Spring is here and Easter is coming up soon. Many people have worked hard to get some extra pounds from Christmas off of their hips (not me) – so it’s time to get some of them back with delicious Easter treats. These little chocolate cakes here are the perfect candidates for that. Of course, only if you do not share. If several people nibble on small cakes like that you will not have a problem with gaining extra weight. Hopefully ;)
Well. I did not work out during the holidays so I carried my extra weight over to the new year. Same for some of the sweets I got around Christmas. Several small chocolate Santas made it to 2022, waiting to be eaten… but that did not happen. Everybody was fed up with Christmas sweets at some point. Now fresh Easter treats like chocolate bunnies are in and they can actually mingle with their chocolate friends from Christmas. Not forever though. It’s time to give the old ones the chop. That does not mean throwing them away. Those chocolate Santas can still be used…
I made these little chocolate cakes with those leftover chocolate Santas nobody wanted to eat anymore. If you don’t want to throw away leftover chocolate (as you can see there really is such a thing as leftover chocolate) and want to recycle the chocolate instead – make delicious cakes with it, for example. You can use any kind of chocolate for that – dark chocolate, milk chocolate and even chocolate that has nuts or other stuff in it. All chocolate is good chocolate ;) If you chop it up you can use it in the cake batter and sometimes even for buttercream. And definitely for decorations.
The topic of recycling and food waste has already been addressed in a post here some time ago. Together with my collab partner PENNY, I created some delicious bakes for their current loyalty points program* (running until the end of April) – great recipes that can help fight food waste. You probably know that from your own experience already… sometimes you buy stuff to eat and for some reason you end up with leftovers. Instead of simply throwing them away, in most cases you can use the leftovers to create something new and delicious. Small chocolate cakes for example ;)
All of the “recycling” recipes I created for the campaign are suitable for the baking pans you can get as rewards for the PENNY loyalty points program*. You can collect points until April 23rd, 2022, and turn in full booklets with points until May 7th, 2022. They got five different baking pans, all made from 100% recycled aluminum cans (excluding the non-stick coating). There’s also a handy mixing bowl and oven mitts – all made from recycled materials as well. For a full booklet with 60 loyalty points (you get one point for every 5 euros you spent in the supermarket), you can then take home one of the pans for a small additional payment (you save over 80% compared to the price without the loyalty points). So if you want to get any of these rewards you have to act soon – the time to collect points is almost over ;)
+ the baking pans are all made with 100%* recycled aluminum cans (*excl. non-stick coating).
+ the mixing bowl has a minimum of 50% recycled material
+ the oven glove is made of at least 40% recycled cotton
+ the packaging of the products is made with FSC-certified recycled paper
But now let’s get to the recipe and let’s smash those tiny litle Santas. They are not getting younger and I am hungry for some nice chocolate cake ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the ganache:
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
7 oz. (250g) chocolate Santas (milk chocolate)
For the cakes:
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
1.8 oz. (50g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 medium eggs
6 tbsp. milk
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla paste
1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
1 oz. (30g) chocolate Santas (milk chocolate), chopped
For the decoration:
some fresh berries (optional)
some grated chocolate (optional)
Für die Ganache:
100g Schlagsahne
250g Schokoweihnachtsmänner (Milchschokolade)
Für die Kuchen:
150g Zucker
130g Mehl (Type 405)
50g Kakaopulver
1 1/2 TL Backpulver
1/4 TL Salz
2 Eier (M)
6 EL Milch
4 EL Pflanzenöl
1/2 TL Vanille Paste
120ml heißes Wasser
30g Schokoweihnachtsmänner (Milchschokolade), gehackt
Für die Dekoration:
einige frische Beeren (optional)
geraspelte Schokolade (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease four 4 inches (10cm) baking tins lightly and set them aside. You and also work with two baking tins and bake in two rounds.
3. Add sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla paste and mix until very well combined. Add the hot water and mix until just combined. Add the chopped chocolate and fold in. Divide the batter between the baking tins – if you have only two tins use half of the batter now and the rest in a second baking round. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining batter if you have more to bake.
4. Add the chocolate ganache to a bowl and whisk (handheld mixer or kitchen machine) for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Fill into a piping bag with a round tip. Pipe small dollops of ganache on two of the mini cakes and place the other cakes on top. If you like you can also decorate the top of the cakes with ganache, some fresh berries, and grated chocolate.
2. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Vier kleine Backformen (ca. 10cm) leicht einfetten und zur Seite stellen. Wer nur zwei Backformen hat, kann auch in zwei Runden backen.
3. Zucker, Mehl, Kakao, Backpulver und Salz in eine große Schüssel geben und vermischen. Eier, Milch, Öl und Vanille Paste 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. Wer nur zwei Formen hat, verwendet die Hälfte des Teiges und den Rest in der zweiten Backrunde. Für etwa 18-23 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 komplett abkühlen lassen. Wer noch Teig übrig hat, wiederholt den ganzen Vorgang.
4. Die Schokoladenganache in eine Schüssel geben und mit einem Handrührgerät oder der Küchenmaschine mehrere Minuten hell und luftig aufschlagen. In einen Spritzbeutel mit runter Tülle einfüllen und dann zwei der Kuchenschichten mit kleinen Tupfen dekorieren. Die beiden anderen Kuchenschichten aufsetzen und leicht festdrücken. Wer mag, kann mit der restlichen Ganache, frischen Beeren und etwas geraspelter Schokolade noch weiter dekorieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Simple Mini Chocolate Cakes (with Berries)
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 08:00
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: America
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Mini Chocolate Cakes to celebrate small celebratory events… or bigger ones. Does not matter. You always deserve chocolate cake ;)
Ingredients
For the ganache:
3.5 oz. (100g) heavy cream
7 oz. (250g) chocolate Santas (milk chocolate)
For the cakes:
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
1.8 oz. (50g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 medium eggs
6 tbsp. milk
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla paste
1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
1 oz. (30g) chocolate Santas (milk chocolate), chopped
For the decoration:
some fresh berries (optional)
some grated chocolate (optional)
Instructions
1. Start with the chocolate ganache. Chop the chocolate Santas and add to a bowl. Add the heavy cream and heat up slowly in the microwave until the chocolate has melted completely. Mix until you get a smooth chocolate sauce. Let cool down completely until it gets solid again – takes several hours and can be done the day before.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease four 4 inches (10cm) baking tins lightly and set them aside. You and also work with two baking tins and bake in two rounds.
3. Add sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla paste and mix until very well combined. Add the hot water and mix until just combined. Add the chopped chocolate and fold in. Divide the batter between the baking tins – if you have only two tins use half of the batter now and the rest in a second baking round. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let cool down completely. Repeat with the remaining batter if you have more to bake.
4. Add the chocolate ganache to a bowl and whisk (handheld mixer or kitchen machine) for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Fill into a piping bag with a round tip. Pipe small dollops of ganache on two of the mini cakes and place the other cakes on top. If you like you can also decorate the top of the cakes with ganache, some fresh berries, and grated chocolate.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
*I have partnered with PENNY Markt GmbH (Domstraße 20, 50668 Köln) to bring you this delicious recipe. 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.
Re-generation™ is a trademark of TCC Global N.V.
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 ;) 
