Mini Cinnamon Pumpkin Cakes with Brown Butter Glaze

Fall is nearly here... which means it's time for delicious fall desserts. As a fall candle burned in the kitchen and the rain came down outside, I experimented with making mini cakes. These are perfect for any event or even for a simple after dinner treat.

It's a good idea to make these out of a cake that is strong enough to handle being cut into small pieces. I used a recipe for pumpkin roll since it's a delicious, sturdy cake, but obviously didn't make it into an actual roll. The recipe for the pumpkin roll can be found below.

Let the cake completely cool on a rack while making the filling for the mini cakes.

I made a cinnamon buttercream frosting for filling and put it into a piping bag. The recipe for this frosting can also be found below.

You don't need many tools to make these mini cakes - just your piping bag full of frosting, a square cookie cutter (or whatever shape you want), and the cake itself. You'll also need to make an outer glaze for them later.

Use the cookie cutter to cut small squares of the cake. Try to avoid the outer edge of the cake. It doesn't matter too much if the cake is uneven, since you can use the frosting to level them. 

Stack the squares of cake to however tall you want them, adding frosting between the layers. My cakes ended up three layers high.

Now is the time to make the brown butter glaze. The recipe for the glaze can be found below. I put the glaze in another piping bag, but set the bag in a cup so the glaze didn't drip everywhere. 

Since the glaze is so thin, you can basically pipe the top edges of the cakes and let it drip down the sides. Then add more glaze to the top if need be. I used a small offset knife to smooth out the glaze a bit. The cakes ended up somewhat messy because the glaze dries quickly, but I figured that these were more for their delicious flavor than looks. You can definitely smooth them out more or add edible decorations if they're for a formal occasion. 

The insides of these mini cakes look cool when you cut into them, since the layers of cake are so thin. 

Enjoy!

Recipes:

Pumpkin Roll Cake:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground cloves
• 1/4 t. salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup pumpkin (not pie filling)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour jelly-roll pan. Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 13-15 minutes or until cake springs back when touches. Loosen and turn onto a cooling rack.

 

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2-1 t. ground cinnamon

Combine butter, cinnamon, and 1 cup of powdered sugar in large mixer bowl. Add vanilla. Gradually add the milk and remaining cup of powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy.

 

Brown Butter Glaze:

• 2-3 T butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 t. vanilla
• 1-2 T hot water

Brown butter in small pan. Remove from heat and quickly stir in remaining ingredients with wire whip; alternating dry and wet until desired consistency.