Mini Vanilla Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

This mini vanilla cake recipe features two light, tender 6-inch mini cakes sandwiched with creamy brown butter frosting. A mini cake like this serves eight generous slices, making it the perfect size cake for a small group.

mini vanilla cake slice.

About this 6-inch vanilla cake recipe 

The cake is made up of two small cakes. The cake is a basic vanilla cake. I have used a combination of both oil and butter in the batter. The butter brings delicious flavor, while some oil helps keep the cake moist.

I love to top mine with a brown butter Swiss meringue frosting. Brown butter is amazing in baked goods, it brings so much flavor by just doing something simple.  It brings in notes of caramel and toffee. Or I use a toasted milk buttercream!

a knife slicing cake.
bitten slice of cake on a plate.

Equipment

  • You’ll need a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar in the cake. A stand mixer is needed for the frosting because the egg whites and butter need a long mixing period. 
  • They are baked in two round 6-inch pans. If you have just one pan, you can bake one layer at a time and use the same pan twice. 

Here’s how to make it!

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease two 6-inch cake pans and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
a bowl of flour.
  1. Whisk together dry ingredients
whisked butter and sugar.
  1. Beat butter, oil and sugar until light in color and super creamy.
an egg on creamed butter and sugar.
  1. Add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat in after each addition.
  2. Stir together milk and vinegar.
a bowl of batter and flour.
  1. Fold in half the dry ingredients, alternating with milk.
mini vanilla cake in pans.
  1. Divide the cake batter evenly amongst 2 pans.
cakes cooling on a rack.
  1. Bake until golden

Frosting the cake

Only frost the cake once the layers are completely cooled. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the cakes in the fridge or freezer.

spatula smoothing frosting on cake.
  1. Place one layer of cake on a cake turntable or cake stand. Scoop on some frosting and spread it out.
cake being frosted with spatula.
  1. Add on the second cake layer. Add a few scoops of frosting on top spread it out.
  1. Add a thin coat of frosting around the cake. Use a frosting smoother to smooth it out. Chill the cake for around 20 minutes in the fridge until the frosting has firmed up.
  2. Add a thick layer of frosting to the cake and use a bench scraper to smooth it out. Then, you can use a serrated frosting smoother to make patterns on the side of the cake if you wish. 
a frosted vanilla cake.
view of a cut cake.

Serving and storing

Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Make ahead

The cake layers can be made and frozen before you need them. Frozen layers of cake are also easier to frost. 

More mini-cake recipes

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slice of cake.

Mini Vanilla Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

Yield: 6-inch double layer cake
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours

A light and tender vanilla cake sandwiched together with creamy brown butter Swiss meringue buttercream.

Ingredients

  • 190g (1 1/2 cup*) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 56g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 54g (1/4 cup ) vegetable oil
  • 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
  • 120g (1/2 cup) milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

Frosting

  • 3 large egg whites
  • 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 226 (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease two 6-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set this flour mixture aside.
  3. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a medium bowl and electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, oil, and sugar on medium speed until combined, then high speed for 3-4 minutes until it's very light in color and creamy.
  4. Add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, and beat in after each addition.
  5. In a glass or bowl, stir the milk and vinegar together.
  6. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stir them in, then add half the milk. Use a rubber spatula to stir it in well until well combined. Repeat this with the rest of the dry ingredients and the milk mixture.
  7. Divide the cake batter evenly amongst the cake pans and smooth down the tops of the batter with a small offset spatula.
  8. Bake the cakes for 26-28 minutes until the tops spring back when touched and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  9. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in their pans, then turn them onto a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

The brown butter for the buttercream

  1. While the cakes are baking, prepare the brown butter for the frosting, as this needs time to cool. Over medium heat, melt 75g (1/3 cup) of the butter. Avoid using a dark pan, as you will struggle to see the caramelization of the butter and run the risk of burning it.
  2. Once you have melted butter, let it cook for around 3 minutes, occasionally stirring until the milk solids in the butter have caramelized into a golden amber color and the butter smells nutty.
  3. Pour the browned butter into a flat dish. Ensure you get all the browned bits, as that's where the flavor is. Refrigerate it until it has solidified (but not so cold that it's rock hard).

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Bring a pot of water (with 1 inch of water) to a simmer. 
  2. Add egg whites and granulated sugar to the stand mixer bowl. Balance the bowl over this simmering water bath. Whisk continuously as the egg whites warm up and keep whisking until all the sugar has dissolved or the temperature reads 160°F (71°C) on an instant thermometer. Don’t stop stirring, or some egg whites may overcook on the edges of the bowl. 
  3. Once the sugar has dissolved, place the bowl in your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium to high speed until a meringue with stiff peaks forms and the meringue has cooled down to room temperature. When you touch the sides of the bowl, they shouldn't feel warm. 
  4. With the mixer on medium-high speed, feed in the solidified brown butter, followed by the rest of the butter, a cube at a time. Allow the butter to incorporate fully before adding the next cube.
  5. At this point, the frosting can suddenly appear split or curdled and look like cottage cheese. Just keep beating the mixture until it becomes a thick and cohesive buttercream. This can take a lot of beating, so don't give up if it doesn't seem to come together - it will. Keep beating it until it no longer looks greasy.
  6. Once the mixture is thick and cohesive, beat in the vanilla and salt until thick and fluffy.
  7. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on low speed for 10 minutes to remove some larger air bubbles in the buttercream.

Frosting the cake

  1. Only frost the cake once the cake layers are completely cooled. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the cakes in the fridge or freezer.
  2. Place one cake layer on a cake turntable or cake stand. Scoop on some frosting and use a small offset spatula to spread it on top of the cake layer. Add the second cake layer. Placing the top layer upside down will give a nice, smooth top to work with.
  3. Add a few scoops of frosting on top, spread it out with the spatula, and add a thin coat of frosting around the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth it out, then chill the cake for around 20 minutes in the fridge until the frosting has firmed up.
  4. Add a thicker layer of frosting to the cake and use a bench scraper to smooth it out. Then, you can use a serrated bench scraper to make patterns on the side of the cake if you wish.
  5. Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

*The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use a kitchen scale and grams.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 564Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 318mgCarbohydrates: 84gFiber: 1gSugar: 65gProtein: 6g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist

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