White Cake For One

Searching for delightful mini cake recipes designed for one or two? Explore our moist and flavorful Carrot Cake, rich and decadent Devil’s Food Cake, sweet and tangy Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and our unique “Quarter” Pound Cake, perfect in size and taste for small servings.

• Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. I use salted butter because this is the type of butter I always have on hand. Since you will be using such a small amount of butter, salted or unsalted butter won’t make much of a difference in this recipe. Use what you have or what you prefer. If you are on a low-sodium diet, by all means, use unsalted butter. Melted butter is used in the cake batter and softened butter is used in the frosting. Softened butter should still be cool to the touch but when you press your finger into the butter, your finger will leave an indentation. Just leave the butter out on the counter for about 30 minutes before you are ready to use it and it should be softened enough for this recipe.
• Flour: I use self-rising flour in this small white cake recipe. If you would like to use all-purpose flour, add 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch (less than 1/8 teaspoon) of salt to 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour. Stir the mixture together in a small bowl and use in place of packaged self-rising flour.
• Egg whites: Use 2 large egg whites. This recipe is great when you have egg whites leftover from another recipe. If not, be sure to save the egg yolks and use them in single serving Chocolate Banana Bread, M&M Cookies, a Brookie, and even Potato Gnocchi!
• Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor. Clear vanilla extract can also be used for a whiter cake.
• Heavy cream:  I recommend using heavy cream (double cream) or heavy whipping cream. Both of these ingredients are essentially the same – they both have over 36% milk fat, and the name often depends on the brand. In a pinch, you can use whole milk instead but heavy cream gives the cake a soft texture and adds a much richer flavor. We use heavy cream in many of our single serving and small batch recipes, consider using up any leftover cream in Lasagna Soup, Chicken Tikka Masala, a small No-Bake Cheesecake, and a mini French Silk Pie.
• For the frosting: Use powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, and heavy cream.

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why I used them. For the full recipe please scroll down to the recipe box at the bottom of the post.

How To Make A Small White Cake

These step-by-step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make a small white cake and white cake frosting. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

1. Heat the oven to 350° F (177° C). Lightly butter a 10-ounce ramekin and set it aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, egg white, and vanilla until smooth.

3. Stir in the self-rising flour.

4. Add the cream and stir until smooth.

5. Pour the cake batter into the lightly buttered ramekin and place the ramekin on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any possible spills.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.

8. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the sifted powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream by hand with a spoon or with an electric mixer until smooth.
9. After the cake has cooled, either frost the top of the cake while still inside the ramekin, or remove the cake from the ramekin and frost it. To remove the cake, loosen the edges by running a thin, sharp knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it. Place a plate on top of the cake and turn the cake over so that the cake slides right out.

10. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake and top with sprinkles, if you’d like.