Everyone needs some mini cakes in their life from time to time.

Originally Published 03/28/2021

And if they’re mini cakes, then I might need them all the time 😂.

I seriously don’t know where this year is going already! We are at the end of March, and here comes Easter next week! It’s going to be the 4th of July and then Christmas again before we know it! I am super happy to see Spring though. Winter seemed to take forever this go around! Tennessee is currently teasing us with sunny warm days followed by cold dreary ones. But the daffodils have sprung up and the trees are heavy with pink and white blooms. There’s hope and beauty everywhere I look! Thank God for seasons!

I was inspired by Spring and Easter to create this recipe for mini cakes.

This easy recipe for Vanilla Chai & Fig Jam Cakes makes four, 4″ round three-tiered semi-naked mini cakes. Even though the recipe only makes 4 cakes, each cake could be cut in half or thirds and shared.

Even as mini cakes, the size of these is shareable! You could easily feed dessert to 8 people with this recipe!

The cake itself is infused with brewed chai tea, as well as cinnamon and cardamom. And then they are layered with vanilla buttercream and a bright fig jam!

These mini cakes, decorated with Spring flowers, are the perfect centerpiece for any Easter dessert table!

Let’s get started!

The chai tea needs to be steeped in a 1/2 cup of hot water for a bit. You can use any chai tea you’d like. For this recipe, I used a rooibos chai. After you’ve got it brewing, just set it to the side for later! Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get the baking pan ready.

Nordic ware makes this awesome high-sided sheet pan that is perfect for baking sheet cakes. It’s 18″x13″x2″, so the cake doesn’t bake over the edges while cooking!

Oil the baking sheet, then line it with parchment and spray that with oil too. This way the sheet cake will come back out of the pan nice and easy! The final step of prep work for these mini cakes is to mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl together and set them to the side as well. I’m always tempted to skip this part. I just wanna throw everything in the mixing bowl willy, nilly. It does help to evenly distribute the salt, spices, and baking powder by combining it with the flour first. That way when you add the dry ingredients to the wet, there aren’t clumps of certain things stuck together.

Now on to the wet ingredients!

In your mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, start by combining the oil, butter, and sugar.

Next, add the eggs and vanilla. Whip all of this together for about 5 minutes. The batter will start to change color at this point and turn a nice light shade of yellow! It also gets fluffier and lighter which helps the cake to be fluffier and lighter.

Going back to the chai tea that was brewed and set aside earlier. Mix that in with the sour cream before adding both of these to the cake batter. It will help cool down the tea and warm up the cold sour cream. Win, win! Throw this concoction in, mix, and that’s it for the wet ingredients!

Now the dry ingredients can be added to the batter.

After these are thoroughly mixed in with the wet ingredients, pour all of the batter into the prepared baking dish. 

Smooth the batter out as evenly as you can to create a more level baked cake. I also like to drop the whole baking sheet on the counter a couple of times to bring any large air bubbles to the surface of the batter.

This sheet cake was baked for 35 minutes in my gas oven. It may take 35-35 minutes for yours to finish baking. The cake should look light golden brown, be pulled away from the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean when it’s finished.

Let it cool in the pan for around 20 minutes before attempting to gently remove it. If you try too soon ( speaking from experience lol) the cake will start to crack and fall apart. After cooling the cake in the pan, finish cooling it on a cooling rack and then you can cut circles out of it to make the mini cakes. While the cake is cooling, use that time to whip together the vanilla buttercream.

This recipe will make four three-tiered mini cakes.

I used a 4″ round cookie cutter to cut out the circles.

Don’t worry if they are a little uneven. These are meant to look rustic!

 For each cake, start by putting a layer of buttercream on top of the first round. Spread it as evenly as you can and then follow up with a layer of fig jam, and the second layer of buttercream on top of the jam. 

I can usually find the fig jam next to the fancy cheese section in our store. They like to keep all the things you might want to put on a charcuterie tray right there. But you can also probably find it in the peanut butter and jelly section. Or buy fig jam from Amazon if you plan ahead. Place the next cake round on top of that and repeat the buttercream, jam, and buttercream pattern. Top that off with the last cake round and frost the whole mini cake with vanilla buttercream. I really love the look of naked cakes or semi-naked cakes. They’re so rustic and beautiful. These reminded me of peeling birch bark trees after they were frosted. 

Repeat this process until all the cakes are put together!

Finally,

these mini cakes can be decorated and displayed in any number of fun and creative ways!

This week I took part in a 5-day Food Photography Challenge through Food Photography Blog. The class was about bright and light food photography styling. 

The idea for these Vanilla Chai & Fig Jam Mini Cakes was born out of the brainstorming for this class. I wanted something super light, springy, and easter colored. 

The flowers on top of the cakes are from Hobby Lobby and the cute yellow cupcake stands were $2 a piece at Target!

It was so much fun taking part in the photography challenge this week. A delicious recipe was born out of it and I learned a lot! (Secret time… I love taking pictures just as much as baking!) Anyway, I hope you give this recipe a try, decorate them beautifully and they grace your Easter Dessert table. Most of all, if you bake them and eat them, I hope you find them delicious! Thanks for reading! Happy Springtime!🌷🌷

Click here for some more dessert inspiration!

Print Recipe

Mini Vanilla Chai and Fig Jam Cakes

An easy recipe to create gorgeous vanilla chai-infused mini cakes, layered with vanilla buttercream and bright fig jam. Perfect for Spring!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Cooling and Frosting1 hour hr

Course: Dessert

Servings: 4 cakes

Equipment

• Kitchenaid Mixer
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Medium-size bowl
• Small Bowl
• Rubber Spatula
• 18″x13″x2″ Baking Pan
• 4″ Round cookie cutter
• Angled Icing Spatula

Ingredients

Vanilla Chai Sponge

• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 410 grams
• 3 tsp Baking Powder 13 grams
• 1 tsp Salt 6 grams
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 2 grams
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom .70 grams
• 3/4 Cup Salted Butter room temperature 170 grams
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil 45 grams
• 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar 370 grams
• 3 Eggs room temperature 200 grams
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract 15 grams
• 1 Cup Sour Cream 250 grams
• 1/2 Cup Chai Tea 100 grams

Vanilla Buttercream

• 3/4 Cup Salted Butter room temperature 1 70 grams
• 4 Cups Powdered Sugar 484 grams
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 118 grams
• 3 tsp Vanilla Extract 15 grams
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice 2.5 grams
• 1 8.5 oz Jar Fig Jam

Instructions

Vanilla Chai Sponge

• Brew a 1/2 cup of Chai tea and set to the side to steep.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 18″x13″x2″ baking pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then oil the top of the parchment paper too.
• In a medium-size bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom and set to the side.
• In your Kitchenaid mixer with the whisk attachment add in the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar and whip together for 3-5 minutes, until fluffy.
• Next, add in the eggs and vanilla again whipping until combined and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. The batter should be a nice pale yellow when it’s whipped enough.
• In a small bowl, measure out a cup of sour cream. Add brewed chai tea to the sour cream and mix them together. This will warm up the sour cream and cool down the tea before adding it to the cake batter. Once they are mixed together, pour the mixture into the mixer and combine it with the other ingredients.
• Finally, add the dry ingredients in and mix the cake batter until everything is thoroughly combined and smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth it out so it’s level. Drop the pan on the counter a few times to knock out any bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.
• Place the cake in the oven on the middle rack and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden brown, the edges have started to pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then, carefully remove the cake from the pan and allow it to finish cooling on a cooling rack.
• Once the sponge is cool, use a 4″ circle cookie cutter to cut out the rounds to make the mini cakes. You should be able to get 12 rounds out of the sheet of cake.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• While the cake is cooling, it’s time to make the frosting!
• In your Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add in the butter and powdered sugar and begin mixing at low speed.
• Next, add in the vanilla, lemon juice, and heavy whipping cream.
• Once the powdered sugar is combined, turn the mixer up to high speed and allow the frosting to whip for 3-5 minutes, or until it is fluffy and light.

Assemble

• Each cake is made up of three rounds. Start with the bottom round and frost the top with a layer of vanilla buttercream. On top of the buttercream, spread a layer of fig jam, and then spread another layer of buttercream. Place the second cake round on top of that and repeat the layer of buttercream, fig jam, and buttercream. Place the final round on top and minimally frost the whole mini cake to create the semi-naked look.
• Repeat this process with the 3 other cakes until all 4 cakes are stacked and frosted.
• Decorate the tops with fresh flowers or fruit!
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

Or wrap and place in the fridge to enjoy later. The cake will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, but it’s the best served the day of!

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