The Best Ever Mini Vanilla Cake

I don’t want to be cliché but it wouldn't be a cliché if there wasn’t some semblance of truth in it therefore permit me to say that great things really come in small packages. Obviously i’m the exception because I am 5.11’’ and I consider myself a pretty big deal so…..

Back to this mini vanilla cake, ugggg!!! it’s so good. It so soft and so moist and just so vanilaish and just really perfect for 1 or 7 people. You could also eat everything at once; I’m not judging , my sister can (i’ve seen her do it more than once). Another thing I love about this cake, that damn frosting. It is the best vanilla frosting you will ever have.

Recipe 1 - 7 Servings

what you need

Dry Ingredients

200g soft/pastry flour

20g Kokonte (cassava) flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Wet ingredients

100g full cream milk

30g greek yoghurt

30g non flavored vegetable oil

Extra

170g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

124g (2 ) eggs

1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Vanilla frosting

70g unsalted butter (firm but soft)

100g powdered sugar

150g cold cream cheese

15g cold heavy whipping cream

1teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

• All ingredients should be at room temperature unless stated otherwise.

• Because this is a vanilla cake, vanilla is a very important ingredient here. If you don’t use the good kind of vanilla you are not going to like the taste. The vanilla in the cake is 1 1/2 tablespoons which is a lot and if you use any foul vanilla, you’ll taste it. I have a small bottle of very good vanilla I use for these and another bottle of the cheap kind for other recipes.

• Substitute corn flour for kokonte flour if you don’t have any.

• You can either bake this cake in two 6 inch cake pans or an 8 inch pan. The accompanying image to the recipe was baked in an 8 inch pan.

Directions

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 6 inch cake pan and set aside.

Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir together and set aside. Combine the wet ingredients and set aside.

To make the cake, whip the butter and the sugar over medium until pale and fluffy, about 6 mins, It should look lighter than what it did when you started. Add the vanilla extract and continue whipping for 1 more minute. Add the eggs one at a time whipping every time one is added until it’s fully incorporated. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and whip to combine then a 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, whip to combine then add the rest of the wet ingredients. Whip until butter is smooth, there should be no lumps. Pour vanilla cake batter into the prepared cake pan and use a spatula to level the top. Bake in the middle rack for 40 minutes or until done. To check doneness, poke the center of the cake with a tooth, if it comes out clean with a few crumbs it’s done but if it comes out wet, leave a bit longer. Remove cake from oven after it’s done. Let it sit on the counter for 15 mins then gently place on a rack and let it cool completely.

To make the vanilla frosting:

Using a hand mixer, whip the unsalted butter and the cream cheese until fluffy, about 6 minutes then add the powder sugar a little bit a time whipping after each addition until everything is added. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and whip. Add the whipping cream and whip just to combine. Don’t over whip otherwise it’ll split. Place in fridge until ready to use.

To frost the cooled cake, place vanilla frosting in a piping bag. I didn’t use any tip so you can just place the frosting in a ziplock bag and cut the tip of the bag. It just needs to be round. Pipe the frosting on top of the cake, a little squeeze at a time. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.