• Home
  • About
    • About Olivia
    • The Pastry Diaries
    • Privacy & Disclosure
  • eBooks
  • Recipes
    • Cakes
      • Birthday Cakes
      • Bundt Cakes
      • Chocolate Cakes
      • Christmas Cakes
      • Classic Cakes
      • Drip Cakes
      • Easter Cakes
      • Fruity Cakes
      • Halloween Cakes
      • Naked Cakes
      • Thanksgiving Cakes
      • Valentine’s Cakes
      • Vanilla Cakes
    • Cookie Cups
    • Cookies
    • Frostings & Fillings
    • Holiday Desserts
  • Shop
  • Tutorials

Subscribe for the latest recipes:

Liv for Cake

Classic Cake Recipes with a Modern Twist

  • Home
  • About
    • About Olivia
    • The Pastry Diaries
    • Privacy & Disclosure
  • eBooks
  • Recipes
    • Cakes
      • Birthday Cakes
      • Bundt Cakes
      • Chocolate Cakes
      • Christmas Cakes
      • Classic Cakes
      • Drip Cakes
      • Easter Cakes
      • Fruity Cakes
      • Halloween Cakes
      • Naked Cakes
      • Thanksgiving Cakes
      • Valentine’s Cakes
      • Vanilla Cakes
    • Cookie Cups
    • Cookies
    • Frostings & Fillings
    • Holiday Desserts
  • Shop
  • Tutorials

Home » Cakes » Raspberry Vanilla Mini Cakes

Raspberry Vanilla Mini Cakes

By Olivia, 62 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for details.
Jump to Recipe

These raspberry vanilla mini cakes are layered with a creamy vanilla frosting and raspberry jam.

Two mini cakes decorated with fresh raspberries.

Can you believe it’s October?? How the heck did that even happen? October is my favourite month of the year. It’s officially Fall, Thanksgiving next weekend,  then my birthday and Halloween at the end of the month. This month pretty much rocks.

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. My friend Rebecca over at Sugar & Soul has put together a “Cooking for a Cure” round-up, with some pretty pink recipes from some pretty fabulous bloggers. Not that I ever need an excuse to bake something, but it’s nice to have a worthy cause to inspire a new recipe. I chose to make some pretty pink raspberry mini cakes for this theme so that I could break in my new 4″ cake rounds.

A close up of the top of the cake.

My ongoing search for the perfect vanilla cake recipe continues. For these mini cakes, I adapted Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Downy Butter Yellow Cake recipe from The Cake Bible. I changed it up a bit, as the original recipe called for only egg yolks and I didn’t want to waste the whites. The original was also for two 9″ rounds, so I had to do some math  and volume calculations to convert it for three 4″ rounds. That was super fun.

The Ultimate Cake Collection

Over 50 of my very favorite cake recipes all in one place! From Classic Cakes to Holiday favorites and everything in between.

Get your copy today!

Two mini cakes decorated with fresh raspberries.

My plan was to make three 3-layer cakes, but the cakes didn’t bake up quite as high as I’d wanted, so I pieced them together to make two 3-layer cakes and they turned out quite well. Since they didn’t bake up very high, I could have just divided the batter into two pans instead of three and then cut the cakes into 3 layers each. So really you could just use two 4″ rounds to make these (as long as they’re 3″ tall) instead of three like I did.

Overhead shot of the cakes.

The buttercream is a simple vanilla buttercream recipe that I added a bit of color gel to. I was intially going to make raspberry buttercream and mix some jam into it, but I thought the jam would make a nice, striking layer inside the cake instead.

Cake with a slice taken out.

The delicious raspberry jam comes from my sister-in-law, Nissa. She made a whole bunch this summer and sent us home with a few jars when we were visiting Calgary. The cake layer itself is actually quite salty, and I was a bit worried, but it goes perfectly with the sweet buttercream and jam. It’s definitely a cake that needs a super-sweet buttercream.

A close up of a slice of cake on a plate

Oh, and I overbaked the cake, so… don’t do that. It baked up quicker than I thought, considering the pans were deeper than the ones I usually use. Start checking at 20mins. Thankfully the jam and frosting added additional moisture, and in the end it turned out perfect!

Two mini cakes decorated with fresh raspberries.
Print Rate
4.73 from 11 votes

Pretty Pink Raspberry Vanilla Mini Cakes

These mini raspberry vanilla mini cakes are layered with a creamy vanilla frosting and raspberry jam.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Cake
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 585kcal
Author Olivia

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1 1/2 cups cake flour sifted
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 oz unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Buttercream:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 drop fuschia color gel

Jam:

  • 4 tsp raspberry jam
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350F and grease three 4"x 3" cake rounds*, line with parchment.
  • In a small bowl whisk flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy, approx. 3mins. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla.
  • Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk), fully incorporating after each addition.
  • Divide batter evenly amongst pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (approx 25-30mins).**
  • Cool in pans for 10mins, invert and cool completely on wire rack.

Buttercream:

  • Cream butter medium high until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed and slowly add in sugar. Beat until smooth and add vanilla and color gel. Beat until combined.

Assembly:

  • Using a serrated knife or a cake leveler, cut each cake in half horizontally.***
  • At this point you can either have three 2-layer cakes or make two 3-layer cakes.
  • Place a cake layer down and add 1/3 cup buttercream on top, spread evenly. Add 1 tsp jam on top of buttercream and spread evenly. Place another cake layer on top and repeat the process, finishing with buttercream on top and fresh berries.

Recipes You May Like

  • A bundt cake on a white cake stand sitting on top of a wooden table.
    Rum & Eggnog Bundt Cake
  • Chocolate covered cake on a white cake stand with fresh raspberries around it.
    Chocolate Raspberry Cake
  • This spiderweb cake is perfect for Halloween! A rich black cocoa cake with an orange flavoured buttercream. | livforcake.com
    Spiderweb Cake
  • A decorated cake on a table
    Pink Champagne Cake

Notes

* This is what I used, hoping to have 3 tall cakes, instead, you could use two 4" x 3" rounds but adjust baking time accordingly.
** Batter will be quite thick.
*** Remove any domes first, or prevent them by using bake even strips.
Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible.
Calories: 585kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 4gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 95mgPotassium: 185mgSugar: 50gVitamin A: 1035IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 88mgIron: 0.4mg
The nutritional information and metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or metric conversion tool.

Photo collage.

pink-recipes-cooking-for-a-cure

 

These pink recipes were made with love and honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month- sweet treats, cold drinks and some savory dishes.

Learn How to Bake the Perfect Cake!

Tips, techniques, and troubleshooting to help ensure your cakes come out perfect every single time!

Get your copy today!

Hungry for more?

Join our Baking community on Facebook!
Follow Liv for Cake on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter
Or sign up to get free recipes by email!

Subscribe for the latest recipes

October 2, 2015

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Chi Day says

    September 16, 2020 at 12:07 PM

    4 stars
    I dont have milk and I’m wondering if there is anything I could substitute it.
    Anyways, I changing the recipe by cutting it by 2 since if I did something wrong I wouldn’t dump as much ingredients. I also changed the recipe by instead of putting jam in the middle, I’ll put blackberries cuz I have them since they were on sale. Would that work??

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      September 16, 2020 at 3:10 PM

      Hi Chi! Do you have any milk substitutes? Almond milk? Soy milk? Etc. And yes, you can use blackberries instead of jam.

      Reply
  2. Kat says

    July 6, 2020 at 10:02 PM

    Hi, I’m looking to make my first commissioned cake for a friend in the coming weeks and she wants a 12” for this flavor. How much would you guess needs to be adjusted in order to get that size without any mishaps? I’ve never made a cake this large before but I’m interested in trying this recipe.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      July 7, 2020 at 9:41 AM

      Hi Kat! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html I would suggest starting with this cake recipe instead.

      Reply
  3. Marilyn says

    June 23, 2020 at 12:36 PM

    5 stars
    Forgot vanilla

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 23, 2020 at 2:58 PM

      Hi Marilyn! Glad you still loved it!

      Reply
  4. Zoe Murphy says

    June 18, 2020 at 1:50 AM

    I’m planning on making one 3 layer 4” cake and the left over batter I’m going to make cupcakes? Would this work? Xx

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 19, 2020 at 9:34 AM

      Hi Zoe! Yes, that should work fine! The cupcakes won’t take as long to bake.

      Reply
  5. Moira Hearn says

    March 7, 2020 at 11:11 AM

    5 stars
    “Berry” tasty and “berry” delicious!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      March 9, 2020 at 2:40 AM

      So happy you loved it Moira! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Sam says

    January 16, 2020 at 6:56 AM

    Hey!

    I love the look of this recipe and I’m hoping to make it as a little birthday cake for my girlfriend seeing though it’ll just be the two of us in the morning.

    I was just wondering- does the 8 servings the site defaults to make the two cakes exactly? So does each cake have 4 servings?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      January 16, 2020 at 10:47 AM

      Hi Sam! Yes, I assumed each cake would serve 4, but those were pretty small servings. I think one cake each would be perfect for you two 🙂 Just to note, in case you haven’t read the post. I actually baked three 4″ cakes, but they weren’t as tall as I’d like so I cut them all in half and made two 3 layer cakes instead of three 2 layer cakes, if that makes sense.

      Reply
  7. Fearne ava says

    January 11, 2020 at 7:45 AM

    Hi, do you know approx how much fondant I would need to cover this cake thanks xx

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      January 12, 2020 at 11:32 AM

      Hi Fearne Ava! I don’t use fondant these days so I’m not sure. Not a lot though especially if you were just making one.

      Reply
  8. Adrienne Andresen says

    December 20, 2019 at 12:24 PM

    5 stars
    Can these be made in ramekins? My friend cannot eat chocolate.\

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      December 20, 2019 at 3:22 PM

      Hi Adrienne! You can try making them in ramekins — are they 4″ wide? Be sure to grease and flour them.

      Reply
  9. Farah says

    April 18, 2019 at 11:27 PM

    The recipe is good but not for two 4 X 3 inch pans. Overflowed in my oven.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      April 20, 2019 at 7:10 PM

      Hi Farah! I used three 4×3″ pans as per the recipe.

      Reply
    • Bee Smith says

      June 2, 2019 at 1:32 PM

      The cake was amazing.. I added a little lemon zest to it .. it was a hit for my party

      Reply
      • Olivia says

        June 3, 2019 at 2:33 PM

        So glad you liked it! Love the addition of lemon.

        Reply
  10. Dorothy says

    September 19, 2018 at 12:56 PM

    Hi. I’m wanting to make a raspberry buttercream for a chocolate cake. Would you use raspberry jam or seedless preserves? Thanks for the help.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      September 20, 2018 at 2:22 PM

      Hi Dorothy! Ideally, if you can find it, I’d use either freeze-dried raspberries (https://amzn.to/2NWraca) or freeze-dried powder (https://amzn.to/2xCL6Xv). This will give the best flavour and color without affecting the texture! Otherwise either the jam or preserves would work, just up to you if you’d like seedless or not!

      Reply
  11. Kristy Moofart says

    July 24, 2018 at 2:40 AM

    4 stars
    Hi! I loved this cake! I used a rectangular pan instead of stacking circular cakes. I have pictures and a video of me doing it! I feel proud and this is th first time I succeeded in baking!

    Reply
    • Kristy Moofart says

      July 24, 2018 at 2:45 AM

      I also added almond extract instead of vanilla to my buttercream. It is really good!
      I can send the pics to you?

      Reply
      • Olivia says

        July 24, 2018 at 9:37 AM

        Sure thing! I’d love to see them 🙂

        Reply
    • Olivia says

      July 24, 2018 at 9:37 AM

      So glad you liked it Kristy!

      Reply
  12. Janelle says

    June 27, 2018 at 7:30 PM

    HI there! These cakes look amazing!! Would this recipe work for two 6×3″ round pans? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 29, 2018 at 3:35 PM

      Hi Janelle! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html

      Reply
  13. Becky says

    March 12, 2018 at 7:26 PM

    These look great! I’d like to make these for a summer bridal shower. My plan is to make a sheet cake and cut circles out- but I’m worried they will dry out. I will have to assemble and crumb coat 30 mini cakes the day before the shower and then decorate the next morning before the noon shower. Any tips on how to keep these super moist once they’ve been cut out?

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      March 15, 2018 at 4:37 PM

      Hi Becky! Do you have an airtight container(s) you can store them in? Otherwise I’d recommend assembling them with frosting, chilling till frosting is firm and then wrapping each in plastic wrap (I know that will be a pain). The more frosting you leave on the sides the less dry they will get. Though honestly, I don’t think it will be that bad if it’s just overnight and it’s only the very outside that might dry out a bit. I suspect they will be totally fine if you just stick them in the fridge once they’re put together. Another thing you can do is brush on a bit of simple syrup onto each of the layers while you’re assembling them. I hope that helps!

      Reply
  14. Savannah says

    May 13, 2017 at 2:33 PM

    5 stars
    just made these – sooo delicious ! thanks for the recipe and the amazing job doing all the conversions for all of us 😉

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      May 15, 2017 at 8:51 AM

      Hi Savannah! I’m so glad to hear you liked them!! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Samantha says

    April 14, 2017 at 8:10 AM

    5 stars
    I was wondering how much would make

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      April 14, 2017 at 1:16 PM

      Hi Samantha! How much of what?

      Reply
  16. Lee says

    November 18, 2016 at 10:20 PM

    How much in advance can these be made for an occasion?

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      November 19, 2016 at 10:33 AM

      Hi Lee! They should be ok for a day or two in the fridge. Or you can freeze them if you need them for longer.

      Reply
  17. Marshella says

    August 25, 2016 at 11:16 AM

    Hi Olivia!

    Any chance this scrumptious looking cake could be converted for a 9 inch cake pan? I can make two 9 inch cake pans.

    Many thanks,
    Marshella

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      August 25, 2016 at 1:36 PM

      Hi Marshella! I would try doubling it for two 9″ cake pans. The original recipe I adapted it from was for a larger volume, but I can’t check it right now as the book is packed up! Make sure to only fill the pans 2/3 t 3/4 full. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
      • Marshella says

        August 26, 2016 at 10:50 AM

        Thank you Olivia!

        Reply
  18. Taylor says

    July 2, 2016 at 6:26 PM

    Olivia, is this recipe as written meant to fill six 4″ pans or just three 4″ pans?

    Thanks! Excited to make this.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      July 3, 2016 at 7:30 PM

      Hi Taylor! It’s for three 4″ pans.

      Reply
  19. Hannah says

    June 9, 2016 at 5:59 AM

    Hi Olivia! These are BEAUTIFUL! I was wondering if you have any suggestions as far as how to adapt these to make mini-er versions for a bridal shower? Can the cake recipe be made in a larger pan?

    Can’t wait to make them!! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      June 9, 2016 at 5:07 PM

      Hi Hannah! You can make the recipe in a larger pan for sure, but you’d need to adjust it according to the pan size. If you’re going to do that, I’d suggest using one of my more recent recipes that uses vanilla cake. Like this one but use vanilla instead of rum:

      http://livforcake.com/2016/06/pina-colada-cake.html

      Personally I like this recipe better :). You can bake it one as is in a 10″x15″ sheet pan then cut out small circles to stack together. Is that what you had in mind?

      Reply
  20. elle says

    February 15, 2016 at 8:34 PM

    4 stars
    hi!
    how many inches is in each layer? how much frosting did you use and what is the height of the overall cake, please??
    thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      February 15, 2016 at 9:39 PM

      Hi Elle, the cake is 4″ in diameter and maybe 5″ tall. I used all of the frosting in the recipe above.

      Reply
  21. Nina says

    November 9, 2015 at 4:18 AM

    5 stars
    Wonderful recipe and very nice tips 🙂 It looks professional and yummy…

    Reply
  22. Oana says

    October 13, 2015 at 11:28 AM

    5 stars
    What a beautiful display of pink desserts. And what a great cause! Having someone in the family going through it, I can relate to it so much. Well done, Liv!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 21, 2015 at 5:59 PM

      Gah, sorry for the delayed reply here. Thank you for your sweet comments and wishing your family member a quick recovery! xo

      Reply
  23. Lindsey says

    October 6, 2015 at 3:25 PM

    Absolutely the most adorable cakes I’ve seen in a while. Plus I’m sure they taste amazing.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 6, 2015 at 3:46 PM

      Thanks so much Lindsey! They were so yummy.

      Reply
  24. Amanda | The Cinnamon Scrolls says

    October 6, 2015 at 11:50 AM

    Gorgeous. As usual. Seriously, Liv, you’re making all us other bakers look bad! I love how cute and pink these are! I really need to start making smaller cakes like this — better for my waistline. 🙂

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 6, 2015 at 12:46 PM

      You are so sweet, thank you!! Cakes are my thing. I love them and spend the most time planning/making them. 😀

      And yes, smaller cakes are better for the waistline except when you eat the entire thing….oops.

      Reply
  25. Meriem @ Culinary Couture says

    October 5, 2015 at 9:04 PM

    You knocked us all out the park with these! They are absolutely stunning!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 5, 2015 at 10:35 PM

      Meriem you are so sweet, thank you! I’ll take a dozen of your raspberry cheesecake brownies!! 😉

      Reply
  26. [email protected] Baking in Pyjamas says

    October 4, 2015 at 3:06 AM

    Olivia, these are so dinky and pretty, what a great project to be involved in.

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 4, 2015 at 9:42 AM

      Thanks Laura! 🙂 <3

      Reply
  27. June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says

    October 3, 2015 at 5:53 AM

    Awww such cute little cakes! I have some little 4″ pans that I ought to use, maybe mini cakes like this would be perfect! Love the raspberry flavor 🙂

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 3, 2015 at 10:37 AM

      You should totally use them! Love mini-desserts, plus sometimes when you’re making dessert for just 1 or 2 people… comes in handy 🙂

      Reply
  28. Marg says

    October 2, 2015 at 11:31 AM

    5 stars
    The name says it all..Pretty in Pink! They look so divine! Great photos!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 2, 2015 at 2:14 PM

      Thanks Marg!! <3 🙂

      Reply
  29. Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says

    October 2, 2015 at 9:00 AM

    I am in awe…your cake is so gorgeous! Can you spare a slice?!! Pinning…I doubt anything I create will look so pretty, but one can hope, right?!

    Reply
    • Olivia says

      October 2, 2015 at 10:16 AM

      Thank you so much Michelle! This one was really easy to do, I have confidence in you! 😀

      Reply
How To Bake The Perfect Cake

Learn How to Bake the Perfect Cake!

Tips, techniques, and troubleshooting to help ensure your cakes come out perfect every single time!

Get your copy today!

Featured Posts

Close up of a cookie cup.

Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Cups

Edible cookie dough in a bowl.

How to Make Edible Cookie Dough

A decorated cake on a cake stand

Cotton Candy Cake

Vanilla cake on a white cake stand.

Vanilla Cake With Vanilla Buttercream

A cake sitting on top of a wooden table

French Silk Pie Cake (Copycat Deep’n Delicious Chocolate Cake)

Cake on a cooling rack

How to Bake Flat Cakes

featured
olivia

Welcome to liv for cake!

I'm Olivia, a professionally trained pastry chef, recipe developer, and photographer from Vancouver, BC. Creating classic cake recipes with a modern twist.
Read More

sig

Subscribe for the latest recipes:

Copyright © 2010 - 2021, Liv for Cake. All Rights Reserved. Privacy & Disclosure
Design by Pixel Me Designs