Black Velvet Snack Cake

This black velvet snack cake is a single layer small cake that is both easy to bake up, and richly decadent. It’s also perfect for when you are thinking maybe red velvet sounds good, but honestly want something better. It’s topped with a whipped mascarpone frosting and by the end you’ll be wishing the cake was much bigger.

If you’re not familiar, red velvet cake is actually just a type of chocolate cake with some food coloring. It’s often made with buttermilk and vinegar and topped with a cream cheese frosting. I wanted to bake something similar but different. I love black cocoa, and thought a black velvet snack cake would be perfect. Not because I think Valentine’s Day is for the black hearted, but because black cocoa is so rich and decadent.

You might be familiar with the term snack cake in relation to the prepackaged ones from Hostess and Little Debbie, but in this sense a snack cake is a single layer cake that’s simple to make. The cake batter took me about 5 minutes to put together, and the frosting about the same. You don’t need a mixer or anything fancy. A whisk, a spatula and a cake pan.

I don’t make a ton of cakes because honestly, it’s not really a dessert I enjoy too much. However, this one really won me over. Maybe it’s the combination of the creamy mascarpone frosting or the black cocoa (I always want to sub black cocoa for Dutch). Maybe it’s because it’s a snack cake which means super simple. Either way, I’m a fan and will be making this routinely.

Baking Tips & Notes

I first tested this black velvet snack cake in a 9 inch cake pan because it’s the most common size, however I often like my bakes to be a little bit thicker so I also tried this in an 8 inch round pan. You could also make this is a square pan. Personally, I think the 9 inch round worked the best though. Whatever pan you choose, just make sure it’s metal and preferably light colored. If you aren’t baking this in the 8 or 9 inch round pan, I’d use the lower baking times as a starting point.

If you’re looking for more cake recipes, you might be on the wrong blog but here are a few of my other ones: Caramel Apple Cake, Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, Easy Raspberries and Cream Cupcakes.

Black Velvet Snack Cake Key Ingredients

• Black cocoa – Black cocoa is the star of the show. If you’ve never used it, it’s a dark chocolate but it’s not bitter. It’s highly alkalized, and when you add a neutralizer like baking soda it balances the flavor. Think cookie part of an oreo, those are made with black cocoa.
• Buttermilk – Velvet cakes are generally made with with buttermilk and vinegar, which help tenderize the crumb of the cake and add a little tanginess. Just because this isn’t a red velvet doesn’t mean we skip it.
• Cake flour – I tested this cake with cake flour, I wanted it to have an ultra soft texture. You can use all purpose as is, or you could substitute 2 tbsp of the AP flour with cornstarch. I did not test this personally, so I can’t compare the crumbs between them but this is a common substitution to diy cake flour.
• Mascarpone – Technically this is a frosting key ingredient but friends, this mascarpone frosting is luscious and dreamy and I would not make this black velvet snack cake without it. It honestly pulls everything together and it’s soo nice. Could you substitute with cream cheese? Maybe. But don’t. I promise you it’s worth it.

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