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Discover the charm of baking a Mini Devil’s Food Cake, a delightful and rich chocolate cake perfect for smaller servings. This version brings all the beloved features of the classic Devil’s Food Cake but in a more manageable size, ideal for one or a cozy dessert for two. Easy to bake and a joy to eat, this mini cake recipe is great for anyone looking for a quick chocolate fix.
If you’re on the hunt for more chocolate mini cake delights, don’t miss out on our selection of mini cake recipes. Enjoy the rich and indulgent German Chocolate Cake, savor the dense and smooth texture of our Flourless Chocolate Cake, experience the molten magic of our Chocolate Lava Cake, or enjoy the classic, moist goodness of a mini Texas Sheet Cake. Each small cake recipe offers a unique chocolate experience that’s sure to satisfy your cravings.
Ignore the name – Devil’s Food Cake is truly divine! Our mini version of this classic, old-fashioned cake is ideal for one or two servings. It’s made with scaled-down ingredients and baked in a small dish. Perfect for a smaller appetite or intimate dessert moments.
Why You’ll Love This Devil’s Food Cake Recipe
- Richer and Lighter: Thanks to cocoa powder and extra baking soda, this cake is richer and lighter than typical chocolate cakes, with the baking soda enhancing its deep color and airy texture.
- Intense Chocolate Flavor: The use of rich cocoa powder and coffee amplifies the robust chocolatey taste.
- Simple to Make: Made with basic, easily available ingredients, this recipe is straightforward and beginner-friendly.
- Ideal Serving Size: Perfectly portioned for one or two, this mini Devil’s Food Cake offers just the right amount for a small indulgence.
Ingredients
This section provides a quick rundown of the ingredients used in this small Devil’s Food Cake recipe. For complete measurements and step-by-step instructions, please scroll to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is used. This recipe hasn’t been tested with alternative flours.
- Baking Powder and Soda: These leavening agents help the cake rise. Baking soda also neutralizes acids (like sour cream), contributing to the cake’s tender texture and reddish hue.
- Butter and Oil: Softened unsalted butter and vegetable, canola, or avocado oil create a rich, soft cake.
- Sugars: A mix of granulated and brown sugar enhances flavor and moisture. Use our small batch brown sugar recipe to whip up a batch of brown sugar if you don’t have any.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances flavor.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Key to the cake’s deep chocolate taste. Both natural and Dutch-processed cocoa powder work. Use any extra cocoa powder you might have in a small Chocolate Banana Bread, a single serve Chocolate Cake, a small batch of Chocolate Scones, or in festive Rum Balls.
- Coffee: Dissolves cocoa powder, intensifying chocolate flavor without adding a coffee taste.
- Sour Cream: Adds moisture without thinning the batter and activates baking soda. Leftover sour cream can be used in Corn Muffins and in a Hot Spinach Dip
- Powdered Sugar and Heavy Cream: These are combined with cocoa powder, butter, and vanilla to create the chocolate frosting. They’re classic frosting components, also featured in our single serving White Cake frosting, as a topping for our Two Chocolate Cupcakes, and in a single serving Peanut Butter Pie recipe.
If you have any ingredients leftover from this easy Devil’s Food Cake recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
How To Make A Mini Devil’s Food Cake
These step-by-step photos and instructions help you visualize how to make a Devil’s Food Cake. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
Prepare the baking dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Lightly butter a 5×7-inch baking dish and set it aside.
Pro Tip: I use two baking dish sizes: a 5×5-inch dish with a base area of 25 square inches and a 5×7-inch dish with a base area of 35 square inches. The batter nearly fills the 5×5-inch dish, so it’s wise to place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills. The 5×7-inch dish is preferred as it offers more space and reduces the risk of overflow.
Make the cake
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- On low speed, add the egg and then add the oil and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot coffee until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the chocolate mixture to the batter.
- Still with the mixer on low, slowly add half of the flour mixture to the batter. Then, add the sour cream and mix well. Finally, add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the baking dish for 30 minutes. Then, either turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely or add frosting to the cake while still in the baking dish when completely cool.
Make the frosting
Note: For frosting this small Devil’s Food Cake, there are several options. One choice is to use the vanilla buttercream from our vanilla cupcakes recipe, though you’ll need to double it for sufficient coverage. Alternatively, the cream cheese frosting from our pumpkin bars recipe is a great match. For a decadent twist, try this chocolate buttercream frosting, elevating the cake into a chocolate lover’s delight. The rich chocolate frosting adds an extra layer of indulgence to this dessert.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat softened butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat until well-combined and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, thin it by adding more cream by the 1/4 teaspoon until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Expert Tips
- Use softened butter in this recipe. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is at the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing on an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
- This small devil’s food cake stores beautifully! Just cover the cake and keep it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
The term “Devil’s Food Cake” is thought to come from its “sinfully rich” and “delicious” nature. It’s often seen as the darker, richer counterpart to the lighter Angel Food Cake, and historically, both recipes frequently appeared together in early cookbooks.
Historically, these cakes may have been similar, but they’ve evolved differently. Both use cocoa, but red velvet typically includes red food coloring for its vibrant hue, while Devil’s Food Cake is known for its deeper chocolate flavor.
For best results, a 5×7 inch baking dish is recommended, offering a base area of 35 square inches. A 5×5 inch dish, about 1 ¾ inches deep, also works well, holding around 1.5 cups and having a base area of 25 square inches.
Stored in an airtight container, the cake will remain fresh for 5 days in the fridge.
Absolutely! Mix in a handful of chopped nuts or chocolate chips to the batter for added texture and flavor.
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 mini 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
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons hot coffee
- ¼ cup sour cream
For the chocolate 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 degrees F (177 degrees 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, cream the butter and sugars in a medium-sized bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- On low speed, add the egg and then add the oil and vanilla and beat until well mixed.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot coffee until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the chocolate mixture to the batter.
- Still with the mixer on low, slowly add half of the flour mixture to the batter. Then, add the sour cream and mix well. Finally add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick or the tip of a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the baking dish for 30 minutes. Then, either turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely or add frosting to the cake while still in the baking dish when completely cool.
Make the chocolate frosting
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat softened butter with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat until well-combined and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, thin it by adding more cream by the ¼ teaspoon until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
- Use softened butter in this recipe. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is at the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing in an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
- The cake stores beautifully! Just cover the cake and keep it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about 5 days.
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.
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.
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.