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Home » Cake & Cupcake Recipes

Mini Naked Cakes with Sweet Orange Marmalade

Published: Apr 9, 2017 by Allison Ferraro · Modified: May 7, 2025 · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

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These mini naked cakes are filled with sweet and tangy orange marmalade, topped with a simple white icing, and garnished with fresh flowers. These darling, two-bite desserts are an elegant treat for a springtime brunch, bridal shower, or tea party. And they look fancy, but don't let them fool you... they're actually simple to make!

Side view of mini cakes filled with sweet orange marmalade and topped with white icing and purple flowers. this Recipe

These party-perfect mini naked cakes are dessert finger food at its finest!

The mini cakes are made of small circles cut from slices of moist, citrusy pound cake. They're topped with a simple white icing, but I kept the sides bare to let the bold flavor of the sweet orange marmalade filling shine through.

And since they remind me of petit fours, they of course needed to be topped with fresh flowers!

These mini naked cakes would be the perfect dessert for a bridal shower, springtime brunch, tea party, or Easter celebration. They're easy to eat at a party, since they can be devoured in just two bites. Or one big bite. I won't judge!

Jump to:
  • Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
  • Special Equipment
  • Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
  • Recipe Tips
  • Storage Instructions
  • More Mini Dessert Recipes
  • Recipe
  • Comments

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.

Recipe ingredients with labels on a white surface.

Cake Flour - Thanks to it's lower protein content, cake flour helps to create a cake that's more tender than a cake made with all-purpose flour.

Unsalted Butter - Butter adds fat and flavor to our cake. I always prefer to bake with unsalted butter, and we'll add a bit of salt separately to the batter.

Superfine Sugar - Superfine sugar is granulated sugar that has been finely ground, and so it dissolves more easily into the cake batter than regular granulated sugar would. You can find superfine sugar in the baking aisle at your local grocery store or you can make your own superfine sugar by processing granulated sugar in the food processor. You can also substitute regular granulated sugar with a similar result.

Lemon Extract - Lemon extract adds a light citrus flavor to the cake.

Eggs - Eggs are what hold the cake batter together. We’ll need half a pound of eggs, which equals just about 4 ½ large eggs. Since we’re aiming for a tender cake, we’ll use the egg white rather than the egg yolk of the half egg.

Sweet Orange Marmalade - Sweet orange marmalade is used in the middle of the mini cakes. Be sure to choose a sweet orange marmalade, unless you prefer the tart orange flavor of orange marmalade.

Confectioners' Sugar - Confectioners' sugar is paired with milk to create a simple icing for the top of these cakes.

Whole Milk - Whole milk is stirred into confectioners' sugar to create the glaze. You can use any type of dairy or non-dairy milk (or even water) that you prefer.

Flower Garnish - Use small flowers to garnish the cakes. Edible flowers would make the cakes extra special! I love the color contrast between the orange filling and purple flowers shown here, but use any flower you like best.

Special Equipment

In addition to essential baking equipment (like a mixing bowl and spatula), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.

  • A stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, for mixing the pound cake batter.
  • A 1 ½ inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, for cutting the cake circles.

Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.

Dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl.

Step 1: Make the pound cake. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Butter and sugar creamed together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add extracts and beat until blended.

Wet ingredients blended together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 3: Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, beating until blended. 

Pound cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 4: With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Cake batter in a loaf pan.

Step 5: Pour the cake batter in a standard loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. 

Baked cake in a loaf pan.

Step 6: Bake the cake at 300°F for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the cake is domed and golden. Let the cake cool completely.

Round cookie cutter cutting circles of cake from cake slices.

Step 7: Assemble the mini cakes. Cut the cake loaf into 18 slices, each ½ inch wide. Using a 1 ½ inch circular cookie cutter, cut 2 small circles from each slice of cake (except for the two ends). You should now have 32 small circles.

Cake circles stacked with sweet orange marmalade filling.

Step 8: Spread 1 teaspoon of orange marmalade atop half of the little cakes. Top each with the remaining cake circles.

White icing in a glass mixing bowl.

Step 9: Make the icing. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar and milk. The icing should be pourable but thick.

Hand spooning icing onto cakes.

Step 10: Decorate the cakes. Spoon the icing over each petit four and quickly spread it over the top with the back of a spoon.

Hand placing flowers onto iced mini cakes.

Step 11: If using, garnish the cakes with flowers.

Recipe Tips

For the best results, measure the key ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, and eggs) by weight in grams using a scale. This will give you a more accurate measurement of the ingredients than measuring them by volume using cups, which will help to ensure that the cake's texture is just right.

When making the glaze, it's important to get the consistency just right so it doesn't run off the cakes. The glaze should be pourable but thick. If your glaze is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, add a tiny bit more milk.

Add the flower garnish to the cakes just after icing them, before the icing sets. The slightly tacky icing will help to hold the flowers in place.

Angled view of mini cakes filled with sweet orange marmalade and topped with white icing and purple flowers.

Storage Instructions

Store the assembled cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

Pound cake can be baked up to two days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature before assembling the cakes.

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Recipe

Close-up side view of mini cakes filled with sweet orange marmalade and topped with white icing and purple flowers.

Mini Naked Cakes with Sweet Orange Marmalade

These mini naked cakes are filled with sweet and tangy orange marmalade, topped with a simple white icing, and garnished with fresh flowers. They're an elegant, two-bite treat for a springtime brunch, bridal shower, or tea party.
4.34 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 16
Yield: 16 mini cakes
Calories: 254kcal
Author: Allison Ferraro
Prevent your screen from going dark

Special Equipment

  • Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
  • 1 ½ inch round cookie cutter

Ingredients

Pound Cake:

  • ½ pound (227 grams) cake flour sifted (1 ⅞ cups)
  • ½ teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
  • ½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter room temperature (1 cup)
  • ½ pound (227 grams) superfine or granulated sugar (1 ⅛ cups)
  • 1 teaspoon (4 grams) lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
  • ½ pound (227 grams) eggs room temperature (4 large eggs plus 1 large egg white)

Filling and Topping:

  • ⅓ cup (113 grams) sweet orange marmalade
  • ⅓ cup (38 grams) confectioners' sugar
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons (6 grams) whole milk
  • small flowers for garnish (optional, see notes)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray a standard loaf pan (8.5 in. x 4.5 in.) with cooking spray and set aside.

Make the cake batter.

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
    ½ pound (227 grams) cake flour, ½ teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder, ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), cream the butter and sugar by first beating butter on high speed until smooth and creamy (about 30 to 60 seconds) and then adding sugar and beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
    ½ pound (227 grams) unsalted butter, ½ pound (227 grams) superfine or granulated sugar
  • Add the extracts and beat until blended.
    1 teaspoon (4 grams) lemon extract, ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
  • Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until blended. The batter will be very wet with some lumps of butter.
    ½ pound (227 grams) eggs
  • With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Bake the cake.

  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the cake is domed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning the pan over to remove the cake. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.

Assemble the mini cakes.

  • Cut the cake into ½ inch wide slices. You should have 18 slices.
  • Using a 1 ½ inch circular cookie cutter, cut 2 small circles from each slice of cake (except for the two ends). You should now have 32 small circles. Save or discard the leftovers.
  • Spread 1 teaspoon of the orange marmalade atop half of the little cakes. Top each with the remaining cakes.

Make the icing.

  • In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar and milk. The icing should be pourable but thick. If your glaze is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, add a tiny bit more milk.

Ice and decorate the mini cakes.

  • Spoon the icing over each petit four and quickly spread it over the top with the back of a spoon. Some icing may drip down the sides, but the sides should not be completely coated.
  • If using, garnish each cake with flowers.

Video

Notes

Storage: Store cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
Pound cake can be baked up to two days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature before assembling cakes.
Flower Garnish: Use small flowers to garnish the cakes. Edible flowers would make the cakes extra special! I love the color contrast between the orange filling and purple flowers shown here, but use any flower you like best.

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 436IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marlene Miedema

    April 09, 2023 at 11:39 am

    1 star
    Great presentation, however this is a very dense cake. I was expecting a lighter, more moist cake. “About an hour” is way too long to bake this. I went 7 minutes less and it came out dry. I was careful not to over mix when the flour was added. The flavor is ok, a little bland. Perhaps when the marmalade and icing is added it would be fine. In my opinion it would be easier to use a pre-made pound cake instead.

    Reply
    • Franki

      October 22, 2023 at 10:12 pm

      Marlene
      Thank you for suggesting pre-made cake. Sometimes shortcuts are really helpful.Here, you don't sacrifice either flavour or presentation.Merci!

      Reply
  2. Shameika

    May 09, 2022 at 3:46 pm

    Hello, will the cakes dry out in open air like that

    Reply
    • Allison Ferraro

      May 09, 2022 at 9:53 pm

      Hi Shameika! These cakes, like all cake, will dry out if exposed to air for a period of time. If you're not serving the cakes right away or if you want to store leftovers, be sure to store the cakes in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them from drying out.
      - Allison

      Reply
  3. Stephanie

    April 10, 2021 at 7:00 am

    These look soo adorable.
    The possibilities endless!!
    Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  4. Marija

    August 10, 2020 at 9:18 am

    It is such a lovely cake! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Allison

      August 11, 2020 at 10:16 am

      Thank you, Marija!
      -Allison

      Reply
4.34 from 6 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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