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Valentine's Day MINI CAKES

Make one of these fun Valentine’s Day mini cakes with delicious cake and filling, dreamy buttercream frosting, and easy decorations! This tutorial starts with three steps to make each mini cake and then shows how to make 3 different designs. Watch the video and get the recipe at the bottom of the page.

Step 1: Prepare the cake, filling and frosting

I’m using cupcakes to make these mini cakes. Unwrap them and cut each one in half horizontally to make two cake layers. I like tall cakes so I use three layers, which means one and a half cupcakes for each mini cake. With 6 cupcakes you can make 4 mini cakes. Or just make one or two or three and freeze the rest for another occasion!

how to make a mini cake with cupcakes

For the filling and frosting I’m using a mini batch of my 4 Minute Buttercream. That recipe is at the end of this tutorial as well.

You can add any ingredients you like to flavour buttercream. It’s so versatile! I'm using is dulce de leche, a thick caramel, and freeze dried strawberries, crushed to make a powder. Add a bit of milk if the buttercream gets too thick or more sugar if it gets too thin.

make fillings for valentine's day mini cakes

Step 2: Assemble the Valentine's Day mini cakes

Now let’s assemble these Valentine’s Day mini cakes! Spread a bit of buttercream onto a cake board and press your first layer onto it. The buttercream will act as glue to attach it to the cake board. Now add your filling and alternate between cake layers and filling to assemble your mini cake. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes.

how to make valentine's day mini cakes with cupcakes

Step 3: Crumb coat

is the CRUMB COAT. Every cake needs a crumb coat. It’s a thin layer of frosting to trap any crumbs that come off the cake. It doesn’t need to be neat but it does need to completely cover the cake. It’s easiest to do this when the cake is cold, which is why you chill it first. When the crumb coat is fairly smooth, put the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to set. Now you’re ready to frost and decorate!

how to crumb coat a mini cake

Step 4: How to decorate Valentine's Day mini cakes

YOU ARE FIRE mini cake

For this first Valentine’s mini cake, tint a third of the remaining buttercream pink. Use this to frost the cake. To smooth the frosting, scrape around the cake a few times and then spread more buttercream over any gaps. Scrape again and again until the frosting is smooth. Towards the end I like to switch to a metal cake comb and warm up the edge with warm water or a blow torch. This gives me the smoothest frosting! For the top, swipe sideways with an offset spatula, all the way around, wiping the blade clean in between.

how to frost mini cakes

Next you’ll need piping bag with any open star tip. I'm using a 4B, which has lots of short prongs all close together. Spoon the leftover pink buttercream into the piping bag and push it down to the end. To pipe a border around the top of the cake, hold the piping tip a little bit above the cake. Squeeze to push the buttercream through the piping tip, letting it bulge a little bit over the edge of the cake. Then stop squeezing and pull the bag up. The piping will pull up a bit, pulling away from the edge of the cake so it’s perfectly positioned.

piping a border with a 4B piping tip on a mini cake

Before adding lettering, the cake needs to be in the fridge for at least an hour to set the frosting. After that, leave it at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the frosting is firm but not cold. I'm using Sweet Stamp letters for my message, pushing them into the frosting to leave an imprint. Push each letter gently into the frosting and push it at the top and bottom, left and right. This ensures all of it has imprinted into the buttercream. Then pinch the letter and pull it away. You’re aiming for a shallow imprint, just deep enough to see all parts of the letter clearly.

You can colour in the letters with any edible paint. I’m using edible gold paint, which you can make with edible gold luster dust and a drop of any clear alcohol like vodka. To make it without alcohol, use a clear flavor extract like clear vanilla or lemon. A small paintbrush that’s quite stiff is ideal for painting these little letters.

how to use sweet stamp letters on buttercream cakes

For the fire emoji I’m using yellow buttercream, microwaving it for 5 seconds to melt it slightly. When it's runnier like this you can paint with it! Dab it onto a piece of parchment paper, shaping it to make the inner part of a flame.

Do the same with a small spoonful of orange and red buttercream, painting these around the yellow flame. This is a buttercream transfer, and you can make any nonstick paper like parchment or wax paper or baking paper. Wipe off any smudges with a toothpick or clean paintbrush so that only the flame is left on the paper. Then press the flame against the cake, pushing gently to attach it. Put the cake into the freezer for 10 minutes or the fridge for 30 minutes to set the flame against the cake. Then peel the paper off and voila! You are fire!

valentine's day mini cakes with emojis

HEART EYE EMOJI Valentine's Day mini cakes

Let's make another emoji cake next: a heart eye emoji Valentine's Day mini cake. Start by tinting half of the remaining buttercream yellow to frost the cake. Once that’s smooth, put the rest of the yellow buttercream into a piping bag with a small star shaped tip. I'm using is a tiny # 16 but any small star is fine like a #32 or a #199. To pipe a border, hold the tip just beside the cake, resting it on the cake board. Squeeze the buttercream out and then release your pressure on the piping bag as you swipe the bag away from the cake. You’ll make a textured bead, leaving a little tail behind it, which you’ll cover up with the next bead.

piping a border around a cake with a star tip

Put the cake into the fridge for at least an hour to set the frosting. Then make two stencils using parchment or wax paper, drawing two hearts for the eyes and a smiling open mouth. The mouth should be on one piece of paper and the eyes on another. It’s best to do this with the cake beside you so you can check the size and the spacing.

Cut the shapes out of the paper, leaving the paper around the shapes intact. These pieces of paper will be your stencils! Position the first one on the cake, pressing it down and then spread buttercream over it. Smooth it a few times to take off the excess and leave a thin, smooth layer behind. Then peel off the stencil.

how to make an emoji cake

Put the cake in the freezer for 5 minutes or the fridge for 15 minutes before you do the next stencil. This way the first details will set, so you don't damage them with the next stencil. If the buttercream smudges as you pull a stencil away, use a toothpick to gently scrape off any smudges. Tadaa! A heart eye emoji cake for Valentine’s Day!

smile emoji mini cake

PIPED HEARTS mini cake

This next one is really fun. Pipe little hearts onto a piece of parchment or wax paper on a cutting board or tray. Use a small star shaped tip like this # 16. Lift the tray or board up with the hearts on it and put them into the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, frost your cake. When the hearts are frozen you can pick them up and press gently them into the frosting on your cake! To skip the freezer step you can pipe these straight onto the cake but it's trickier to pipe them sideways rather than down onto the paper.

decorate a mini cake with frozen buttercream hearts

These Valentine's Day mini cakes are the perfect size to share! They’re best enjoyed at room temperature so if you make them in advance and keep them in the fridge for a few days, take them out about 2 hours before you serve them. This give the cake and buttercream time to warm up and soften and they’ll taste their best!

valentine's day mini cakes

You'll find the recipe for these Valentine's Day Mini Cakes below. For more cake decorating techniques and designs, visit my cake school and sign up for a FREE 7 day trial of my All You Can Cake membership for access to ALL of my courses so you can try out! See you there!

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valentine's day mini cakes recipe

Valentine's Day Mini Cakes


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  • Author: Emily

Description

Make a Valentine’s Day mini cake with delicious cake and filling, dreamy buttercream frosting, and easy decorations!


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cake layers:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt

For the buttercream:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons cream or milk
  • optional for fillings: dulce de leche or caramel, crushed freeze dried strawberries, lemon curd, jam, or crushed Oreo cookies (1/2 tablespoon of each)

Instructions

To make the cake layers:

  1. Using an electric mixer (ideally handheld, since the quantities are so small), beat room temperature butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down to the bottom of the bowl once during mixing to make sure no butter or sugar is stuck at the bottom.
  2. Add egg and vanilla, mixing on the lowest speed for about 30 seconds, until incorporated.
  3. Add room temperature buttermilk and oil and mix on low speed to incorporate.
  4. In a bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour into the mixing bowl and mix on lowest speed to incorporate, scraping down to the bottom of the mixing bowl to check that batter is evenly mixed.
  5. Line 6 cups of a cupcake pan with wrappers and divide batter between them. I like to use a cupcake scoop for this! 
  6. Bake at 175ºC or 350ºF for 15 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back up when you poke them.
  7. Leave cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting them out.
  8. Unwrap the cupcakes and cut each cupcake in half horizontally to make two layers. You'll need five cupcakes to make 10 cake layers, of which you'll use 9 to make three 3-layer mini cakes.

To make the buttercream:

  1. Sift the sugar to remove any lumps and check that the butter is at room temperature - you should be able to slice through it easily with a spatula.
  2. With an electric mixer (preferably handheld, since the quantities are too small to reach effectively with a stand mixer), mix butter for a few seconds until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and salt and mix on the lowest speed until incorporated, about two minutes.
  3. Add vanilla and mix until it's combined with the buttercream.
  4. To make flavoured fillings, scoop up about half a cup of buttercream and divide between three small bowls. Add 1/2 a tablespoon of any filling to each bowl (e.g. dulce de leche or caramel, crushed freeze dried strawberries, lemon curd, jam, or crushed Oreo cookies). Stir to check the consistency and if it's too stiff, add a few drops of milk until it's easy to stir. Note: if you're using liquid filling ingredients e.g. caramel, the consistency will probably be perfect without adding milk! For dry ingredients e.g. cookie crumbs or crushed freeze dried strawberries you'll probably need to add milk.
  5. Check the consistency of your main bowl of frosting and add more milk or cream a tablespoon at a time until the buttercream is smooth and easily stirred.

To make a mini cake:

  1. Spread or pipe a blob of buttercream onto the middle of a cake board at least 4 inches wide and press the first cake layer down onto it to attach it.
  2. Add a layer of flavoured buttercream as filling, spreading it over the top of the cake layer.
  3. Repeat with the next cake layer and filling and then place the final cake layer on top.
  4. Put the cake into the freezer for 15 minutes or the fridge for 30 minutes to set the buttercream.
  5. Cover the cake with a thin layer of buttercream as a crumb coat. This is easiest to do by piping it onto the cake (I like to do zig zags around the cake) and then spreading it. When it's fairly smooth put the cake back into the fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.
  6. Decorate the mini cakes following the steps in the tutorial!

You can also watch a video of this tutorial on 3 Valentine's Day mini cakes:

Save this tutorial for later to Pinterest:

mini cakes for valentine's day
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