I’m definitely needing some accolades for my Valentine’s Day Mini Ombre Cakes!

Wow, it’s been a week, huh? This one has been one of those weeks in which I’m convinced it’s already Thursday when it’s only Tuesday. Now it really is Thursday, though! I’ve had anxiety-inducing things this week – like my annual doctor’s exam (went well!), a meeting about Scarlet going away with the school for THREE nights next year (sob), as well as a mid-week sleepover with our adorable neighbor because her parents were in a jam. I’m happy it was all way smoother than expected.

Now I celebrate with cake – mini ombre cake, in fact!

Valentine’s Day Mini Ombre Cakes for One:

What You Need:

Cakes:
Boxed Yellow Cake mix
Ingredients for the cake mix (example: 3 eggs, 1/3 C oil, 1 C water)
Red food coloring
Pink food coloring
Round cookie cutter
2 sheet pans/cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
Vanilla buttercream frosting (ingredients below)

What You Do:

1 – First, preheat oven to 350°F and line pans with parchment paper and then spray with cooking spray

2 – Then, prepare cake mix according to box

3 – Evenly divide into 4 bowls (3 bowls plus the one you mixed in is fine)

4 – Next, leave one the way it is, and color the remaining 3 different tints of pink and red

5 – Pour one color onto one half of a pan, pour another onto the other half, and spread until they meet in the middle

6 – Then, repeat with the remaining two colors in the remaining pan

7 – Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through and cake starts to pull away from edges

8 – Lastly, allow them to cool completely and use a cookie cutter to cut circles out of each color

*Amount of cakes you will get depends on the size of the pan and the size of the cookie cutter you use

Frosting:
2 sticks butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs milk
Red food coloring
Pink food coloring

1 – In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), whip butter for 2 minutes

2 – Add vanilla, sugar and milk and whip for another 2 minutes

3 – Then, separate into different bowl and color each with different tints of pink and red

How to assemble mini cakes:

1 – Place the darkest color down on a plate and evenly spread a little frosting

2 – Repeat, using the next 3 cakes in color order from darkest to lightest

3 – Crumb coat the cake (use a little icing over the whole cake) and place in the freezer for a few minutes

4 – Add your frosting and decorate!

And that’s it! It gets easier with practice, but they are just so adorable. And the surprise of finding ombre in there is worth every second! I’m going to surprise both kids and Cassidy with these on Valentine’s Day. Magic!

There’s still lots of time for Valentine Treats! Check out my Valentine Cut-Out Cookies here.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to make adorable mini ombre cakes?