I feel a little silly for asking this but I haven't the foggiest how you make mini cakes. I've seen some lovely ones posted in the galleries and I've searched on here to see if anything comes up and on google as well but no luck.
It's my Grandad's 65th birthday in July and I'm in preparation mode to make something magnificent and wow his friends. I'd really like to make mini cakes along with cupcakes but cannot understand how you make them?
Do you make a regular cake and then cut it out? Please someone set me to rest and tell me lol. Thanks for your help
Hi, I made some mini heart shaped 3 tiered cakes for my sisters wedding shower and wow it was very time consuming. I used a different flavor for each tier and baked sheet cakes then I used a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes, torted them, iced each "tier", covered with fondant, stacked them, then drove a dowl through the center. I really loved them and wish that I would have had more time and had found CC before then. Good luck and have fun. PM me if I can be of any help.
Although your heart mini cakes do sound really fussy they also sound lovely! I think I get the jist of mini cakes now. I've been looking at petits fours on the net and they seem to be smaller versions of what you're saying. Thanks for your help!
Amycuppucakes - are you meaning like a 4 or 5 or 6 inch little cake?
In my photos i have a little 5 inch round cake that i turned into a *button box* and next to that i have a cake labelled *Margarets Cake* that was made using a 5 inch square tin.
I just make up my batter/fruit cake mix as per normal and 3/4 fill the little tins.
From one batch of batter i usually get three little cakes.
My Fruit cake recipe i make gives me 5 little 5 inch cakes.
If thats what you are meaning - the tins should be readily available where you are - 
I don't know where that is - perhaps ask your supplier to order them in if they don't stock them.
I use mine every Chritmas - i make little fruit christmas cakes and give them as gifts.
Hope that helps a bit
Bluehue. 
ETA: here is a link (from the UK- i just checked where you are 
)
This shows you what i am talking about - i just googled Mini cake tins UK.
http://www.armorica.co.uk/Cake_Tins_and_Bakeware/Cake_Tins_and_Baking_Tins/Premium_Mini_Non-Stick_Springform_10cm/173/852
Is this what you're looking for? I have this exact one. It holds about 1 - 1.25 cups of batter. It is a pain in the butt to ice and get smooth, but it is really cute once it's done.
http://www.intotheoven.com/Pans-Mini/c87_88/p395/Round-2-&-3%22-2/Tier-Cake-Pan/product_info.html
check my photos is that what you want to make??
ACC - i really think the angle of the photo makes them look a tad taller than what they are - but in saying that you can get small round HIGH tins
Click on this link and you will see that there are two heights
Round = 65mm = 2 3/4 inches high
Deep Round next to it is 90mm = 3 3/4 inches high
Remembering by the time you cake crumb it and then add about a 1/4 inch thickness of fondant your height will be a little taller.
Plus i know of people who place a 1/2 inch of styrene foam under their cakes to make them taller
Plus if you want them taller again - you could always bake a few and make each cake one and half tiers - perhaps.
http://www.createacake.com.au/cake-tin-hire.php
Bluehue.
Try to find a tin can in your pantry or grocery store that is about the diameter that you want. Bake a sheet cake and then use a clean tin can as your cutter. No need to buy special pans to make these cakes. I have many different sizes and can make stacked cakes or just single layer ones quite easliy.
IMO, Grandad is going to be totally thrilled with whatever you do. If I had a Grandad here and had the honor to do his 65th birthday cakes, I doubt that I would try to cover all those mini-cakes with fondant ... unless he is a fan of fondant.
You can do some version of petit fours with a poured ganache, chocolate or even buttercream. I have read that people actually bake in soup cans. You could bake, turn them out, cool, slice and there you go. Even a grand assortment of cupcakes would be great - do all the flavors that he loves.
Just a thought .....
I'm glad this topic came up. I posted just a few days ago on a DELICIOUS "tea cake" I had eaten and was dying for the recipe: http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-631907.html I received some fabulous responses!
Also, I found these pans here: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/12-cup-mini-cake-pan-16-5-oz/327905355.html
And here's a nice petit fours recipe: http://lanarightnow.blogspot.com/2009/04/petits-fours-junction.html Hope this helps!
I found a book...Small Batch Baking, that shows how to use tin cans for the baking pans. I tried it and they are so cute. I always have small batch of batter left over from a cake, so I keep the cake release handy for the overflow.
Hubby really likes disposing of the mini cakes. He even uses the leftover icing, ices his own and feels a part of the project.
We gotta keep them happy too!
In case anyone was wondering, I thought I would let you all know that I tried that petit fours recipe yesterday that I posted. I made a 13x9 cake and cut off the crusts. Then I sliced it into 12 squares (quite big). I used the "icing" recipe exactly as they listed it minus any coloring as I just wanted white. I used 1/2 cup of water in the icing and just kept it on low on the stove so it wouldn't harden all up. I drizzled each cake and then drizzled again. Never did get the sides completely, but that's OK because it looked kind of neat.
It tasted GREAT, but the icing cooled and dried into a fairly hard coating that a fork could not slice through on its side. My kid doesn't care because she'll eat anything. But next time I make these (and I think they're worth trying to get right), I'll thin the icing considerably to a more glaze-like texture. They were yummy though.
I think the soup cans is a really funny but great idea. I have decided to scrap making the mini cakes for his party because there will be atleast 60 people there.
I'm going to make petits frous and lemon meringue cupcakes instead. Thank you all for your help now. I think when I do make mini cakes I will just use a can to cut them out of something.
Amy
This may be a silly question, but I've never made minis before and I'm wanting to try this weekend. I have three small pans (aprox. 4"), but I don't know how long or what temperature. I don't want ruin them and get discouraged right off the bat. I know I can just work with it, but if anyone knows the right time and temperature, I would appreciate the info.
Also, I'm new to this site and I just have to say that everyone here is so wonderful with all their support and tips and words of advice. I can honestly say that I am addicted to this site. Looking at all the cakes, cupcakes and cookies that everyone has made and posted helped me realize that I really can do this. Thank you!
Amy, just to let you know, I individually wrapped each one of the petit fours last night, and today when I scarfed one down 
the moisture had magically transformed the frosting back to thick and soft. Good luck with your petit fours and lemon meringue cupcakes! Let us know how it turns out.
Mgwebb68, I'd say bake them at 325 or so but probably for considerably less time than a regular cake. Just check for doneness much sooner.
We baked sheet cakes and used a 3" biscuit cutter to cut out the minis. We did 2 layer minis covered in fondant. After we filled them with buttercream, we put them in the freezer so they would stay nice and firm. Then we fondanted and decorated. They turned out really well, but they were a PITA!
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