Mini Strawberry Cake

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This mini strawberry cake is a simple but elegant dessert that is perfect for 1 or 2 people. A white cake base with strawberry purée mixed in. Topped with a strawberry frosting and fresh strawberry slices.

If you are serving a large group of people, or are wanting a lot of leftovers for the week, regular sized cakes such as this coffee banana cake or this pear and raspberry cake are perfect.

However, if you want a small cake for just a couple of people, mini cakes, like this mini strawberry cake or this mini layer cake are the best option.

Jump to:

• Recipe Highlights
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• Instructions
• Make Ahead
• Storage
• Variations
• Expert Tips
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe Highlights

• It’s perfect for 1 or 2 people. This mini cake is the perfect size for a large individual portion of cake or for a couple people to share.
• It’s made with real strawberries. There is no artificial strawberry flavoring. Strawberry purée is used in the cake base and in the strawberry frosting for the most authentic flavor.
• It tastes like strawberries & cream. The light and fluffy white cake base tastes like milk and vanilla. Combined with the strawberry purée and strawberry frosting, this cake tastes a bit like strawberries & cream.
• It comes together quickly. Unlike with a full sized cake, this mini cake comes together quickly. In addition, the bake time is only 35 minutes.
• Elegant & Pretty. Decorated with light pink strawberry icing and strawberry slices, this cake is an elegant cake that guests will love.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Strawberries: The strawberries are blended into a purée and used in the cake base as well as the frosting. A few unblended strawberries are sliced and used as decoration on top of the frosting.
• Butter: Butter is used for the cake base as well as in the icing. You can substitute this with vegan butter or a plant based margarine.
• Canola Oil: Canola oil is used in the white cake base to add moisture and richness. You can substitute this with vegetable oil. Don’t use olive oil as this will add a distinct olive flavor.
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar, as opposed to brown sugar, works best for the cake base.
• Icing Sugar: Icing or powdered sugar is used to make the frosting.
• Vanilla & Almond Extracts: Vanilla extract and almond extract are used to add subtle flavor to the white cake base that complements the strawberry flavor.
• Egg Whites: Whipped egg whites make the cake light and fluffy by helping to aerate the batter.
• Milk: Use 2% cow’s milk. You can replace the cow’s milk with a non-dairy milk, but depending on the flavor of milk, it will add a slight flavor. For this cake, almond milk works best as a substitute.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour. If needed, you can replace this flour with a 1:1 gluten free substitute.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the cake rise. Don’t substitute this with baking soda.
• Salt: A dash of salt brings out the other flavors.

Equipment

• A 4-inch diameter cake pan that is at least 3 inches tall. I use these cake tins which work perfectly.
• Parchment paper to line the bottom of the cake tin.
• A blender or a food processor to purée the strawberries.
• A spatula to mix the ingredients together.
• A set of mixing bowls to mix the cake batter.
• A kitchen scale for accurately measuring ingredients.
• A mini frother with a whisk attachment to whip the egg whites.
• A hand mixer or a stand mixer to mix the ingredients together.
• A toothpick to test when the cake is done baking.
• A serrated knife to level the cake.

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 365F. Line the 4 inch cake tin with parchment paper. Lightly butter the sides of the pan. Dust the sides lightly with flour, tapping out the excess flour.

Step 2: In a medium sized bowl, beat the oil, butter and sugar together until combined. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract. 

Step 3: In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. 

Step 4: Purée the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Remove ½ tablespoon of the purée and set it aside for making the icing. 

Step 5: Whisk the egg whites for 2 to 3 minutes until stiff peaks form. 

Step 6: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, alternating with adding the milk. Mix only until just combined. 

Step 7: Fold in the pureed strawberry. 

Step 8: Fold in the whipped egg whites. 

Step 9: Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin. 

Step 10: Bake the cake for 33 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. 

Step 11: In a small bowl, beat the icing sugar, strawberries and butter together until well combined. Cover and chill in the fridge for an hour before frosting. 

Step 12: Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for an hour before icing. Once chilled, use a serrated knife to level the cake. Then ice the cake and decorate it with strawberry slices.

Make Ahead

• Full Cake: You can make the entire cake (frosted and decorated) in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Note that it will taste freshest when served within 2 days of assembly.
• Cake Layers: You can also make the cake base up to 3 months in advance. Once baked, let the cake cool to room temperature. Wrap the cake in two layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer or aluminum. Store in the freezer and thaw overnight in the fridge. Don’t unwrap the layers before the cake is done thawing.
• Frosting: You can make the frosting in advance. Store the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Storage

• Fridge: Store leftover frosted cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
• Freezer: Technically, you can store leftover frosted cake in the freezer for up to 2 to 3 months, however it will mess up the icing. Wrap the full cake, or individual slices in two layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Let the cake defrost in the fridge overnight before servings. Remove the plastic wrap once the cake has defrosted.

Variations

• Dairy-Free: For a dairy-free cake, substitute the butter with vegan butter and replace the cow’s milk with almond milk.
• Gluten-Free: For a gluten-free strawberry cake, replace the all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten free flour.
• Flavored Frosting: Replace the strawberry frosting with another flavor such as a rich chocolate frosting or a light vanilla frosting.
• Use another berry: Instead of a mini strawberry cake, replace the strawberries with another berry such as blackberries, raspberries or blueberries.

Expert Tips

• Let the ingredients come to room temperature. Before mixing the ingredients together, let the butter, milk and eggs come to room temperature. This helps prevent curdling.
• Use a kitchen scale. A kitchen scale will accurately measure all ingredients. Without a scale, it is easy to add too much flour.
• Don’t overmix the batter. Mix only until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing the batter can cause the cake to become tough.
• Make it a layer cake. If you prefer, cut the cake base into two layers and turn this mini strawberry cake into a strawberry layer cake.
• Chill the frosting and cake base in the fridge before frosting. Working with a chilled frosting and chilled cake layer is much easier when frosting a cake.

FAQ

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