Use your air fryer to make this yummy mini dark chocolate cake topped with brown butter frosting. Brown butter frosting needs to be used immediately after preparation.
Ingredients
- cooking spray:
- flour, plus more for dusting cake pan: 0.25 cup
- unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder: 3 Tbsp
- baking powder: 0.5 tsp
- baking soda: 0.25 tsp
- salt: 0.25 tsp
- low-fat buttermilk: 3 Tbsp
- unsweetened applesauce: 3 Tbsp
- 1/2 teaspoons canola oil: 4 piece
- instant espresso coffee powder: 1 tsp
- vanilla extract: 0.5 tsp
- egg: 1 piece
- sugar: 0.5 cup
- dark chocolate: 1 oz (chopped, for garnish)
- butter: 5 Tbsp
- honey: 2 Tbsp
- vanilla extract: 0.5 tsp
- powdered sugar: 0.75 cup
- water: 2 tsp (or as needed)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat air fryer to 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). Coat a 6-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; dust with 2 tablespoons flour, tapping out excess.
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Stir together 1/4 cup flour, the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In another small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, applesauce, oil, espresso powder, and vanilla.
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In a third bowl, beat egg with an electric mixer at low speed. Gradually add sugar. Increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until mixture is thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
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Alternately fold flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into egg mixture with a rubber spatula, stirring until incorporated before adding next addition. Fold in dark chocolate.
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Pour batter into the prepared pan. Arrange pan in the air fryer basket.
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Cook until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack about 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
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For the frosting, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until butter begins to turn golden brown and smells nutty, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer butter to a bowl; cool for 10 minutes.
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Whisk in honey and vanilla. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth, adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. The frosting will look separated but will come together with whisking in water a little at a time.
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Immediately top cooled cake with the frosting and garnish with additional dark chocolate.
