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This mini Devil’s Food Cake is rich, moist, and packed with deep chocolate flavor. Made with simple ingredients and topped with a creamy chocolate frosting, it’s the perfect cake for a small celebration or a sweet everyday treat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich and Light Texture: Cocoa powder and baking soda create a cake that’s both rich and airy, with a deeper color and softer crumb.
- Bold Chocolate Flavor: Cocoa powder and coffee combine for a deep, intense chocolate taste.
- Easy to Make: Uses simple, everyday ingredients and clear steps.
- Perfect Size: Just right for one or two people, offering a small, satisfying dessert without unwanted leftovers.
I’m so excited to share this small Devil’s Food Cake with you. It’s everything I love in a chocolate cake—rich, tender, and full of deep chocolate flavor. This cake feels special without being complicated, and it’s the kind of treat that’s just right when you want something homemade and truly delicious.
If you’re looking for more chocolate mini cake recipes, be sure to try our German Chocolate Cake, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Lava Cake, and mini Texas Sheet Cake. Each one offers a different chocolate experience, from rich and decadent to smooth and molten.
Featured Comment
“Best chocolate cake you’ll ever eat!!!
– Annelie
Make it right NOW”
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this easy Devil’s Food Cake recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour. This recipe hasn’t been tested with other types.
- Baking Powder and Soda: Help the cake rise. Baking soda also balances the sour cream’s acidity and gives the cake a slight reddish tone.
- Butter and Oil: Use softened unsalted butter and either vegetable, canola, or avocado oil for a soft, rich texture.
- Sugars: A mix of granulated and brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture. Make your own with our small batch brown sugar recipe if necessary.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances flavor.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Provides the chocolate base. Both natural and Dutch-processed work. Also used in recipes like Chocolate Banana Bread, a single serve Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Scones, or Rum Balls.
- Coffee: Enhances the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee. It also helps dissolve the cocoa powder. You can replace the coffee with hot water but the chocolate flavor may not be as deep.
- Sour Cream: Adds moisture and activates the baking soda without thinning the batter. Use extra in Corn Muffins and in a Hot Spinach Dip
- Powdered Sugar and Heavy Cream: Combined with cocoa powder, butter, and vanilla to make the frosting. You’ll also see these ingredients in frostings for our White Cake, Chocolate Cupcakes, and Peanut Butter Pie.
How To Make A Devil’s Food Cake
These step-by-step photos and instructions show how to make a mini Devil’s Food Cake. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
Prep the Oven and Dish
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly butter a 5×7-inch baking dish and set aside.
Pro Tip: This recipe fits in either a 5×5-inch dish (25 square inches) or a 5×7-inch dish (35 square inches). The batter rises high in the 5×5, so place it on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent spills. The 5×7 is recommended to avoid overflow.
Make the Cake
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the egg, then add the oil and vanilla. Mix until fully combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and hot coffee until smooth.
- On low speed, mix the chocolate-coffee mixture into the batter.
- With the mixer still on low, add half of the flour mixture. Mix in the sour cream, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the baking dish for 30 minutes. You can either frost the cake in the dish once fully cool or turn it out onto a wire rack to frost separately.
Make the Frosting
In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
Adjusting Consistency: If too thick, add more cream 1/4 teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
Frosting Options:
- Vanilla Buttercream from our Vanilla Cupcakes recipe (double the amount for full coverage).
- Cream Cheese Frosting from our Pumpkin Bars recipe.
- This rich chocolate buttercream frosting is what’s shown in the photos and included as part of this recipe.
Expert Tips
- Use Softened Butter: The butter should be soft enough to press with your finger and leave an indentation, but still hold its shape.
- Measure Flour Accurately: Don’t scoop directly from the bag. Loosen the flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup, and level it off with a knife.
- Check Oven Temperature: Many ovens run too hot or too cool. Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate baking temperature.
- Use the Recommended Baking Dish Size: This recipe works best in a 5×7-inch or 5×5-inch baking dish. The 5×7-inch dish offers more space and reduces the risk of overflow. If using a 5×5-inch dish, place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch potential spills.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cover the cake and store it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 5 days. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving for the best texture and flavor.
Yes, the unfrosted cake can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then frost before serving.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this little Devil’s Food Cake or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Mini Devil’s Food Cake
Watch How To Make This
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter -softened
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar -packed
- 1 large egg
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil or canola or avocado oil
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons hot coffee
- ¼ cup sour cream
For the Frosting
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter -softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar -sifted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder -sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly butter a 5×7-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the egg, then add the oil and vanilla. Mix until fully combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and hot coffee until smooth.
- On low speed, mix the chocolate-coffee mixture into the batter.
- With the mixer still on low, add half of the flour mixture. Mix in the sour cream, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the baking dish for 30 minutes. You can either frost the cake in the dish once fully cool or turn it out onto a wire rack to frost separately.
Make the Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat until smooth and fluffy.Adjusting Consistency: If too thick, add more cream 1/4 teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
- Use Softened Butter: The butter should be soft enough to press with your finger and leave an indentation, but still hold its shape.
- Measure Flour Accurately: Don’t scoop directly from the bag. Loosen the flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup, and level it off with a knife.
- Check Oven Temperature: Many ovens run too hot or too cool. Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate baking temperature.
- Use the Recommended Baking Dish Size: This recipe works best in a 5×7-inch or 5×5-inch baking dish. The 5×7-inch dish offers more space and reduces the risk of overflow. If using a 5×5-inch dish, place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch potential spills.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
My cake came out dense, any suggestions as to why? I love your recipes. I followed it to a T.
Kim
Hi Kim, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes—and I appreciate you trying this one! If your cake turned out dense, a few things might be the cause. One of the most common reasons is the butter wasn’t properly softened or creamed. For this recipe, it’s important that the butter is at room temperature—not too cold, and not melted. When you cream the butter and sugar together, you’re actually incorporating air into the mixture. That trapped air expands in the oven and helps give the cake its light texture. If the butter is too cold, or if the creaming step is rushed or overdone, it can affect the structure and lead to a dense cake.
Over-mixing after adding the dry ingredients can also be an issue—this can develop too much gluten and result in a heavier texture. And finally, over-baking, even by 30 seconds or so, can dry out the cake and make it feel dense.
This cake is normally very light and moist, so I hope this helps troubleshoot what might’ve gone wrong.
Thank you so much, will make again this week-end!!!!
Thanks for your help
Kim
I made cupcakes instead of a cake. They were incredibly light and tender, almost too fragile. I find chocolate cake and cupcakes a bit bland; however, using espresso powder dissolved in hot water instead of coffee, and adding chocolate extract, and a pinch of cinnamon and ancho chili powder gave these a boost. To simplify the prep I melted the butter and mixed the batter by hand. There’s enough batter for 7 cupcakes. Excellent!
Best chocolate cake you’ll ever eat. !!!
Make it right NOW
Use sour cream for the frosting too instead of the cream, tastes better.
I’ll make a baby blackforest with this recipe, will be so yummy
Thanks so much
I use your site all the time
Made a lemon meringue pie this morning too.
Keep up the great work, one bite at a time 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Hubby and I enjoyed this recipe for dinner tonight. I appreciated how light and moist this cake was.
It was delicious warm from the oven too. I know because I made a small cupcake from the extra batter I didn’t put in my 5″x5″ dish 😋
Somehow this second time making this cake got even better. It was incredible — moist, tender, deep and rich chocolate flavor in the cake.
I followed the suggestion of another commenter and used sour cream in my frosting. For my personal taste for sweetness, I added about one more tablespoon of cocoa powder and a pinch of salt.
I topped it all off with some festive sprinkles. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it all came together. My craving for chocolate cake has been pleasingly satisfied.
Made this one again. This time I used a 6″ round, 2″ deep cake pan that fit all the batter. It came out beautifully.
One thing I noticed, no matter the size of the pan there’s always some sinking in the middle although it was baked through properly.
So glad it turned out beautifully in the 6″ round pan! Some slight sinking in the center can happen, especially in smaller cakes, and it’s often due to mixing, oven temperature, or leavening. It’s great to know the 6-inch round worked well for you too.
I make this cake at least once a week. It is the best,so light. Perfect for a couple of dinner guests. I experimented and used a 3 cup bundt pan. It was perfect and looked so nice on the dish. Just remember to lightly grease and flour the pan. It came right out. I am thrilled…
🙂
I don’t have a 5 x 7 pan. Can I use a 6″ cake pan and if so, what would be the baking time?
We have not tested this recipe in any dish other than the ones listed (5×5 and 5×7)
I just made this today for my husband. He absolutely loved it. I am so glad I found your web site.
Thank you for doing Meals & desserts for one or two people, I have been looking for months for this kind of website.
Thanks again for a great recipe!!!!!
I’m so happy you found us and am thrilled to know you and your husband enjoyed the cake – thank you!
Are used a 5 x 5″ baking pan but found there was too much batter for the pan. Next time I’ll try a larger pan.
Hi Pat, a true 5×5 inch baking dish that has a base area of 25 square inches and a volume between 20 and 25 fluid ounces has worked in all of our tested and posted recipes. Sometimes, some dish manufacturers measure from handle to handle instead of the true inside of the dish. The dishes on our store page are the ones we use and recommend.