Happy Birthday America. Today is the 4th of July, 2014 and the day America celebrates its Independence. Today across America we will be having barbecues serving traditional American fare and watching firework shows bursting with the colors of red, white, and blue. Here in America we usually like to spread the traditional themes into everything we do, including dessert. With that said, I present to you the red, white, and blue mini cakes.

I really must say this is the perfect Independence-themed dessert and I am not just referring to the colorful layers. The reason I adore these little cakes so much is a lot to do with their ease of transport to any festivity you may be attending. Also one single batch yields so many little cakes that you don’t have to worry about doubling or tripling a recipe just so that everyone in the family has a chance to try at least one. With this recipe you can let everyone have seconds or depending on the size of the party, possibly even thirds. Needless to say you will have plenty of little cakes for the abundance of fingers ready to snatch one after the other.

In case you are wondering what makes up each colorful layer, let’s break it down. To begin this holiday treat, I turned to Red Velvet cake to deliver a rich red color and sturdy foundation for the other layers. The white layer is a light & fluffy whipped cream to balance the rich density of the red velvet cake. To make sure the whipped cream held up to summer heat I made sure to stabilize it with some gelatin. This not only keeps it from melting as quickly but also creates a smoother and creamier topping. For the final touch, the quintessential blue is found with the garnish of a little blueberry. If you wanted to get creative and mix up the color scheme, you could make blue velvet cake, use the same white whipped cream and top with a fresh raspberry or cherry. Really any fruit that could give a pop of red. I prefer red velvet cake over blue and I also feel the blueberry does not add too much weight to the whipped cream making it simple for new bakers or rushed bakers needing a quick dessert to bake and take.

These mini cakes serve about 60 people. You can use any recipe you have for red velvet cake or use a box mix.

Red, White, & Blue Mini Independence Day Cakes

Ingredients:

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix or your favorite Red Velvet Cake recipe
1 tsp. Powdered Gelatin; unflavored
2 tbsp. Water
2 ¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ cup Confectioners’ Sugar; sifted
Blueberries; for garnish

Formula:

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Prepare red velvet cake according to box mix directions or if using your own recipe follow directions to make batter. Once batter is prepared, pour evenly into the prepared mini muffin tin, filling each muffin cup just above halfway. Bake for approximately 16 minutes. Remove from oven and place cakes on a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat steps with remaining batter.
Once cakes have cooled completely prepare the whipped cream topping. Combine the gelatin and water in a medium bowl. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes for the gelatin to soften. Meanwhile, bring ¼ cup of Heavy Whipping Cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, whisk in the gelatin mixture until no clumps remain. Remove from heat and allow to cool about 3 to 5 minutes. With an electric hand mixer set to medium-high speed, beat the cooled gelatin mixture, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining cream to stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
To assemble the mini cakes, place the whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Pipe a rosette onto each each mini cake, making sure to build up enough cream on each cake to hold the weight of the blueberry. Once all cakes have been iced with the whipped cream topping, garnish each rosette center with a blueberry. Refrigerate mini cakes until set, about 2 hours. Cakes can be stored up to 24 hours ahead of time before serving.

Honeybee's Patisserie

Pastries in Paradise