Small Things

I just have to get this off my chest…

We were at the movies the other night with a few friends and a little girl no older than 6 happened to be seated behind me. About 20 minutes into the movie I could feel her feet kicking my seat, I don’t know if she was just disinterested or restless, but she would not stop kicking my chair. I endured the kicking for a few minutes and thought that she was bound to stop, but she didn’t, so I turned around and asked her to please stop kicking my chair. She gave me a bratty look, scrunched her nose and reluctantly lowered her feet. Her mother, who was sitting next to her, was surprisingly oblivious to the whole incident.

The kicking seemed to stop for a while, although half an hour later, she started kicking again. So again, I turned around and addressed both the parent and the girl to please ask her to stop kicking the chair. The parent looked at me like I just recited her a theory in quantum physics and then carried on watching the movie.

Urrghhhh! The insolence!

Now on to more pleasant little things.

There is just something about making things miniature that renders it appealing. You have a cake and then you reduce it to the size a cupcake, very cute. Then you take a cupcake and then shrink it into a mini cake and you get something doubly as cute. I should know a lot about cute; being what polite, politically correct people consider petite, I get a lot of people calling me cute. Not that I take offence to the word, I guess it just comes with the territory, of being small that is.

Other than aesthetics, I don’t know what else would be the benefit of having such small morsels as these. I assume portion control would be a logical intention, although in my experience this did nothing to foil the excessive amount of portions I ended up ingesting.

You must avert your eyes, and your appetite for these mini cakes are deceiving. They make be small and they may be cute, but don’t think you can just stop at one. Unless you are planning on making these for company, don’t be left alone with a whole batch. They will somehow find a way into your stomach, seducing you with their cuteness.

I saw these little lemon cakes on Lara’s blog last year and I fell in love with them instantly. It was only a few days ago when I actually got to make the cakes and realised for myself, how addictive they really are. Tangy, sweet and sour, all in one delightful bite. And because the cakes are so small you get the perfect crust to crumb ratio, a flawlessly crusty exterior with a lovely springy interior. Thanks to the addition of yoghurt, it becomes the ideal catalyst for producing the cake’s sponge-like crumb. Soon after adding the yoghurt, you will notice tiny air bubbles forming in the batter.

I also happened to have some leftover raspberry coulis sitting sound in my fridge, which was just the thing to pair the cakes with. But on their own they are just as good. These are a great way to serve petit fours, as Lara showed in her post, or even as regular cupcakes or a cake. Baking times will vary for different sizes, but the recipe remains the same. If you are not keen on having it paired with a side condiment, then a light dusting of icing sugar should do the trick. Enjoy!

Lemon Yoghurt Mini Cakes
makes up to 40 mini cakes
adapted from this recipe



equipment: 24-hole non-stick mini muffin tray

60g unsalted butter
½ cup caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest finely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup plain all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup full cream yoghurt or sour cream
¼ cup lemon juice
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat for about 2 minutes.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and gently fold in.
Then gently stir in the yoghurt and lemon juice.
Spoon small teaspoons of batter into the mini muffin tray. Be careful not to fill them all the way to the top.
Bake for 25 minutes. Check the middle muffin by inserting a toothpick, it should come out clean.
If they are not done yet, continue to bake at 5 minute intervals checking in between if the tops are golden brown and crusty.
Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then gently remove from tin by tapping on the bottom. The cakes should all come out cleanly.
Serve bottom side up as little mini cakes with a dusting of icing sugar and some raspberry coulis.