My grandma always said »I’m only here for the cake and the good vibes«. When I was a kid I did not understand, but now I totally get it ;P When you serve cake the mood of everyone normally gets much better. Immediately. That’s why I like to serve cake! Something like these Mini Chocolate & Caramel Cakes. Even though they are »mini cakes« you might want to share them with a loved one – they are normally a bit much for just one person ;P
For celebrations and special occasions, it’s always nice to have something like cake to snack on. Some people prefer cakes you can buy in a bakery – I love to whip up something myself. Obviously, I like to have control over what’s inside a cake, the fillings, etc., and what it looks like. It does not always have to be a big cake with elaborate decorations. As you can see, smaller cakes do the trick as well ;P
No matter if you are preparing one big or several smaller cakes – it takes time to get everything done. If you know some tricks or if you get some help, everything can be done quicker, of course. These mini cakes here are quite simple, but it got even easier by not preparing my regular buttercream and using something from the store instead. That was my trick/help here ;P
If you live in Germany you probably know Dr. Oetker* – the company from Bielefeld which has been an integral part of German baking for more than 130 years already. It all started with baking powder, but Dr. Oetker now offers all kinds of products to help you bake and decorate your baked goods more easily. The cream I used for these cakes here is from Dr. Oetker, for example. It’s called Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc* and makes your job much easier ;) They actually have two different mixes: Caramel & Choc and Raspberry Mascarpone.
If you don’t have an actual helping hand – this is the next best thing tbh ;P
Preparing the cream for these cakes is really easy. Add the cream to a bowl and whisk lightly, then add the cream powder and in a few minutes you have a super-rich cream for decorating – all without additional cooling time. Depending on how generous you are when decorating the small cakes you might have some leftover cream. If that’s the case you can use that cream and leftover cake (with some extra berries, for example) and create additional layer desserts for your guests.
The chocolate cakes are almost as easy to prepare. Mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and then throw everything into one bowl and mix again – it’s really simple. In case you don’t like hazelnuts you can replace them with ground almonds (side note).
If you like everything chocolate I got more recipes on the blog, of course! Here are two examples you could also try… delicious and super chocolaty ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(3 mini cakes)
For the cakes:
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 3/4 (200g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
1.8 oz. (50g) ground hazelnuts
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 medium eggs
1/2 cup (120ml) milk (or plant-based alternative)
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180ml) hot water
1.8 oz. (50g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
For the cream & decoration:
17.6 oz. (500g) cold heavy cream
1 package of Dr. Oetker Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc*
decorative sprinkles, chocolate, etc.
(e.g. Dr. Oetker crunchy mix chocolate-caramel flavor* or salted caramel fudge*)
(3 Mini Kuchen)
Für die Kuchen:
200g Mehl (Type 405)
150g Zucker
60g Kakaopulver
50g Haselnüsse, gemahlen
2 1/4 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Salz
3 Eier (M)
130ml Milch
6 EL Pflanzenöl
1 TL Vanille Extrakt
180ml heißes Wasser
50g Zartbitterschokolade, gehackt
Für die Creme & Dekoration:
500g Schlagsahne, kalt
1 Packung Dr. Oetker Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc*
Zuckerstreusel, Schokolade, etc.
(z.B. Dr. Oetker Knusper-Mix Schoko-Karamell-Geschmack* oder Salted Caramel Fudge*)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease six small baking tins (approx. 10 cm in diameter) and set aside. Chop the chocolate and set aside.
2. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, hazelnuts, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Mix the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract, add to the large bowl, and stir in. Add the hot water and mix only briefly. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter between the baking tins and bake for around 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
3. Add the heavy cream for the decoration to a tall vessel, add the cream powder (Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc), and mix according to the package instructions to get a fluffy cream. Fill the cream into a piping bag with a large round tip and set aside.
4. In case the tops of the cakes have domed a lot I recommend cutting that off first. Do not throw away the cut-off cake (see note). Place three cake layers on serving plates and pipe small dollops of the cream on top. Add some sprinkles, chocolate, etc. if you like, then add a cake layer on top and decorate that as well with cream and sprinkles, chocolate, or anything else you like. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. One cake is big enough to share with someone (in my opinion) ;)
Note: If you have leftover cake (the domed tops) and cream, you can use that to layered desserts with some additional fruits or berries.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Sechs kleine Backformen (ca. 10cm Durchmesser) leicht einfetten und zur Seite stellen. Die Schokolade hacken und zur Seite stellen.
2. Mehl, Zucker, Kakao, Haselnüsse, Backpulver und Salz in einer großen Schüssel gut vermengen. Eier, Milch, Öl und Vanille Extrakt verrühren, zur Schüssel dazugeben und so lange rühren, bis sich alles gut verbunden hat. Das heiße Wasser dazugeben und nur kurz unterrühren. Die gehackte Schokolade unterheben. Den Teig auf die Backformen aufteilen und für etwa 23-25 Minuten backen – mit einem Zahnstocher testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt und die Kuchen erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Aus dem Ofen holen und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett abkühlen lassen.
3. Die Sahne für die Creme in ein hohes Gefäß geben und dann mit dem Cremepulver (Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc) nach Packungsanleitung zu einer luftigen Creme aufschlagen – das geht recht fix. Die Creme in einen Spritzbeutel mit großer runder Tülle einfüllen.
4. Sollten sich die Oberfläche der kleinen Kuchen stark nach oben gewölbt haben, die Kuchen erst einmal mit einem scharfen Messer begradigen. Reste nicht wegschmeißen (s.Hinweis). Drei der Kuchen auf Servierteller setzen und dann die Creme in Tupfen aufspritzen. Wer mag, kann hier schon Schokoladendekoration etc. auf der Creme verteilen. Einen zweiten Kuchen aufsetzen und diesen dann ebenfalls mit Creme, Schokolade und Streuseln dekorieren. Bis zum Servieren in den Kühlschrank stellen. Ein Küchlein ist groß genug, um es mit jemandem zu teilen ;)
Hinweis: Sollte es Kuchenreste und Reste der Creme geben, kann man damit einfache Schichtdesserts mit zusätzlichen Beeren oder Früchten zubereiten.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Mini Chocolate & Caramel Cakes
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:25
- Total Time: 01:30
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: International
Description
Simple and easy to prepare – Mini Chocolate & Caramel Cakes. The perfect small cakes to celebrate something special. Or simply to indulge yourself ;P
Ingredients
For the cakes:
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 3/4 (200g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder
1.8 oz. (50g) ground hazelnuts
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 medium eggs
1/2 cup (120ml) milk (or plant-based alternative)
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180ml) hot water
1.8 oz. (50g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
For the cream & decoration:
17.6 oz. (500g) cold heavy cream
1 package of Dr. Oetker Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc
decorative sprinkles, chocolate, etc.
(e.g. Dr. Oetker crunchy mix chocolate-caramel flavor or salted caramel fudge)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease six small baking tins (approx. 10 cm in diameter) and set aside. Chop the chocolate and set aside.
2. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, hazelnuts, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Mix the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract, add to the large bowl, and stir in. Add the hot water and mix only briefly. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter between the baking tins and bake for around 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down completely on a wire rack.
3. Add the heavy cream for the decoration to a tall vessel, add the cream powder (Törtchen Topping Caramel & Choc), and mix according to the package instructions to get a fluffy cream. Fill the cream into a piping bag with a large round tip and set aside.
4. In case the tops of the cakes have domed a lot I recommend cutting that off first. Do not throw away the cut-off cake (see note). Place three cake layers on serving plates and pipe small dollops of the cream on top. Add some sprinkles, chocolate, etc. if you like, then add a cake layer on top and decorate that as well with cream and sprinkles, chocolate, or anything else you like. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. One cake is big enough to share with someone (in my opinion) ;)
Notes
If you have leftover cake (the domed tops) and cream, you can use that to layered desserts with some additional fruits or berries.
*I have partnered with Dr. Oetker to bring you these delicious cakes. That’s why I have to declare this here in Germany as Advertising. All I wrote in this article is still based on my own opinion and has not been affected by anybody :)
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
