This easy mini cake recipe is so much fun to make! And guess what? Each mini cake has two beautifully baked cake layers and decorated just like a regular cake- only these mini cakes are just 4″ and the perfect tiny treat! With red velvet, pistachio, Funfetti, lemon, or vanilla, these small cakes are the perfect petit treat!

Easy Vegan Mini Cakes (Five Flavors!)

What are mini cakes?

Mini cakes have been a thing for a while now, but Chelsweets made them widely popular last year with her cute mini cake videos. 

While some of her mini cakes use cupcakes as the base, I thought it’d be fun to actually make mini cakes that are layered with three layers, like a regular cake. It’s a bit of a visual deception looking at these cakes, because they look just like a regular if they’re not against something to give you the proper size reference!

There are a few different ways to make mini cakes: either with 4″ cake pans or baked as a large sheet cake and molded with a large (3-4″) cookie cutter. Either way works well! I personally prefer to the 4″ cake pans, and I then make only two layers, but you can use a 3″ cookie cutter, and make three layers.

easy mini cakes

Why you’ll love this easy vegan mini cakes

If you’re a cake lover like me, then you’re just going to become obsessed with how adorable and fun this mini cake recipe is.

These three layer tiny cakes are just 4″ in diameter and the perfect petit treat. And guess what? We have four different flavors for making these secretly vegan cakes: pistachio, red velvet, lemon, and Funfetti! There’s also an option for a classic vegan vanilla cake as well. 

And trust me, you won’t be able to to tell that these mini cakes are entirely eggless, dairy free, and vegan. You’d never know! These delicious bakes are actually one of my favorite vegan cake recipes of all time.

sliced mini cake

You can also easily make this vegan dessert naturally gluten free as well by swapping in gluten free 1:1 baking flour or oat flour!

These mini cakes are the perfect treat for birthdays, graduations, tea parties (sort of reminds me of the Mad Hatter for some reason ha!), bridal showers, baby showers, and more. They’re so fun to make and even more fun to eat!

How many mini cakes will this recipe make?

Each mini cake recipe is designed to yield one mini cake. Theses small cakes will still be quite large in serving, so you can easily split a cake between two people.

Do I need special baking pans for this mini vanilla cake recipe?

For this mini cake recipe, this cake recipe is super simple. Like I mentioned above, you can use two 4″ cake pans or a large round cookie cutter.

For the cookie cutter option you’ll need: round 3-4″ cookie cutter (can vary on the size), medium baking sheet with walls, and parchment paper. That’s really it to make the cake portion of these undetectably vegan mini cakes.

For frosting the mini cakes, I do recommend using standard cake tools. This includes a cake turntable, small offset spatula, bench scraper, and piping tips + bags if you’d like to decorate your mini cakes.

mini cakes on parchment paper

How to make a mini cake (without small baking pans!)

These mini cakes are shockingly simple and easy. If you’ve ever baked a cake, then you’ll be good to go! The full recipe, as always, is found down below in the recipe card, along with ingredient measurements. However, we’ll go over some main tips and visuals here.

How to make mini cakes using 4″ cake pans:

  1. ​​Make the batter.

    Choose which flavor you’ll make, and whisk the batter together in just one bowl. Yes, it’s that easy!mini cake batter

  2. Bake the cakes.

    Divide the cakes into the two 4″ cake pans, and bake! cake in cake pan

  3. ​Level the cakes.

    The tops of the cakes will dome. Not an issue! You can easily torte the cakes once they’re cooled. Be sure to fully cool the cakes, however, before moving onto the frosting.how to torte cakes

  4. Make the vegan buttercream.

    We’re using a simple vegan buttercream, in a smaller amount, to frost these vegan mini cakes.

  5. ​Crumb coat and frost.

    I recommend crumb coating these mini cakes before applying the final coating. The reason being is that the sides of the mini cakes can be a bit more crumbly, especially if you’re using the cookie cutter method. Crumb coating the cake first will ensure your final layer will be smooth and clean!frosting a mini cake

  6. Decorate and enjoy!

    Serve and enjoy with your loved one!sliced vegan mini cake

Now here’s how you’ll make the “sheet cake” version of these mini cakes:

You’ll first start by making the mini cakes into a small square sheet cake. I recommend an 8×8″ pan, such as one you would use for brownies.

Once you’ve made the cake batter, you’ll bake the cake as you would a sheet cake. The only difference here is that once cooled, we’ll cut the cake layers out of the sheet cake! You will have leftover cake scraps, so see the next section for how to re-purpose those 🙂

sheet pan
baked sheet pan

Once baked, you’ll follow the instructions just like for the 4″ cake version! I’ve created a cute little video tutorial to demonstrate, so be sure to check that out here!

What to do with leftover cake scraps

With this small cake recipe, you will have some leftover cake scraps. Not to worry! There are plenty of ways you can repurpose those cake scraps for something else.

I actually have a really fun vegan and gluten free birthday cake truffles recipe coming next week (which I’ll link here once it’s live!), so stay tuned! It’s the perfect way to re-use these scraps into something equally delicious.

Other ideas for using cake scraps include:

  • Making cake pops or truffles
  • Using the crumbles on top of ice cream
  • Stirring the cake crumbles INTO ice cream for birthday cake ice cream 😉
  • Topping a dessert smoothie with them
  • Smearing some leftover frosting onto a bite and eating it as is!

Cake decorating ideas

You can decorate these small cakes however you’d please! Each flavor can have its own spin: red velvet cake have piping on top, pistachio sprinkled with crushed nuts, lemon topped with zest, vanilla with flowers, and of course, Funfetti with sprinkles!

Easy Mini Cake Recipe (So Tiny!!)

If you’re using this cake recipe for a kid’s birthday, it’s so fun to allow the kids to decorate the cakes themselves. You can use vegan sprinkles, different piping tips with different colored buttercream, chocolate chips, vegan ganache, and more for decoration.

If you’re making these mini cakes for a baby shower, it would be so cute to fill the insides of the cakes with either pink or blue frosting, and leave the outside of all the cakes the same color! Then when you slice into the cake, you see the reveal!

There are so many different cute and fun ways to decorate these mini cakes. I cannot wait to see your beautiful creations!

sliced mini cakes

These cute and small cakes are:

  • Perfect for kids’ birthday parties, tea parties, baby showers, bridal parties, and more!
  • The perfect portion and ratio of cake to frosting
  • Super fun to make and decorate
  • Enjoyable for both kids and adults
  • Just as delicious as a standard sized vegan vanillacake
  • So easy to customize!
slices of vegan mini cakes

You are just going to LOVE making these super fun mini cakes! They’re just perfect for kids and adults, and bring a smile to everyone’s faces!

If you make this mini cake recipe, please leave a comment down below, as well as a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This helps others find the recipe!

As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations, so be sure to tag me on Instagram and Pinterest!

Happy mini cake baking!

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

Easy Vegan Mini Cakes (Five Flavors!)

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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Easy Vegan Mini Cakes (Five Flavors!)

Super Cute & Easy Mini Cake Recipe (Eggless!)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: thebananadiaries
  • Prep Time: 45
  • Cook Time: 18
  • Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
  • Yield: 5 mini cakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This easy mini cake recipe is so much fun to make! And guess what? Each mini cake has two beautifully baked cake layers and decorated just like a regular cake- only these mini cakes are just 4″ and the perfect tiny treat! With red velvet, pistachio, Funfetti, lemon, or vanilla, these small cakes are the perfect petit treat!

Ingredients

Scale

Equipment:

Funfetti Mini Cake:

  • 100 mL vegan dairy free milk with apple cider vinegar or Forager Project Drinkable Cashewmilk Yogurt, unsweetened, room temperature
  • 157  g all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch 
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda 
  • 150 g granulated sugar 
  • 75 g salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 
  • 65 g Forager Project unsweetened cashewmilk yogurt, room temperature 
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1/4 cup vegan sprinkles 
  • 1 cups vegan butter, room temperature  
  • 1 3/4 cups organic powdered sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2–4 tbsp Forager Project dairy free milk of choice
  • Optional: vegan food coloring

Pistachio Mini Cake

  • 100 mL Forager Project Drinkable Cashewmilk Yogurt, unsweetened, room temperature 
  • 157 g all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch 
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda 
  • 150 g granulated sugar
  • 75 g salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 
  • 65 g Forager Project unsweetened cashewmilk yogurt, room temperature 
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract 
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios 
  • 1 cups vegan butter, room temperature  
  • 1 3/4 cups organic powdered sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2–4 tbsp Forager Project dairy free milk of choice
  • Optional: vegan food coloring

Red Velvet Mini Cake

  • 100 mL vegan dairy free milk with apple cider vinegar or Forager Project Drinkable Cashewmilk Yogurt, unsweetened, room temperature 
  • 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar 
  • 157 g all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch 
  • 1/3 tbsp all-natural cocoa powder 
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda 
  • 150 g granulated sugar 
  • 75 g salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 
  • 65 g Forager Project unsweetened cashewmilk yogurt, room temperature 
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 3/4 tsp vegan red food coloring 
  • ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature 
  • ½ cup vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups organic powdered sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2–4 tbsp Forager Project dairy free milk of choice
  • Optional: vegan food coloring

Lemon Mini Cake

  • 100 mL Forager Project Drinkable Cashewmilk Yogurt, unsweetened, room temperature 
  • 157 g all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch 
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda 
  • 150 g granulated sugar 
  • 75 g salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 
  • 65 g Forager Project unsweetened cashewmilk yogurt, room temperature 
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1/3 tsp lemon extract 
  • 3/4 tsp lemon zest 
  • ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature 
  • ½ cup vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups organic powdered sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2–4 tbsp Forager Project dairy free milk of choice
  • Optional: vegan food coloring

Vanilla Cake:

  • 100 mL vegan dairy free milk with apple cider vinegar or Forager Project Drinkable Cashewmilk Yogurt, unsweetened, room temperature
  • 157  g all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch 
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 tsp baking soda 
  • 150 g granulated sugar 
  • 75 g salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature 
  • 65 g Forager Project unsweetened cashewmilk yogurt, room temperature 
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 1 cups vegan butter, room temperature  
  • 1 3/4 cups organic powdered sugar 
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2–4 tbsp dairy free milk of choice
  • Optional: vegan food coloring
  • 1/2 batch vegan vanilla buttercream 

Instructions

  1. Make sure to please read through all instructions before beginning. Measure and weigh out all ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350F. The sheet cake version is found in the notes section. Grease two 4” cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. 
  2. To prep the vegan buttermilk: if you’re not using the dairy free drinkable yogurt, combine the unsweetened dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5-7 minutes to curdle.
  3. Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
  4. Combine the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted vegan butter and sugar until combined. Add in the Forager Project cashewmilk yogurt and vanilla extract. If you’re making the pistachio cake, add in the almond extract as well. If you’re making the red velvet cake, add in the red food coloring and vegan sourcream. If you’re making the lemon cake, add in the lemon extract and lemon zest. Whisk until combined. 
  5. Finish the batter: Add in the dry ingredients, along with the Forager Project drinkable cashewmilk yogurt. If you’re making the funfetti cake, whisk the batter together just before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Then add in the vegan sprinkles, and whisk once more just until combined. If you’re making the pistachio cake, whisk the batter together just before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Then add in the chopped pistachios, and whisk once more just until combined. If you’re making the red velvet cake, add in the tablespoon of cocoa powder, and whisk the batter just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. If you’re making the lemon cake, whisk the batter just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. 
  6. Bake the cakes: Pour the batter into the two lined cake pans, and bake for 27-32 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. Once baked, remove the pans from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer them to cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting (about 30-60 minutes).
  7. Make the frosting: In a large bowl or using a stand mixer, cream the vegan butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If making the red velvet cake, add in the vegan cream cheese as well, and cream together. Then sift in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time while mixing until all of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add in the Forager Project milk of choice along with vanilla extract to help with the consistency. Cream together on high until light and fluffy.
  8. Frost the mini cakes: Torte the cake layers, and apply a crumb coat. Chill the cake for 10 minutes in the freezer, then frost the cake with the remaining frosting for the final coating. 
  9. Decorate and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

To make the sheet cake version, prep an 8×8 baking pan greased with cooking oil and lined with parchment paper. Continue on after you’ve made the batter:

  1. Bake the sheet pan cake: pour the batter onto the prepared sheet pan, and spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Make sure that the batter is evenly spread. Place the sheet pan into the oven on the middle rack. Bake the sheet pan for about 17-20 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly golden and the toothpick comes out clean. 
  2. Cool the cake: once the cake is baked, remove the sheet pan from the oven. Allow the cake to cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes, then carefully flip and transfer the sheet cake to a cooling rack that’s larger than the sheet pan. Allow the cake to fully cool before creating the mini cake layers, about 20-30 minutes.
  3. Make the mini cake layers: once the cake is cool, use a small round cookie cutter, about 3″-4″ in diameter, and use the cookie cutter to cut small round circles into the layer cake. I was able to cut about 15 circles, making 5 three-layer cakes. Place the rounds onto the cooling rack, and place the cooling rack onto the baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet to a flat surface in the freezer and allow the cake rounds to chill while you make the buttercream. This will help when you’re frosting them.
  4. Make the vegan buttercream: follow the instructions for making the vegan vanilla buttercream. If you want to color the frosting, first use the plain vanilla buttercream to crumb coat the cakes, then use the remaining frosting to make the colors.