Small Special Occasion Cake

This small cake is great for anniversaries, a special date, a small celebration, or for a wedding couple celebrating with just each other!

White wedding cakes used to be a sign of wealth, because white sugar was so expensive. It was Queen Victoria of England that set the trend for white wedding cakes, which eventually became the standard at weddings. Her white wedding cake was elaborately decorated, weighed three hundred pounds, and measured nine feet across. Before Queen Victoria’s cake, wedding cakes were similar to fruit cakes. They were heavy, full of dried fruit and alcohol to keep it preserved. The preservation was important because pieces of cake would be sent to friends and family that could not attend the wedding.

This cake recipe has similar flavors to the one I had at my wedding. We had tasted tons of cake samples from other bakeries in our area, but I had always admired this small local bakery and heard they specialized in wedding cakes. Initially I had my heart set on a milk chocolate wedding cake, but after I tasted this bakery’s white chocolate cake with cream cheese icing and a raspberry filling, I changed my mind. The recipe below is for a vanilla cake instead of white chocolate, but the rest of the flavors are there.

Small Special Occasion Cake Recipe

Yields 4 servings

Prep time 10 minutes

Bake Time 35-37 minutes

Inactive Time 2 hours

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Grease two 5-inch ramekins or cake pans with butter and flour.

In a large bowl whisk together butter and sugar. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the bowl and mix. Whisk in the pudding mix and milk. Mix the batter until smooth.

Pour batter evenly into the two ramekins/cake pans. Place ramekins on a small baking pan.

Bake in the oven for 35-37 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool cakes completely before frosting. (About two hours)

Each cake will have a little raised “hill” at the top. Cut off the hill so that both cakes have flat tops.

To Assemble: Place one cake layer on a plate or dessert stand. Spread raspberry preserves evenly on top of the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the preserves. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake to seal in crumbs and cracks, this is called a crumb coat. Place cake in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes for crumb coat to become firm to the touch. Frost cake with remaining frosting.

A electric mixer is preferred when mixing cakes. It will create a smooth batter.

Other preserves, like strawberry or blueberry, work well with this cake.

The crumb coat is an important step to make sure the cake frosts smoothly and without crumbs everywhere.

A fun garnish suggestion would be edible flowers.

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting Recipe*

Directions

Whip all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth, thick, and creamy.

Frost cake as desired.

A hand mixer is preferred when mixing frosting. It will end up very smooth.

DID YOU MAKE THIS DISH?

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