Name: Mini Easter Cakes
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 360 g Butter or baking spread, softened ((120g per sponge)); 360 g Caster sugar ((120g per sponge)); 6 Eggs, large ((2 per sponge)); 360 g Self raising flour ((120g per sponge)); 3 tsp Vanilla extract ((1 tsp per sponge)); Pink, purple & yellow Food colouring; 400 g Icing sugar; 200 g Butter (softened, unsalted); 2 tsp Vanilla extract; 2-3 tbsp Milk; 150 g Lemon curd (good quality shop bought or homemade); 24 Mini eggs

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These gorgeous Mini Easter Cakes are inspired by the beautiful pastel colours of spring time, and of Mini Eggs too of course! Each cake has three layers of light vanilla sponge, it's filled with vanilla buttercream and some hidden lemon curd in the centre. The colours and decoration could easily be changed for any occasion, as well as the buttercream flavour and filling. Which makes these mini cakes really versatile, plus delicious too! As well as being perfect Easter treats, these mini cakes would be gorgeous additions to a baby shower, afternoon tea or for Mother's Day.

Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cakes and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
I recommend using a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavour. Avoid using essence if you can as this is an artifical vanilla flavour.
You can decorate the cakes with any Easter chocolate or sweets you prefer. Or if it's not Easter, any chocolates, sweets, sprinkles or edible flowers.
The lemon curd filling is optional, you can replace it with jam or leave it out and just add an extra blob of buttercream in the centre of the cakes.
I recommend using professional grade food colourings for the best results. They are easily available for purchase online. My favourite brands are Pro Gel and Sugarflair. Other good quality brands are Colour Mill and Americolor.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Mini Easter Cakes

To make the sponges, mix together butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla extract.

Next mix in self raising flour, then add pink food colouring and bake in a 9" square tin for 10-15 minutes.

Once the first sponge is baked, remove it from the tin and follow the same process with the yellow and purple sponges.

When the cakes are fully cooled, use a 7cm cookie cutter to cut 6 circles out of each sponge. (Don't throw away the leftovers, you can make my Three Ingredient Cake Truffles with them!)

Make a vanilla buttercream by mixing softened butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk together. Pipe it on the bottom layer of cake around the edge, fill the middle with lemon curd. Do the same with the middle layer, then top with the final cake layer. Then pipe a swirl of buttercream on top of each cake and decorate with mini eggs.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

What is the best food colouring to use?

To get bright shades that remain strong after the cakes are baked you need to use a professional grade gel food colouring. You can buy these easily from many online shops, including amazon. I use the brands Pro Gel and Sugarflair regularly. Other well known brands are Colour Mill and Americolor.

Can each sponge layer be baked at the same time?

If you have three 9" square tins and they all fit in your oven at the same time then yes. I only have one tin so I did each sponge one after the other, I didn't wash the tin between I just re-lined it with a little butter and fresh baking paper. It is very important that you make the batter for each layer right before you plan to bake it. Do not leave the batter on the kitchen worktop while other sponges are baking, as this will affect the final result and the cake won't be as nice in texture.

What lemon curd should you use?

If you are using a shop bought lemon curd, make sure to get a good quality one. They are worth the extra pennies for that delicious lemon zing! If you fancy giving Homemade Lemon Curd a try, check out my recipe. It's easy and quick to make with only a few ingredients, it's also creamy and silky smooth, and the flavour is incredible!

Do you need an electric mixer to make this recipe?

While you can absolutely make this recipe with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease, I do recommend using an electric mixer for the best results. The cakes will be lighter and fluffier when made with an electric mixer. The buttercream will also be smoother. You don't have to use an expensive stand mixer either, you can get electric hand whisks for as little as £10!

How long do the cakes last for and can they be frozen?

The cakes will last for 2-3 days in an airtight container in a cool place. You can freeze both the cakes and the buttercream. To freeze them separately, wrap the cakes well in cling film or put them in an airtight container. The buttercream can be frozen in a sealed tub. To freeze them decorated, freeze the cakes on a plate until frozen solid, then carefully wrap in cling film. Remove the clingfilm when you take the cakes out of the freezer to defrost, as if they defrost with it still on it could damage the buttercream.

Can you make the cakes with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 1 teaspoons baking powder per cake layer - so 3 teaspoons in total. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can the cakes be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 1 teaspoons baking powder - so 3 teaspoons in total. You may also like to add ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum to each cake for better texture - so ¾ tsp in total. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread and dairy free milk for the cakes and the buttercream. You will also need to decorate the cakes with dairy free mini eggs (Doisy & Dam are a well known brand offering dairy free mini eggs) and use a dairy free lemon curd, or swap the lemon curd for jam.

More tips for making the Mini Easter Cakes:

I used a Wilton 6B piping nozzle to pipe the buttercream between the layers, and a Wilton 1M piping nozzle for the rosette on top.
You could fill the cakes with any other fruit curd or jam.
You can also decorate the cakes with anything you like instead of Mini Eggs. For example your favourite chocolates or sweets, sprinkles, edible flowers or cupcake toppers.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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