Viral Dot Cake Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Dot cake, a single-serving dessert, has gone viral in recent months, and this recipe recreates it at home with my moist vanilla sponge, silky cream cheese frosting, and crunchy nonpareil topping.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 535kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

Moist vanilla sponge

3 Eggs at room temperature
100 g Granulated sugar
1 teaspoons Vanilla extract
30 g Whole milk at room temperature
40 g Vegetable oil
90 g Cake flour All purpose works too

Cream cheese frosting without butter

230 g Cream cheese full fat, use it cold
120 g Heavy cream min 36% fat, use it cold
60 g Powdered sugar

Topping

rainbow nonpareil sprinkles or classic rainbow jimmies or any other sprinkles

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Moist vanilla sponge

Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (no fan). Line a 20 cm / 8-inch square cake pan with parchment.
Whip the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on high speed for 5 minutes until pale and voluminous, then beat on low for 1 to 2 minutes to stabilize.
Sift in the flour and gently fold it in. Add the milk and oil, folding with a cut-and-fold motion until smooth.
Pour into the pan and bake at 170°C / 340°F for about 30 minutes. Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting without butter

Place the cold full-fat cream cheese, cold heavy cream, and sifted powdered sugar in a bowl. Whip with an electric hand mixer. Add the vanilla extract once combined. Continue whipping just until fluffy and pipeable, 2 to 3 minutes total.

Assemble

Use a ramekin or cup as a cutter and press straight down through the cooled sponge. I am using a 9 cm / 3.5-inch diameter, so from one square sponge I got 4 neat rounds. Leave each round sponge in the ramekin you cut it with; this is your base layer.
Spread or pipe a generous layer of frosting over each round, right to the edges. For taller cups, add a second layer of sponge and frosting to fill the space.
Top with a dense layer of sprinkles, either sprinkled on directly or by inverting the frosted top into a shallow bowl of sprinkles. Shake off any excess. No chilling required.
Keep assembled cups covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Unfrosted sponge rounds freeze well, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months.

Notes

Ingredient notes:

Use full-fat cream cheese and 36% cold heavy cream for the frosting. Low-fat versions hold more water, making them more difficult to whip up.
Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy, especially the sponge, since baking is precise by nature.
Sprinkle choice is not just about color here. Larger sprinkles give more crunch, while classic nonpareils give the traditional look but less texture.

Technique notes:

Do not overwhip the cream cheese frosting past the fluffy, pipeable stage. Continuing to whip will cause it to separate and turn runny rather than getting thicker.
Make sure the sponge is completely cool before cutting rounds out of it, or the crumb can tear instead of cutting cleanly.
Cut directly with the ramekin or cup you plan to serve in, so the round fits snugly with no gap around the edges.
If your ramekins or cups are taller than 9 cm, use a double layer of sponge and frosting so the cup is properly filled rather than leaving empty space at the top.

Nutrition