This mini strawberry cream cake is the perfect little 6" cake to celebrate a birthday alone or to share with a couple of people. It's made with a soft vanilla cake base, fresh whipped cream, and fresh strawberries or fruit of your choice!
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Notes from the baker
I made this mini strawberry cream cake with the intention of making a simple and small single-layered birthday or celebration cake for single girlies, people who live alone, or simply because a multi-layered large cake is too much.
I wanted it to be a simple vanilla cake that would serve as a base for anything you wanted to put on top of it. When it comes to birthday cakes, most people think of classic funfetti cakes. Personally, this cream cake is a birthday cake that I would prefer to eat. I also wanted you to be able to switch up the fresh fruit topping to suit you or the recipient of the cake (mango for me!).
I hope this cake can become one of your go-to cake recipes for whenever you need a mini birthday cake because I know I'll be making it again and again.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Small personal-sized cake. This 1-layer 6" cake is the perfect size for celebrating alone (with leftovers for the next day!) or sharing with someone else. It can feed up to 4 people (if you're ok with small slices!) but I made this with solo bakers and couples in mind.
- Easy to make. This is a simple and straightforward cake to make and the single layer is so much easier to handle than a layered cake.
- Soft and fluffy cake. Cakes made with the hot milk method are somewhere between a sponge cake and a pound cake. It's soft, rich, and delicious.
- Many possible flavour variations. There are so many different variations you can make of this cake by changing up the fruit topping.
Tools
- Electric hand mixer - A hand mixer is essential for making most cakes and baked goods especially if you need to whip the eggs for several minutes like in this recipe. I'd highly recommend picking one up if you want to bake often. I've used both corded and cordless versions and I'd recommend either one!
- 6" round cake pan - This recipe uses only one 6" cake pan. This cake isn't too fussy with what kind of pan you use and all pans will bake cakes differently but I prefer light silver pans that are 2" tall.
Ingredient notes
As always, the fullย recipe cardย with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to theย recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Egg -ย Your egg should be at room temperature. If you forget to take it out of the fridge beforehand, submerge it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Granulated sugar - This cake recipe relies on whipping lots of tiny air pockets into the egg and sugar mixture for the best lift and cake texture. There needs to be enough sugar to help suspend the air bubbles in the mixture so be wary if you try to change the amount of sugar in this recipe.
- Oil -ย You can use any light-tasting oil such as canola oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil. Oil-based cakes are softer even when cold, unlike butter-based cakes.
- Milk -ย Use any dairy or non-dairy you prefer. I usually use oat milk because it's what I already have on hand.
- Vanilla extract - This is a simple cake so use a good quality vanilla extract if you can to let the flavours shine.
- Whipping cream -ย Use cold whipped cream or heavy cream straight from the fridge. Cold cream whips up faster than room-temperature cream.
- Powdered sugar
- Strawberries - Use fresh, ripe strawberries. You can change the fruit up to anything you like. There are so many different variations of this cake that you can make just by switching up the fruit to fresh mangoes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, etc.
How to make a mini strawberry cream cake
Prep -ย Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Line a 6" round cake pan with a round of parchment paper on the bottom and set aside.
Flour mixture -ย In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Whip eggs -ย In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg and sugar. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg on low speed, working your way up to medium speed, for 5-7 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume and becomes very pale in colour.
Combine flour and egg mixtures -ย Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour disappears. Don't overmix.
Hot milk mixture -ย In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Microwave mixture for about 15 seconds until hot but not boiling. Slowly stream the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture with the mixer running on low speed until combined. The batter should be slightly thick but very fluid.
Bake -ย Pour the cake batter into your lined cake pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool -ย Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10-15 minutes before running an offset spatula around the edges of the pan. Release the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before frosting.
Whip cream -ย In a medium mixing bowl, add whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the mixture until it becomes stiff peaks.
Decorate -ย Pile all of the whipped cream on top of the cooled cake and spread it around with a spatula. Top with fresh strawberries.
Storage
This mini strawberry cream cake can be stored in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it come back to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
Leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours before eating.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, to make this cake in an 8" round cake pan, double the recipe. Bake the cake for a few minutes longer but use visual cues to check for doneness.
Baking by weight is much more accurate than volume. When using US standard cups, ingredients like flour and sugar can easily be overpacked into the cup causing you to add too much of certain ingredients. Recipes with weight measurements are also easier to scale to smaller or bigger batches without dealing with weird fractions.ย To measure by weight, you simply need a kitchen scale which you can usually pick up for less than $20.
Small measurements are given in tablespoons and teaspoons because most kitchen scales are not accurate under about 10g. Tiny amounts like a ยผ teaspoon may not register accurately unless you have a drug scale. Mixing these measurements is a common practice among other recipe sites and commercial kitchens.
More cake recipes to try
Recipe
Mini Strawberry Cream Cake
Equipment
Ingredientsย ย
Cake
- 75 g all-purpose flour
- ยฝ teaspoons baking powder
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 65 g milk, dairy or non-dairy
- 30 g light-tasting oil, eg. canola oil, avocado oil, etc
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toppings
- 100 g whipping cream, cold
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 fresh strawberries, halved or whole
Instructionsย
Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Line a 6" round cake pan with a round of parchment paper on the bottom and set aside.
- Flour mixture: In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Whip eggs: In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg and sugar. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg on low speed, working your way up to medium speed, for 5-7 minutes until the mixture doubles in volume and becomes very pale in colour.
- Combine flour and egg mixtures: Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour disappears. Don't overmix.
- Hot milk mixture: In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Microwave mixture for about 15 seconds until hot but not boiling. Slowly stream the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture with the mixer running on low speed until combined. The batter should be slightly thick but very fluid.
- Bake: Pour the cake batter into your lined cake pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool: Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 10-15 minutes before running an offset spatula around the edges of the pan. Release the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before frosting.
Toppings
- Whip cream: In a medium mixing bowl, add whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Use an electric hand mixer to beat the mixture until it becomes stiff peaks.
- Decorate: Pile all of the whipped cream on top of the cooled cake and spread it around with a spatula. Top with fresh strawberries.
Emely Segura says
this recipe was yummy and addicting! <3
Angela says
Hi! Just wondering if itโs possible to add matcha or cocoa powder into the base cake? Thank you
Giang says
I made this cake today, added some matcha to the batter and it turned out great! 10/10 <3
Angela says
Hi! Can I ask how much matcha powder did you use? And did you use the culinary grade ? Thank you ๐
choco says
Im not sure what Im doing wrong but my cakes always turn out flat. And I mean it. Flat. They are compressed and wet. The same happened with this cake. It tasted nice though, but the texture and look are just offputting.
bakingsmiles says
Hi! So, I had the same problem and I was using a dark colored panโ the baker uses a light colored pan. If youโre using a darker colored pan, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20-25, make sure to turn the pan halfway through! Also, make sure you donโt overmix the flour ! Happy Baking ๐
Anonymous says
Itโs really hard to understand your measurements in Grams
Emely Segura says
I recommend asking CHAT GPT to convert this recipe to the United States measurement system!!!
*I did this and the recipe turned out great for me ;)*