Six Inch Layer Cakes

 I've been wanting to make cute 6" layer cakes for events with fewer than 5-6 people. Of course you can buy 6" cake pans, but our 4 C. glass food storage containers have an almost-6" diameter, so I thought I'd try them.

Sally's Baking Addiction site has a number of from-scratch 12-16 cupcake recipes that are sized just right to also make a 3-layer 6" cake. I chose the chocolate recipe, with the coordinating chocolate buttercream

I prepared the pans by cutting parchment circles for the bottoms, coating them well with shortening, and coating the parchment with shortening.

I was concerned about the difference of baking in glass vs metal, and decreased the oven temp by 25 degrees (to 325). This turned out to be a mistake, as I had to add a number of minutes to the cooking time and the centers still sank some. Next time, I'm going to bake at the full temperature. I ran a knife around the cakes as soon as they came out of the ovens and let them cool a bit, and they came out cleanly.

I spread the frosting, and was going to pipe stars around the base and top, but had a mishap with the tip bursting through the plastic sandwich bag I was using. Next time I'll use a real decorating bag- I'll have to order some plastic ones, as my cloth ones don't fit my new larger tips. The cake was delicious, and made a perfect birthday cake for Grandpa Tom.

Chocolate Cake

• 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable or canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature (I used milk with 1 tsp vinegar)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until combined. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then half of the buttermilk. Gently whisk for a few seconds. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients and buttermilk. Stir until *just* combined; do not overmix. The batter will be thin. Pour or spoon the batter into the pans. Fill only halfway (this is imperative! only halfway!) to avoid spilling over the sides or sinking. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Taste. Beat in another pinch of salt if desired.

Lemon Cake

Next up was a 6" lemon cake from Sally's Baking Addiction. I used dampened cake strips that I'd purchased from Amazon so that the cakes would bake more evenly. To fit the small cake pans, I wrapped the cake strips around twice. This turned out to be a mistake, as it over-insulated the sides. Next time just do 1 layer of cake strip. Also, I was so excited about the cake strips I forgot to grease or paper the pans.

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
• 1 large lemon to yield (note: recipe calls for 2-3 med lemons, but I found 1 large was good):
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest
• 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla extract, then beat on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, start the mixer on low speed, then slowly add the milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Once combined, stop the mixer. Do not overmix this batter.

Bake for about 18-22 minutes (I found I needed to add time with the cake strips). A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean when they’re done. 

Note- when I made this a second time, I found I needed to bake the cakes a full 45 min before they were done in the centers. 

Vanilla buttercream frosting

Note- this makes a generous amount of frosting, with some leftover. Could make a 75% version (3/4 c butter).

• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 4 – 5 cups (480-600g) confectioners’ sugar (see note)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• salt, to taste

Lemon cakes

I haven't tried it yet, but Meg loves this recipe in two 6" pans-King Arthur Flour Cake Pan Cake and this recipe for chocolate french buttercream frosting.