Medium Mini Moose Recipe

Prepare & Preheat

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a medium mini muffin pan (makes about 12 mini cakes) or line with paper liners. Have a cooling rack ready.

Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and fine salt until evenly combined and no lumps of cocoa remain.

Wet Ingredients

In a separate bowl whisk the buttermilk, whole milk, large egg, melted and cooled unsalted butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

Combine Batter

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. The batter should be thick but spoonable. If it seems stiff, add up to 1 tablespoon additional milk.

Portion Batter

Spoon the batter into the prepared mini muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. This recipe yields about 10–12 medium mini cakes depending on pan size.

Bake & Cool

Bake in the preheated oven for 10–14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Warm the heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat until it just begins to simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat and pour over semisweet chocolate chips placed in a heatproof bowl. Let sit 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the tablespoon of unsalted butter until glossy. Allow ganache to cool and thicken at room temperature for 10–15 minutes so it will hold when piped.

Using a small paring knife or a cupcake corer, cut a shallow well in the center of each cooled mini cake (about halfway down). Reserve the removed cake pieces. Spoon or pipe about 1 teaspoon of ganache into each cavity, smoothing the top slightly.

If using, stir together the simple syrup and cooled coffee or espresso. Lightly brush the top of each mini cake with about 1/4 teaspoon of the syrup before filling with ganache to keep them moist and add a hint of flavor.

Make Whipped Cream

Chill a mixing bowl and whisk or beaters for 5–10 minutes in the freezer if possible. Pour the heavy whipping cream into the chilled bowl, add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat — you want a light, pipeable cream.

Pipe or spoon a dollop of whipped cream on top of each ganache-filled mini cake to create the 'moose' head shape (about 1 tablespoon per cake).

To assemble the moose faces: press two mini chocolate chips or small candies into the whipped cream for eyes. Use a raisin or small candy at the center front for the nose. Insert two small pretzels or slivered almonds at the top back of each whipped cream mound to serve as antlers. Sprinkle a few chocolate sprinkles if desired.

If you saved the removed cake pieces from coring, you can crumble and press a little around the base for texture or place a small crumb as a 'chin' decoration.

Chill the finished mini moose cakes in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to set the whipped cream and ganache before serving. Bring to room temperature for 10 minutes before eating if preferred.