Mini Chocolate Saucepan Cakes For Two

Life finally feels like it’s returning to normal. After several weeks of recuperation Aiden is finally well. He had a chest x-ray, and the aspiration and infection are both gone. It’s so good to see him back to himself! He went back to school this week; and our whole family is starting to pick back up our other normal activities. Normal things just take a back burner when one of your kiddos is sick, and you’re so worn down yourself, you know? Now I feel like I have a million little chores I want to get done, tons of housework to catch up on, and I’m especially excited to start devoting more time and energy to the blog once again. It feels good to be back in the swing of things. 

Actually, this past weekend I finally managed to make a trip over to Home Depot to pick up some wood and paint for new photography backgrounds. Freshly painted backgrounds are drying in my ‘mud room’ as we speak. things will be looking so lovely and summery around here soon! 

I ordered a new set of umbrella lights for shooting, and got them all arranged just so for optimal lighting in my food photography “studio” (also known as the office/exercise room). The new lights are working so nicely, I am just pleased as punch! 

I also got my whole photo organization/ I hate Apple’s new Photo app. problem fixed.

Possibly the most fun of all, I’m feeling totally inspired in the dessert recipe department, as I ended up ordering a few different sets of cute little ramekins ramekins, mini cake pans, and mini spring form pans. I’m kind of starting to get obsessed with this whole small batch baking thing. I totally blame this on the very awesome Dessert for Two blog which I’ve been reading lately and the fact that I love little pans. 

As you can see, I am seriously ready to go in the blogging department. Woo woo! 

So, anyway, we should probably talk about these cute, uber chocolat-y, little cakes now. Despite being insanely cute, these little cakes are actually very easy and pretty no fuss to make. You do all your mixing in a sauce pan and pour everything into your prepared mini pans. The frosting is made all in one bowl. (I’m loving the lack of fifty zillion dishes here!) They take about 15 minutes to make, and 25 minutes to bake. And like five minutes to frost. Easy, easy, easy.

 

But, these cakes taste like you spent hours of back breaking work on them. The cake itself is very rich and extremely chocolat-y. In fact, it’s rich enough that if you don’t feel like making the frosting a great variation would be to serve it with a nice big dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream, pound cake/shortcake style. Of course,  I do recommend you make the cake fully frosted at least once (I know you’ll be hooked at this point and make it again, and again, and again…). The slightly tangy chocolate buttercream contrasts against the sweetness the cake so well. I should also mention this cake also has a lovely fine crumb, and is super moist. 

This is a chocolate lovers dream here people. It’s really everything you could want in a chocolate cake and more. So, like, go make em’ ok? 

::UPDATE:: I received an email from a reader asking me to clarify about the size/type of pans I used in this recipe by posting a picture of my pans. So here you go! There is a standard sized 9in round in the picture to help everyone gauge size. I used the mini springforms on the bottom right for this recipe. I would not use a smaller pan as the cake rise quite a bit.  If you don’t have any mini springform pans you could certainly use a jumbo cupcake pan instead, though baking time might need to be increased by a few minutes. Look for a toothpick coming clean from the center to test for doneness.

Mini Chocolate Saucepan Cakes For Two With Tangy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting– Yields two mini cakes with two layers (You will need four 4 x 1&3/4 inch mini spring form pans). The frosting recipe yields enough to liberally frost and decorate the two mini cakes.  Adapted from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. 

Cake:

• 3.5 oz semi sweet chocolate 
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3.4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Frosting:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 1/3 cup  coco powder
• 6 tablespoons milk

Cake:

1.Preheat the oven to 350*. Prepare the mini springform pans by placing square of parchment paper on the bottom of each circle and locking the ring around it. Greasing each pan well using canola oil.  Prepare a baking tray by lining with foil. Place the mini springform pans in a row on the prepared baking tray. Set aside.

2. Place semi sweet chocolate chips, butter, vanilla and water in a small sauce pan over low heat. Stir frequently. When the chocolate and butter are fully melted and everything is combined, remove sauce pan from heat. Allow the sauce pan to cool for ten minutes before adding additional ingredients.

3. While the chocolate mixture cools, measure out the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Use a fork to gently mix together in the measuring cup.

4. When the ten minutes has passed add the egg to the chocolate mixture in the sauce pan and whisk in. Add the flour mixture and mix in until fully combined and a smooth batter forms. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. The batter will fill four 4 x 1 & 3/4inch mini springform pans about half way. 

5. Place the spring form pans on the baking tray in the oven. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the center will come clean. Allow the cakes to cool for ten minutes before removing from the pans. Finish cooling cakes completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

Frosting:

1. In a medium sized bowl use a hand mixer to cream together butter, Greek yogurt, and vanilla. 

2. Add the powdered sugar, coco powder, and milk to the bowl. Use the hand mixer to beat until a creamy frosting is formed. Frost fully cooled cakes as desired.