A super moist and flavorful 6″ small batch chocolate cake piled high with a chocolate mascarpone frosting.
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small batch chocolate cake
Hello hello! I’m here today with a classic recipe made small batch, chocolate cake! It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert, or just the perfect dessert for whenever you want a sweet treat.
This recipe yields just one 6-inch chocolate cake, requires ingredients you probably have in your home and less than 1 cup of flour, and is super easy to throw together. It’s also super moist and piled with a ridiculously perfect amount of a rich and creamy chocolate mascarpone frosting that’s not too sweet, making it the perfect compliment to the sweet chocolate cake.
This cake will yield you with 4 large slices of delicious chocolate cake, or 6 smaller ones. It’s perfect for two, but there are never any judgments here if you want it all for yourself. Below you’ll find all the tips, tricks, and info that you’ll need to make this mini chocolate cake recipe. Happy baking! 🙂
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
How to make your chocolate cake more chocolatey:
The secret to getting more chocolate flavor into your chocolate cake? Bloom your cocoa powder! Blooming your cocoa powder just means that you’re mixing the cocoa with a hot liquid. Here we’re using hot milk to both bloom the cocoa and add moisture into the cake. Adding in the hot milk releases the cocoa powder particles from a very thin membrane on them, exposing cocoa solids and bringing out more flavor. It’s truly such a simple way to add more chocolate flavor into your bakes, and makes it easier for the cocoa to incorporate into the batter.
Be careful when mixing the cake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cupcakes go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you’re mixing in the dry ingredients, be sure that you only mix *just until* that last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cake while it bakes:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 25 minutes to help prevent an over-baked, dry cake.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch chocolate cake –
chocolate cake:
- All purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
- Baking powder: for leavening and giving that “cakey” texture.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness
- Dutch process cocoa powder: gives the cake a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I wouldn’t recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa here, but you could use black cocoa powder for an even richer flavor.
- Whole milk: for moisture in the cake and for blooming the cocoa powder.
- Instant espresso: optional, but recommended to help bring out the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Vegetable oil: tenderizes the cake. Any neutral oil, such as canola, will also work here.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the cake and helps lock in the moisture.
- Egg: contributes moisture to the cake and helps bind the batter together
- Sour cream: tenderizes and adds moisture to the cake. I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
chocolate Mascarpone frosting:
- Mascarpone: the creamy base of the frosting.
- Salt: for enhancing the flavor and sweetness of the frosting.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetness.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder: for a deep chocolate flavor.
- Heavy whipping cream: makes the frosting light and fluffy.
how to make a mini chocolate cake
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Mix together the cocoa powder, instant espresso (if using), and hot milk.
- Then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients.
- Mix in the dry ingredients just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Then bake off the cake, frost it, slice, serve & enjoy!
small batch chocolate cake recipe q&a
do I need to use instant espresso?
I highly recommend using instant espresso because it helps bring out more of the flavor from the cocoa powder, but you can omit it if you’d like. You could also use instant coffee instead of instant espresso if that’s what you have on hand.
can I turn this into cupcakes?
If you’d like to make a small batch of chocolate cupcakes, you can check out my small batch chocolate cupcakes!
can I make this cake ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake the cake up to two days in advance and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I’d recommend waiting to make the frosting until the day you want to serve the cake.
how to store small batch chocolate cake
Like most baked goods, this cake will definitely taste the best on the day that it’s baked. Once you frost the cake, you’ll want to keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep well for about 3 days. The cake *needs* to be stored in the fridge since the frosting is made with mascarpone.
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 30 g dutch process cocoa powder (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. instant espresso
- 65 g whole milk (¼ c. + ½ tbsp.)
- 75 g vegetable oil (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 90 g sour cream (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.) room temperature
- 80 g all purpose flour (⅔ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
- 150 g mascarpone (⅔ c.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 24 g dutch processed cocoa powder (¼ c.)
- 150 g heavy whipping cream (5 oz.)
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Generously butter a 6" cake pan. Crumple up a small sheet of parchment paper, then un-crumple it and place it into the buttered cake pan. Press it tightly to the bottom and sides of the pan, then set aside. This will give you an easy way to lift the cake out of the pan! It will leave the sides looking a little rustic, so if you'd prefer a cleaner look: generously butter the cake pan, then coat it with sugar or cocoa powder.
- Add the cocoa powder and instant espresso (if using) to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat the milk in a large microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup until it's hot and starts to foam up (you'll want it to be larger bowl/cup to avoid the milk spilling over into your microwave)
- Immediately pour the hot milk over the cocoa powder. Stir the mixture together until it's cohesive and there's no lumps.
- Add in the vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and sour cream. Whisk vigorously until combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until the last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into your prepared 6" cake pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. To check for doneness: I recommend using a thermometer for the best results: when stuck into the middle of the cake the thermometer should read 205°F / 96°C. The cake is also done when the center no longer jiggles and the top becomes more firm.
- Allow the cake to rest in the cake pan for at least 15 minutes before transferring it out to a cooling rack.
Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, beat together the mascarpone, salt, sugar, cocoa powder & heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.
- Once the cake has fully cooled to room temperature, pile it high with the chocolate mascarpone frosting. Garnish with chocolate curls and flaky salt (optional), slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Checking for doneness:
I wouldn’t recommend using the toothpick test for this cake. While testing, I found that once the toothpick came out of the cake clean, the cake was over-done and dry after baking. Instead, I highly recommend checking the internal temperature of the cake with a thermometer (as noted in the recipe)Chocolate cream cheese frosting:
The frosting recipe makes enough for a very generous amount of frosting on top (as you might see from the photos!) If you’d like less frosting, you can multiply the frosting ingredients by .67 for less, or .5 for even less. Here is the recipe for the chocolate cream cheese frosting (previously shown with this recipe): 170g cream cheese, 85g unsalted butter, 1/8 tsp. salt, 240g powdered sugar, 24g dutch processed cocoa powder.- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Then, beat in the rest of the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder.
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.