fresh flowers - I like to purchase a mixed bouquet and dissemble it a bit. This way, you can still make individual cakes that are unique, but they still coordinate with similar colors and textures.

• Sprinkles - Try mixing together sugar pearls, sprinkles and quins to make your own custom mix.

• Meringues - Make a batch of French Meringue and pipe into little kisses.

• Buttercream - Pipe buttercream flowers or swirls on top of the mini cakes.

• Herbs

• Candied Nuts

• Lemon Wedges or fresh berries

Flavor Variations:

Mango Matcha: Keep the vanilla sheet cake, matcha lemon buttercream filling and frosting, dollop of mango curd on top. 

Funfetti Mini Cakes: Multiply the snack cake recipe by 1.5 and bake in a 9x13-inch pan.

Mini Opera Cakes: Bake the batter in a 9x13-inch pan. 

Lemon Blueberry: Keep the vanilla sheet cake, use lemon buttercream filling and frosting, dollop of blueberry jam on top or between layers (using an icing dam). 

Flavored Buttercream - use white chocolate frosting, raspberry frosting, chocolate Nutella buttercream, or peanut butter frosting.

What to Know About Edible Flowers:

• Fresh flowers make beautiful, easy cake toppers, but there are a few things to consider before placing just any bouquet on something intended for eating.

• Make sure the flowers are unsprayed and free from pesticides.

• Select flowers that are safe to eat and non-toxic if food adjacent.

• Click for a list of toxic plants that should not be found on your cakes.

Serving and Storage:

• The cake is super moist, so the cakes will stay fresh for a couple days. Because the sides are exposed and don't have a protective frosting barrier, I recommend serving the mini cakes the same day that they are assembled.

• If making in advance, wrap bundles of mini cakes (without the flowers, if possible) in plastic wrap to keep from drying out.

• The sheet can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before using.