More and more over the past few years, I see questions about adapting large layer cake recipes to fit smaller 6-inch cake pans. 6-inch cakes are very popular and yet most traditional cake recipes don’t accommodate the smaller size. But last year I discovered an easy solution when I made a 6-inch birthday cake. I no longer adapted cake recipes to fit the smaller cake pan size. Instead, I began using cake batter from my CUPCAKE recipes. (And most of my cupcake recipes are actually adapted from the larger cake variety, so the work is already done!) I know it’s nothing groundbreaking, but it was a total lightbulb moment as I suddenly had dozens of 6-inch cake flavors to bake. I love the 6-inch size for children’s birthday cakes, small gatherings and celebrations, or bridal/baby showers where there’s a lot of other desserts. And when it comes to decorating, 6-inch is a very non-intimidating size cake!
Cupcake Batter = 3 Layer 6-Inch Cake
Cupcake batter that produces about 12-15 cupcakes is the perfect amount for a 3 layer 6-inch cake. One dozen cupcakes usually takes about 3-4 cups of cake batter, which divides perfectly between 3 6-inch cake layers. This means that you can essentially turn any batch of cupcakes into a small layer cake. I’ve tested this several times with many different flavors, but usually stick with vanilla cake and chocolate cake, which are made from my vanilla cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes respectively.
6-Inch Cake Flavors
Use the batter for the following recipes to make different flavor 6 inch cakes:
Vanilla Cupcakes (pictured as a cake and recipe included below) Chocolate Cupcakes (pictured on this page as a cake!) Lemon Cupcakes Red Velvet Cupcakes Peanut Butter Cupcakes Pumpkin Cupcakes White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes Gingerbread Cupcakes Confetti Cupcakes Pistachio Cupcakes Coconut Carrot Cupcakes Carrot Cake Cupcakes Citrus Cake (written as a cake) Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes (use the cream filling between the cake layers and top the entire cake with ganache!) Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
All 6-inch cake layers take about 18-21 minutes at 350°F (177°C). You need about 2.5-3 cups of frosting for a 3 layer 6-inch cake, which is usually the amount used for 1 dozen cupcakes. Any of the frosting recipes paired with the listed cupcakes would be perfect. 🙂
How to Prep Your 6 Inch Cake Pans
After you choose your 6-inch cake batter, it’s time to start prepping the cake pans. First, make sure you have quality 6-inch cake pans. I started using Fat Daddio’s 6-inch cake pans last year and loved them so much that I switched out my 9-inch and 8-inch cake pans for the Fat Daddio’s brand. From one baker to another—these pans are incredible quality for the price. Not working with this brand, just a genuine fan. The smaller the cake, the more difficult it is to neatly release from the baking pan. Here’s my guaranteed solution so that your 6 inch cake layers glide right out: I usually keep a stack of parchment rounds on hand just in case I’m in a rush to get a cake in the oven. For cake emergencies, of course. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake.
How to Frost & Decorate a 6-Inch Cake
You need about 2.5-3 cups of frosting to frost a 3 layer 6-inch cake. The frostings paired with the cupcake recipes listed above are plenty for your 6-inch cake, such as vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, strawberry buttercream frosting, or white chocolate buttercream frosting. You can also add fillings such as raspberry cake filling between the layers. Assembling and decorating a 6 inch cake is just like putting together a larger cake, but the smaller size is definitely easier to work with. Tools I find helpful: Since this is a small cake, it’s easy to pick up with a couple flat spatulas and carefully transfer to a cake stand or serving plate. You can also use cake boards, which are cardboard cut-outs that provide a sturdy foundation for your cake if you need to move it to another surface. Small cakes are taking over! Which flavor will you try first? PS: I bought the pictured teal cake stand from Home Goods and unfortunately can’t find a link to it for you! Make sure you find a cake stand that’s about 8 inches in diameter to comfortably fit the 6-inch cake.
