tiny chocolate cake with fresh mint buttercream.

tiny cake, tiny cake!

i always wanna make one of those 9-inch wide 3 layer cakes, but whoa nelly that’s a LOT of cake. i’m only baking for 2 people, so i like making these teeny tiny cakes. if you could see just how tiny this is in person, you’d squeal.

i wanted to make a minty-chocolate-something, but didn’t wanna use peppermint extract as to not make a toothpaste dessert.

fresh mint infused into the butter for the buttercream frosting was just perfect, oh-so subtle and delicate. it’s slightly cooling, too, i think? or maybe i hallucinated that because i knew about the fresh mint in there.

i didn’t know this would have such a wedding vibe in the photos… i was going for wintery freshness. but it’s pretty either way.

sifted cocoa beauty.

^ once the batter gets to this super thick stage, before adding the milk, you’ll think it’s wrong, but it’s right.

i explain in the recipe how to infuse your butter with fresh mint, then quickly get it back to a solid state to whip up your frosting!

^ quick shout out to the amazing muffin top/extreme cake dome that got leveled off to layer this cake. this is my ideal chocolate muffin top texture that reminds me of this chocolate muffin i used to always get at zupan’s market after saturday soccer games growing up. it had the most extremely oversized muffin top and it was so perfectly crisp, so chocolatey, and unforgettable.

any remaining cake batter left over - you can make little muffins! aka cupcakes. that “muffin” i referred to before was certainly just chocolate cake in the shape of a muffin without frosting on top.

bake the “muffins” for less time though, i’d say check them at 20 minutes.

here’s to a teeny tiny, delicate, delicious & indulgent winter dessert that’ll brighten up even the gloomiest of seattle winter days!!!!!

Tiny Chocolate Cake with Fresh Mint Buttercream

Makes One 4-inch Round 3 Layer Cake, or a 9-inch Round Cake

Total Time: 1 hour, Bake Time: 28 minutes

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

(Slightly adapted from B.A.’s Easy Chocolate Birthday Cake)

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk (I used 2%), warmed

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh Mint Buttercream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1/3 cup whole fresh mint leaves (about 8-12 large mint leaves)

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1 TB. milk

Instructions-

Trace the circumference of three 4” cake pans on top of a piece of parchment. Cut out the circles and set inside each cake pan, pen or pencil side down. Spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, sifting the cocoa powder into the mixture, and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until a very thick batter forms. Add the warmed milk to the batter and gently stir until it becomes smooth.

Fill the prepared cake pans no fuller than 2/3 full with cake batter. Place on top of a baking sheet to prevent overflow, and bake for 28 minutes, checking with a toothpick around 24 minutes for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before turning out onto a cooling rack, peeling off the parchment round. Once slightly cooled, turn the cake domed side-up and use a serrated knife to level out the top of the cake so it is flat. Share the cake snack appetizers :)

While the cakes are baking, infuse the butter with fresh mint for the frosting. Squeeze the mint leaves to wake them up a bit and place them in a sauce pan on medium-low heat. Melt 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter and stir frequently for about 15 minutes. Pluck the mint leaves out and pour butter into the bowl that you’ll whip your frosting in. I poured mine right into the bowl of my stand mixer. Place the bowl into an ice bath and use a spatula to scrape the hardened butter off the edges of the bowl. Gently stir until the butter has returned to a soft solid state, 3-5 minutes. It should be just soft enough to cream the sugar into.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the sifted powdered sugar. Add the salt and 1 TB of milk. Beat until the frosting is fluffy. Add 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract, if desired. To keep the frosting more minty, omit the vanilla extract entirely.

To frost the cake, place one cake layer onto a small cardboard cake round on top of a plate. Plop a scoop of buttercream on the bottom layer (this should be the thickest layer you made) of the cake and spread almost to the edges with an offset spatula or butterknife. Add 2nd layer and repeat. Add top layer, squish and position the cake layers until they’re standing up firmly and straight. Use the offset spatula to spread a very thin layer of frosting all over the cake (this is the crumb coat to hold all the crumbs in before adding exterior frosting). Set plate in fridge for 10 minutes.

After the crumb coat has chilled, use the remaining frosting to spread all over the cake. You can go for a flat look or more swirly, swoopy look as I did with this cake. Use a metal bench scraper to carefully lift the cake off of the plate and onto desired cake stand or serving plate. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. Add chocolate jimmies or sprinkles if desired. Slice and serve!

Cover at room temperature. Enjoy within 3 days.

qp

vanilla grapefruit cupcakes with grapefruit poppyseed buttercream.

i’m loving all the winter citruses lately.

pete and i just visited my grandpa in palm springs, where the lemon and grapefruit trees were exploding with huge amounts of citrus. they smell so amazing right off the tree...it’s the best. we love waking up there and having the most fresh and juicy grapefruit for breakfast.

i always smuggle back several lemons and grapefruits in my backpack and giggle as i watch the blobs pass by on the x-ray security machine.

these wHintery wHite cupcakes…

these cuppycakes are inspired by two of my favorite go-to food bloggers in the land, how sweet eats and a cozy kitchen. the mojito cupcakes are actually from jessica of how sweet eats’ cookbook, the pretty dish, but adrianna from a cozy kitchen blogged the recipe for jessica’s mojito cupcakes here.

after doing some funky riffing and experimenting with both the cake and frosting portion of this recipe - i decided i need to forever leave it to these two pros and stick to the scripts.

in an attempt to be all timely for valentine’s day, i experimented using juice from raspberries to make the cupcakes pink. it sort of worked, but they turned out to be even more dense than they already are, and more lavender purple than pink. so i scrapped that idea for this valentine’s purpose and left them white. i can stick that naturally-dyed raspberry juice idea in my back pocket for another day when i need a light purple cupcake - the flavor was actually surprisingly good and juicy, but heavy.

and then, much like my attempt at the end of last year to make a pumpkin cream cheese frosting, i found myself in curdled grainy frosting hell and had to throw my first attempt out - which makes me SO sad.

i thought using the whisk attachment on my kitchenaid would be smart in really whisking up the frosting to make it extra fluffy….. no. it’s not really smart. it was dumb, and a waste of food and i shall never make that mistake again.

the best and most fluffy frosting i’ve ever had was from a cozy kitchen, so i went exactly by her methods for my 2nd attempt at this frosting. i will forever leave all frosting wisdom up to her.

use the paddle attachment, people. paddle. no whisky whisk!

also, sifting the powdered sugar is a very key component. sift it, people!

and it worked! fluffy and thick buttercream, with just enough fresh grapefruit juice and zest to give it flavor, but not curdle the whole damn thing and make you want to cry.

these are super refreshing, and quite indulgent! they are made with cake flour which makes the cupcakes pretty dense and rich, like an angel food cake. and then there’s sugary buttercream on top…which explains itself in the indulgence department.

peter and i both think they turned out great. i love poppy seeds in things for that teeny tiny crunch factor. i wanted to see how it would work in the frosting instead of the cake part, and i quite like it up there!

if you don’t like grapefruit, but like the idea of a fresh citrus & vanilla cupcake, you could totally make these with lemon, orange (blood orange?!?), or lime - just don’t overdo it with too much juice in the cake or frosting, or you’ll be sawwwwryy (sogging, ew! curdling, ew!).

i dunno, i’ve always LOVED grapefruit. just plain, without sugar. but if you’re someone who only takes their grapefruit with sugar, then these cupcakes are for you!

Vanilla Grapefruit Cupcakes with Grapefruit Poppyseed Buttercream

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes- (Recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats’ Mojito Cupcakes from The Pretty Dish)

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

• 1/2 cup. unsalted butter, softened

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 large egg + 1 large egg white (discard yolk)

• 2 TB. vegetable oil

• 1 TB fresh grapefruit zest

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

• 1/2 cup milk

For the frosting- (Recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen's Brown Butter Frosting)

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 TB fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (no more than 2 TB)

• 1 TB grapefruit zest, + a bit extra for garnish

• pinch of fine sea salt

• 1 TB poppy seeds

• 2 TB heavy cream

Instructions-

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

Combine the cake flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, beat the butter and white sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the whole egg and egg white, beating well after each addition. Add the oil, vanilla, grapefruit zest and grapefruit juice and beat well for 2 minutes. With the mixer on slow, pour in the milk and mix to combine. Finally, slowly add the bowl of other dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until well combined.

Fill the prepared cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Place the muffin pan on top of a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes, until set in the center of the cupcakes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with regular flat whisk attachments (not the thin wire whisk attachments), cream the softened butter. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar and beat at medium speed between additions until the combination is fluffy. Add the vanilla, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice (no more than 2 TB of grapefruit juice or frosting will begin to curdle or get grainy!) and mix well. Add the 2 TB of heavy cream and beat on medium/high speed for at least 3-5 minutes, until the frosting is super light and fluffy. Lastly, add the poppy seeds and mix to combine.

Use a cookie scoop or spoon to plop even scoops of frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the frosting. Garnish with thin sections of fresh grapefruit and extra grapefruit zest, if desired.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Best enjoyed within 2 days!

qp