🎂 Mini Birthday Cake
This Mini Birthday Cake is the ultimate small celebration dessert — a perfectly sized, single or double-layer cake made with simple pantry ingredients. Moist, fluffy, and easy to decorate, it’s great for birthdays, anniversaries, or just because. You’ll get all the festive fun of a traditional cake without the leftovers. It’s adorable, delicious, and ready in under an hour!
Equipment
- 2 15cm (6 inches) round cake tins
Ingredients
For the Mini Cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp sour cream optional, for extra moistness
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 –2 tbsp heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Food coloring optional
- Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 4-inch pans or one 6-inch round pan.
- Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl for 2–3 minutes until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture alternately with the milk, mixing gently. Fold in sour cream if using.
- Divide batter evenly between pans and bake for 18–22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool in pans for 5–10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare frosting by beating butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually. Add vanilla and cream/milk, beating until fluffy.
- Frost and decorate the cooled mini cakes with colored frosting and sprinkles.
Notes
You can bake this cake in ramekins or muffin tins for an extra-mini version.
Make ahead and store layers unfrosted in the fridge (up to 3 days) or freezer (1 month).
Frosting can be flavored with strawberry, chocolate, or almond extract for variations.
For a clean finish, chill the cake before final frosting.