Valentine’s Day is coming up and I am not a celebrator nor someone who even gets a Valentine lol. I am, however, someone who has wanted to cover a cake in raspberries since I saw it on Pinterest. In the economy, your girl cannot afford the raspberries needed to cover a full sized cake, hence this mini gluten free chocolate cake.
An unfortunate note, before we dive in: My mum bought these cute little love heart cake tins when I was a kid. They’ve been in the house all my life and have no branding on them! I am sure you can find similar cuties on the market today but I just wanted to put that out there.
Mini gluten free chocolate cake
The bones of this mini chocolate cake recipe come from my gluten free chocolate mug cake recipe. However, I decided to do some tweaks and twists to make this a little more sturdy and buttery.
The result is this deliciously and incredibly easy little cake that is xanthan gum free, egg free, nut free and easily dairy free/vegan. It has a full on chocolate flavour with a short list of ingredients and can be whipped up in 25 minutes* (without decorating lol).
On the note of decorating, I topped mine with raspberries to realise my raspberry cake dreams but this is completely optional. I will say, though, that the raspberries take this cake from delicious to absolutely utterly delightful. The perfect balance of sweetness, richness and fresh acidity.
Make it for Valentines Day, make it for yourself. Whatever works!
Ingredient notes for your mini gluten free chocolate cake
I have only tested white rice flour and tapioca flour in this recipe. They are two accessible flours in Australia that create a neutral taste and the perfect amount of chew.
Another thing I haven’t tested is a sugar alternative of any kind. This cake uses a solid sugar (brown sugar) so substituting maple syrup or another liquid sweetener in won’t work seamlessly. I have not tested this.
Something I have tested? Vegan stick butter. I tried Flora plant based stick butter in this recipe and it worked really well. This is the dairy free option – I have no suggestions for substituting all oil for butter. In my tests, the butter version (regular or vegan) was far superior and more reliable than any oil based versions I tried.
Although I haven’t tested it, I daresay you could use regular cocoa instead of Dutch processed. I prefer Dutch processed because it has a deeper chocolate flavour. However, we are not relying on the acidity for any sort of chemical reaction here, so either should be fine.
Tips for your mini cake
Make sure you whisk the flours together really well and thoroughly in the batter. Mixing up the batter in cute little bowls for a TikTok is one thing, but it does mean you end up with little unmixed tapioca bits. Take your time to ensure you have mixed everything in well.
Greasing your cake tin is a fine art when it comes to cakes (and mini cakes in particular). Too much oil will make your cake greasy on the bottom and sides, but no oil will allow your cake to stick. Grease your tin with a scant amount of oil but do it thoroughly to avoid both of these pitfalls.
With this recipe, I find it best to allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15-20 minutes for best results. The crumb has firmed up a little and it’s less prone to breakage. Remember, this is a gluten free, egg free and xanthan gum free cake.
Another tip is to pop the cake in the freezer for 10-20 minutes prior to icing it. This solidifies the crumb so it’s less likely to break off in the icing, which makes icing a cake very annoying and aesthetically unappealing.
I don’t know if it’s just me but raspberries seem to go mouldy SO QUICKLY. I even transferred them to a container with more space and a few still started. Make sure to buy the raspberries right before you want to use them. Also, check the inside of the raspberry before you adhere it to the cake.
On that note: ice the cake and add the raspberries straight away. They need something to stick to!
More small batch gluten free recipes
- Small batch gluten free brownie cookies
- Vegan gluten free tahini cookies
- Small batch gluten free brownies
- Gluten free microwave cinnamon roll
- Gluten free carrot cake mug cake from my mug cake e-book
Mini gluten free chocolate cake
Equipment
- 1 X 10cm diameter mini cake tin (4 inch)
Ingredients
For the mini chocolate cake:
- 10 g (1 tablespoon)* Dutch processed cocoa
- 50-60 g (2 ½ – 3 tablespoons) boiling water
- 25 g butter melted
- 45 g (3 tablespoons)* brown sugar
- ½ – 1 teaspoon neutral oil of choice
- 15 g (1 tablespoon)* fine white rice flour
- 10 g (1 tablespoon)* tapioca flour
- 1.5g (1/4 teaspoon) gluten free baking powder
- Pinch of fine salt
For the icing:
- 25 g butter room temperature
- 50-75 g icing sugar, sieved
- Pinch of fine salt
- Milk to thin to an icing consistency
- 1-2 teaspoons cocoa, if you want to make a chocolate icing
To finish:
- 1/2 – 1 punnet fresh raspberries (125g)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 180C/356F. Grease a mini 10cm (4 inch) cake tin or ramekin.
- Measure the cocoa into a small mixing bowl and pour over the boiling water. Whisk to combine and bloom the cocoa.
- Add the sugar and butter and whisk to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until a thin, pourable chocolate batter forms.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 15-20 minutes or until baked through.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10-20 minutes before running a knife around the edge and gently inverting. Cool completely before icing.
To make the icing:
- Beat the butter and sieved icing sugar together a small mixing bowl with hand beaters (they are so much better at working with small volumes than stand mixers). Add the milk to disperse the icing sugar as necessary. Continue to beat until a buttercream consistency forms. You can add vanilla and a pinch of salt if you like. Add the cocoa in with the icing sugar if you are using it.
To finish:
- Use an offset spatula to spread the icing evenly over the cake. Arrange the raspberries on the cake with the hollow side attaching to the cake.
- Serve immediately for the freshest result. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge, but keep an eye out for the raspberries.
Notes
- Unfortunately, my Mum bought the heart shaped cake tins when I was a kid. I have no leads on where to buy them these days! There is no branding on the back, either.
- I have bought mini cake tins at the supermarket, Kmart and House in Australia. I daresay you can also buy them online.
- See notes in the body of the post in regards to what substitutions I have tried. TLDR: not many.
- One I have tested is vegan butter and it works well.
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