These mini brownie cakes are made with rich chocolate brownies topped with creamy buttercream frosting and homemade fudge sauce. Everyone will be delighted when you serve these decadent treats at your next occasion!
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🎂Super fun mini cakes
I saw mini brownie cakes advertised in a local grocery store's bakery and I set out to make a replication, and I hit it out of the park! These mini brownie cakes are so fun, rich, decadent, and I love the mini size. Everything mini is so cute, isn't it!?!
This recipe makes six 4" mini cakes. Each cake serves 3-4 people. The brownies bake in a 9x13" pan and circles are cut from it after it's baked. I used a large circle cookie cutter, but you could also use a small plate as a guide and cut around it.
The brownies are topped with a silky buttercream frosting, a rich fudge sauce, and stemmed maraschino cherries. These brownie cakes are perfect for a birthday, cake smash, bridal shower, anniversary....really anytime!
For more brownie recipes try raspberry truffle brownies, brownie buckeye cookies, pecan pie brownies, fudgy lemon brownies, or regular, but not so regular, chocolate fudge brownies!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Vegetable shortening - I like to make buttercream with 50% unsalted butter and 50% vegetable shortening. If you prefer, you can use all butter.
- Semi sweet chocolate - I used baking chocolate. You can use chocolate chips as well.
- Coffee - Coffee helps to make the chocolate taste richer, but if you would rather leave out the coffee, use water instead.
- Pink food colouring - Use a gel food colouring instead of a liquid food colouring for richer colour.
🔪Instructions
Brownies
To make the brownies, whisk flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, add butter, chocolate, coffee, and sugar. Either microwave or use a double broiler to melt everything to a liquid mixture.
Add eggs and vanilla to the liquid mixture and whisk until incorporated. Mix dry ingredients in, and mix until combined. The batter will be grainy and that's okay. Pour batter into a greased and lined 9x13" baking pan. Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until the edges look set. Let fully cool at room temperature.
Fudge Sauce
To make the fudge sauce, add heavy whipping cream, butter, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until everything is melted, including the sugar. Add chocolate and mix until melted.
Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder and vanilla extract until well combined. If you feel fudge sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, or more as needed.
Buttercream Frosting
For the buttercream frosting, add butter, shortening, and vanilla into a large bowl, and mix until well combined. Add powdered sugar and combine.
Pour 1-2 tablespoons of whipping cream into the buttercream until it's a pipeable mixture. Add pink food colouring and mix until colour is fully distributed .
Assembly
Remove brownie slab from baking pan. Use a 4" cookie cutter to cut 6 mini cakes out of brownies. Use a plate or bowl of similar size as a cutting guide if you don't have a cookie cutter.
Reserve 6 teaspoons of buttercream frosting for later use. Pipe or spoon remaining frosting on the brownie cakes.
Use a spoon and pour fudge sauce over buttercream, letting it run down in areas. Scatter sprinkles over top the fudge, if using.
Add 1 teaspoon of reserved buttercream to the very center top of the fudge. Place a maraschino cherry onto it. Place a maraschino cherry on all the remaining cakes.
For more step-by-step instructions and photos, see my web story for mini brownie cakes!
✔️Expert tips
- If you don't want to use coffee, use water instead. Coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavour.
- If you like a strong butter flavour in buttercream frosting, use full butter instead of half butter, half shortening.
- I recommend gel food colouring over liquid food colouring. Gel food colouring has a stronger colour, and it doesn't add liquid to batters.
- Short on time? Make the brownie base the day or even 2 days before. The fudge sauce and buttercream can also be made one day ahead.
💭FAQs
You can freeze the brownie base in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature overnight. Buttercream can also be frozen separately for up to 3 months. I do not recommend freezing the fudge sauce. It will not thaw well.
All the components of these mini cakes can be made in advance and assembled on the day you plan to serve them.
These mini cakes will be great at a birthday, anniversary, baby shower, really any occasion will work!
🔖Related recipes
📋 Recipe
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Mini Brownie Cakes
Equipment
- one 9"x13" pan
Ingredients
Brownies
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter chopped
- 1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking chocolate
- ½ cup coffee
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Fudge Sauce
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips or baking chocolate
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 teaspoons sprinkles optional
- 6 maraschino cherries
Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3-4 drops pink gel food colouring
Instructions
Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x13" baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, and salt together.
- Add butter, chocolate, coffee, and sugar to a large bowl. Either microwave or use a double broiler to melt everything to a liquid mixture.
- Add eggs and vanilla to the liquid mixture and whisk until incorporated. Mix dry ingredients in and mix until combined. The batter will be grainy and that's okay.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until the edges look set. Let fully cool at room temperature.
Fudge Sauce
- Add heavy whipping cream, butter, sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until everything is melted, including the sugar. Add chocolate and mix until melted.
- Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder and vanilla extract until well combined. If you feel fudge sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, or more as needed.
Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl, add butter, shortening, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add powdered sugar and combine.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of whipping cream until buttercream is pipeable mixture. Add pink food colouring and mix until colour is fully distributed .
To assemble
- Remove brownie slab from baking pan. Use a 4" cookie cutter to cut 6 mini cakes out of brownies. Use a plate or bowl of similar size as a cutting guide if you don't have a cookie cutter.
- Reserve 6 teaspoons of buttercream frosting for later use. Pipe or spoon remaining frosting on the brownie cakes.
- Use a spoon and pour fudge sauce over buttercream on each cake, letting it run down in areas. Scatter sprinkles over top the fudge, if using.
- Add 1 teaspoon of reserved buttercream to the very center top of the fudge. Place a maraschino cherry on the buttercream. Place a maraschino cherry on the remaining cakes until all are completed.
- Store mini cakes at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you don't want to use coffee, use water instead. Coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavour.
- If you like a strong butter flavour in buttercream frosting, use full butter instead of half butter, half shortening.
- I recommend gel food colouring over liquid food colouring. Gel food colouring has a stronger colour, and it doesn't add liquid to batters.
- Short on time? Make the brownie base the day or even 2 days before. The fudge sauce and buttercream can also be made one day ahead.
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️