These Mini Raspberry Cakes make a wonderful dessert, as everyone gets their own individual cake. With the pretty pink cream, they are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or for anyone who loves raspberries.
Jump to Recipe
I had an idea in my head for a while to make mini cakes of some description. I already had the biscuit cutter, but most of the recipes I saw required a sheet pan of a particular size. I know most of us don’t like having to purchase pans that we will only use maybe once or twice a year. So I decided to try it with a regular 9×13 inch pan. Because the 9×13 is smaller than what is usually used for mini cakes, the cakes baked up higher. Once they were completely cool, I put them in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm them up. Now they were very easy to slice in half. I decided to put raspberry jam in the middle of each mini cake, and top them with a raspberry cream.
What are the Mini Raspberry Cakes made up of?
The cake itself is a buttery vanilla cake. I used the reverse creaming method, which I will describe below. I used a biscuit cutter to cut out each mini cake. Then I placed the cakes in the freezer for 30 minutes. This makes it easier to cut them in half horizontally. Once cut, I filled the center of each cake with raspberry jam. Then each cake is topped with raspberry cream, which uses a raspberry sauce that is made in a saucepan on the stove. This gives the cream a fabulously natural raspberry flavor, plus a pretty pink colour.
The reverse creaming method:
Instead of creaming butter and sugar together like traditional cake recipes, the reverse creaming method begins with the dry ingredients and finishes with the eggs. This is turn creates a cake with a lighter and tighter crumb, and makes it more springy. Each mini cake is tight like a pound cake, but without the denseness.
The method for reverse creaming is very easy: sift the dry ingredients, including the sugar, into a bowl. You need to use a fine mesh strainer for this so that the ingredients get aerated and larger sugar crystals are left behind. Then, mix in cubed butter, a little milk and vanilla extract. In this step, the butter coats the flour, which helps result in a finer cake crumb. It’s best to cube the butter while it’s still cold, as the cubes will come to room temperature faster than a whole stick of butter will.
Finally, the rest of the liquids are added: the remaining milk, the yogurt and the eggs. The batter will be super creamy, be careful not to over-mix it.
The raspberry cream:
The raspberry cream has to be one of my favourite cream frostings of all time. It’s light as air and has such a wonderful raspberry taste to it, thanks to the raspberry sauce. The raspberry sauce is very easy to make, but it’s vital that it’s cooled completely before it’s added to the cream. The sauce is made with frozen raspberries and sugar, and is cooked on the stove until the raspberries are broken down. Next, the sauce is strained using a fine mesh strainer, to remove the seeds and pulp. Then it’s placed in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Next, the cream cheese is mixed at medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Then the vanilla and salt is added, and mixed again until combined. Next, the raspberry sauce is added and mixed until combined.
The heavy cream is then added to a separate large bowl. Beat on medium speed for a few minutes. Then the confectioner’s sugar is added to the cream, and beaten on high for 3 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
Lastly, we add the raspberry cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream. Mix the raspberry cream on medium speed for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides. Then beat again for another 30 seconds. And it’s done!
The cream can be made a day or two ahead of time, stored covered in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use it, give it a quick 30 whisk on high speed to get it fluffy again. Then transfer to a piping bag and you’re set to go!
What to do with the cake leftovers:
When cutting out mini cakes with biscuit cutter, you will inevitably be left with cake scraps. And if you don’t feel like eating it all by itself, here are some ideas:
- Trifle
- Cake parfait cups using pudding, yogurt or ice cream
- Cake crumbs for decoration
- Cake pops -break the scraps down in a food processor, then mix with frosting and form into balls.
Mini Raspberry Cakes
Equipment
- 2.5 inch round biscuit cutter
- 9 in x 13 in baking pan
Ingredients
For the vanilla cake:
- 3 cups cake flour *see notes
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (230g) butter unsalted, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature, divided
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt room temperature
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- raspberry jam
Raspberry sauce for cream:
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
Raspberry Cream:
- 8oz (227g) cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (473ml) heavy cream
- 1½ cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Make the cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the butter, vanilla and ½ cup milk. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. The mixture will resemble a thick dough.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining milk, yogurt and eggs. With the mixer speed on medium, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing for about 15 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix for 15 seconds more, until the batter is just combined. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness at 28 minutes. Place cake onto a wire rack to cool completely in pan.
- Once cake is completely cool, use a biscuit cutter to cut the individual cakes. You should get 12 rounds altogether. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, they will be easy to slice in half with a sharp knife.
Make the raspberry sauce:
- While the cake is baking, prepare the raspberry sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the frozen raspberries and sugar. Use a spoon to crush the berries. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, until the berries are falling apart. Once done, strain the berries over a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Use the back of a large spoon to press the sauce through the strainer, discarding any seeds and pulp (or you can reserve this to use on top of oatmeal, which I like to do). Place sauce in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Make the raspberry cream:
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and salt. Mix again until well combined. Add the cooled raspberry sauce and beat again until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the heavy cream on medium speed for the first few minutes. Add the confectioner's sugar. Turn up speed on mixer to high for about 3 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
- Add the cream cheese and raspberry mixture to the whipped cream. Whisk on medium speed for 30 seconds, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix again for another 30 seconds until stiff peaks form. Use the frosting right away or keep refrigerated.
Assembly:
- After the cakes have been in the freezer for 30 minutes, remove and cut each one in half horizontally. You will now have 24 halves. Spread about a teaspoon of raspberry jam on 12 of the halves. Top with the matching half so you have a two-layer cake. Fill a piping bag with the raspberry cream and pipe onto each mini cake. Top with a fresh raspberry if desired.
Notes
- Cakes will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- You can make the cakes the day before serving and leave them covered at room temperature. Top with the cream just before serving.
Leave a Reply