Chocolate Mini Cake with Minty Meringue Buttercream
This Chocolate Mini Cake with Minty Meringue Buttercream is tender, moist, and frosted with a mint flavored Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The mini cakes are sliced to create delicate layers and a beautiful cake to celebrate the Holiday's, anniversary, or just to satisfy a chocolate craving!
10tablespoonsunsalted butter, cut into cubesroom temperature
scant 1/4teaspoonpeppermint extractlittle less than 1/4 teaspoon
Instructions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Grease 2, 6-inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk, egg, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the liquid ingredients, plus the boiling water, to the dry ingredients and whisk until no dry streaks remain.
Pour the batter evenly into the 2 prepared cake pans. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Cool in the cake pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake pans onto the wire rack. Carefully remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cakes. Reinvert the cakes on the wire rack and cool completely.
Mint Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Thoroughly clean a medium glass bowl and the whisk attachment for a handheld mixer. You want these to be squeaky clean and free of grease or oils so the egg whites beat up nicely into a meringue. Any oils/grease may inhibit a proper meringue.
In a small saucepan, heat about 2 inches of water to just simmering. Do not boil. In the clean glass bowl, add the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl on top of the saucepan and whisk (using the whisk attachment for the handheld mixer) the mixture constantly for about 3-5 minutes. You want the egg whites to heat - not cook - and the sugar to dissolve. The mix is done when it no longer feels grainy when you rub it between your fingers. Or you can use a thermometer and heat to 160F degrees.
Remove the bowl from the heat and attach the whisk attachment to the handheld mixer. Beat the egg whites at medium speed for about 5 minutes, to reach stiff peaks and for the eggs to cool. The egg whites will look glossy and smooth.
Add the butter cubes one at a time. Continue to beat the mixture until all the butter has been added and thoroughly mixed in. Add the peppermint extract and beat for another few seconds to incorporate. The frosting will be smooth and have soft peaks. If the frosting looks soupy or too thin, refrigerate it for 20 minutes and beat again.
Assembling the Cakes
Once the cakes are completely cool, you can either cut each cake in half to make 4 total layers or leave the two cakes intact. Evenly portion the frosting so you have the same amount for each layer. Spread on top of each cake layer and spread evenly to the edges.
You can either leave the outside of the cake 'naked', or you can take an offset spatula and spread any excess frosting you may have, or that may have snuck out of the layers, and frost the outside with a thin, rustic layer of frosting. Serve and enjoy