Foodie Friday: Little Cakes

We enjoy a good cake, but with just the two of us, and a desire to control sugar and fat intake, a full size cake is problematic.  We either eat to much, or it goes stale before we finish it.  Most often we gorge to finish it, waste not -want not, as our mothers taught us. 

One solution is small, or mini cakes.  I recently bought three 4-inch cake pans. I have been trying my hand at small cakes.  Trying to reduce down a full size recipe is a challenge.  Here is one that seems to work. 

125 grams flour (about 1 cup) 

200 grams of sugar (about 1 cup) 

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

55 grams melted butter (about 2 ounces) 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

120 grams buttermilk (about 1/2 cup)

dash of vanilla extract 

Mix dry ingredients 

Add in liquid ingredients 

Beat for a minute or two until well incorporated. 

Spray cake pans with cooking spray or butter liberally.

Put equal parts in the three 4-inch cake pans 

Bake 35-40 minutes in 350 degree oven. 

Cool for 10 minutes or so, then invert pans and thump the cakes out on a cooling rack. 

Cool completely. 

Using a serrated knife split each cake into two layers. 

Yield, two cakes, three inches in diameter, with three layers each. 

Frost, glaze or decorate as you wish. I did one with cream cheese buttercream, and one with a lemon glaze.