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Chocolatey, more chocolatey, the mini chocolate sponge cakes! If you’re into chocolate cakes, you must try these delicious mini cakes. They taste moist, fluffy, creamy, tender and incredibly chocolatey. Plus, the mini chocolate sponge cakes are pretty easy to make with common ingredients you may already have at home. And they are also an eye-catcher on the dining table. You can find a detailed recipe for the mini chocolate sponge cakes with exact quantities and step-by-step instructions here at the very bottom.
Chocolate pastry from the Soviet era
In the Soviet Union, pastry shops, bakeries and canteens were abundant with a variety of cakes and tarts. Some could be bought everywhere and at any time, others were rather a rarity. There were pastries that had a special name, but also those that did not have a unique name. The latter included these mini chocolate sponge cakes, which were simply called that.
What are the mini chocolate sponge cakes made of?
Part of what these delicious mini cakes are made of is already revealed by their name. First and foremost, it is the chocolate sponge cake, which is made with cocoa powder. It is fluffy, soft and chocolatey. And to make it taste even more moist, it is infused with sugar syrup. Then there is the chocolate buttercream, which is made with caramelized sweetened condensed milk and cocoa powder, in addition to butter. It tastes very creamy, smooth and heavenly chocolatey. But to give the mini cakes even more chocolate flavor, they are topped with dark chocolate glaze.
To soak the sponge or not?
Soaking the sponge cake with the sugar syrup makes the mini cakes taste even moister later. Also, rum or cognac in the sugar syrup makes the pastry more aromatic. You can make the sugar syrup just as well without alcohol. If you think the sponge cake is moist enough as it is, you can omit the sugar syrup. To find out, cut a small piece of sponge cake at the edge and taste it.
How to decorate the mini chocolate sponge cakes?
You can decorate the mini chocolate sponge cakes as you like. There are no limits to your imagination. But they also look pretty just covered with chocolate glaze. I had decorated the mini cakes very simply. First I had filled some chocolate cream into the piping bag with a very small round nozzle and used it to draw stripes on each mini cake. Then I used the piping bag with a closed star-shaped nozzle to pipe three flowers around the edge of each mini cake.
These mini chocolate sponge cakes are
- moist,
- fluffy,
- soft,
- creamy,
- tender,
- chocolaty,
- heavenly delicious,
- an eye-catcher on the dining table,
- easy and quick to make from common ingredients,
- ideal for a special occasion, for example, Christmas, Easter or a birthday.
Mini chocolate sponge cake recipe
You can find the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions for making the mini chocolate sponge cakes yourself in the box recipe below.
To make the mini cakes, you first need to bake the chocolate sponge cake. For this you need eggs, sugar and flour just as for a normal sponge cake, plus a little water and cocoa powder for the chocolate flavor. For the sugar syrup, with which the sponge cake is soaked, you need only water, sugar and possibly some rum or cognac. The cream for the mini cakes is made with butter, caramelized sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder and a little vegetable oil. And for the chocolate glaze, dark chocolate and some vegetable oil are needed.
How to make the mini chocolate sponge cakes: this is how to do it
- For the sponge cake, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy, fold in flour with cocoa powder and then stir in water. Spread the sponge dough evenly on a baking sheet, bake at 180 °C for about 7 minutes and let cool.
- For the sugar syrup, briefly boil water and sugar together, let cool and stir in rum or cognac. Soak the sponge cake with it and cut it into three equal parts.
- For the cream, beat soft butter and caramelized sweetened condensed milk, add cocoa powder and vegetable oil and beat to a homogeneous cream. Spread it on the three sponge cake layers and stack them on top of each other. Refrigerate the “cake” for a while.
- For the chocolate glaze, melt dark chocolate with vegetable oil, pour it over the “cake” and let the glaze dry. Then cut the “cake” into mini cakes. Done!
With these tips and tricks you will succeed in making the mini chocolate sponge cakes
- Use room-warm eggs for the sponge cake. This allows the sugar to dissolve more quickly when beaten.
- Fold the flour and cocoa powder very carefully into the egg-sugar mixture so that it remains airy and the sponge cake tastes fluffy at the end.
- To check if the sponge is done baking, gently press its surface with a finger briefly about the center. If it springs back after pressing, and no marks remain to be seen, it is ready.
- You can omit alcohol in the sugar syrup.
- You don’t have to saturate the sponge cake base with the sugar syrup if you think it’s moist enough as it is.
- Both butter and caramelized sweetened condensed milk for the cream need to be room warm, and both need to be about the same temperature when whipped together to make the cream, so they can combine well.
- Use good quality dark chocolate for the chocolate glaze, as the flavor of the mini cakes will depend in part on this.
- Store the mini chocolate sponge cakes in the refrigerator. They will keep for about 3 days.
Did you make the mini chocolate sponge cakes yourself using this recipe? I’m looking forward to your results, your star rating and your comment below on how you liked the pastries.
Got an appetite for more delicious mini cakes? Try also:
- Slices “Shkolnoe” – popular Russian shortbread jam bars
- Napoleon tarts: recipe for quick mini variant of the Russian cake
- Korzinochki – popular Soviet shortbread tarts with meringue filling
- How to make eclairs – recipe for world-famous French choux pastry
- “Little stairs” – Soviet sponge tarts with walnut & caramel buttercream
Mini chocolate sponge cakes
Ingredients
for the dough
- 5 eggs (room temperature)
- 125 g sugar
- 125 g flour
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 20 ml water
- 1 pinch of salt
for the cream
- 200 g caramelized sweetened condensed milk (room temperature)
- 200 g butter (room temperature)
- 100 g cocoa powder
- 10 ml vegetable oil
for the sugar syrup
- 50 ml water
- 50 g sugar
- 1 tsp rum or cognac
for the chocolate glaze
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Preparation of the dough
- Beat eggs, sugar and salt to a fluffy white mixture.
- Mix flour with cocoa powder and add it to the egg-sugar mixture to form an airy, thick dough.
- Gently fold water into the batter so that it remains fluffy.
- Spread the batter evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C top and bottom heat for about 7 minutes. Let the chocolate sponge cake cool down afterwards.
Preparation of the sugar syrup
- Put sugar and water together in a small saucepan, boil it briefly while stirring constantly so that the sugar dissolves before it boils, and let the sugar syrup cool.
- Add rum or cognac and stir.
Preparation of the cream
- Beat soft butter and caramelized sweetened condensed milk together for about 5 minutes until fluffy and creamy.
- Add cocoa powder and vegetable oil and whip to a homogeneous chocolate cream.
Preparation of the "cake"
- Drench the chocolate sponge cake with the sugar syrup and cut it into three equal pieces.
- If necessary, leave some of the chocolate cream for decorating and refrigerate it while you don't need it. Spread the remaining cream on the three sponge cake layers and stack them on top of each other. Refrigerate the "cake" for about 1 hour so that the cream sets.
Preparation of the chocolate glaze
- Melt dark chocolate together with vegetable oil.
Preparation of the mini cakes
- Pour the chocolate glaze over the "cake" and let it dry briefly in the refrigerator.
- Cut the "cake" into 7 mini cakes in the shape of isosceles triangles, leaving two small pieces at the two ends of the "cake" in the shape of right-angled triangles, which do not look as nice, but taste just as delicious as the other mini cakes.
- Decorate the mini chocolate sponge cakes as desired with the cream set aside, let the cream soften briefly at room temperature beforehand, and chill the mini cakes for about 30 minutes.
Notes
- Use room temperature eggs for the sponge. This allows the sugar to dissolve more quickly when beaten.
- To check whether the sponge cake is ready, press it gently with a finger on its surface in the middle. If it springs back after being pressed, and no marks remain visible, it is done.
- Alcohol in the sugar syrup can be omitted.
- You can omit soaking the sponge cake base with the sugar syrup if you think it is moist enough as it is.
- Both butter and caramelized sweetened condensed milk for the cream need to be room warm, and both need to be about the same temperature when whipped together to make the cream, so they can combine well.
- Use good quality dark chocolate for the chocolate glaze.
- Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the mini chocolate sponge cakes at the top of the post.