Mini carrot cake for two people made in a 6" round cake pan.
I make a lot of carrot cake this time of year.
It’s not just for Easter in my house; it’s also the birthday cake of choice for many friends with spring birthdays. We’ve been munching on carrot cake cupcakes, carrot muffins, carrot cake whoopie pies and the like since February.
I’m confident that this mini carrot cake is the absolute best carrot dessert to be had. The full-size recipe I used as a reference for scaling down is one of my grandmother’s. No one is quite certain of its origin but most of the time, in my family, a recipe without a source can be attributed to an old issue of Southern Living or a church cookbook.
Whatever the source, this cake makes all who taste it a little weak in the knees. The oil and egg make for a tender cake, the cinnamon adds warmth, and the cream cheese frosting provides its wonderful tanginess. The walnuts on top are optional, but I really love their crunch!
Oh, and this mini carrot cake is made without pineapple. A lot of people ask in my other recipe for small carrot cake (that recipe is made in a 8x8" pan; this particular recipe is made in a 6" round cake pan)
One small note here: You really need to manually shred the carrot with a hand grater. One year, I used my food processor to save time, but the thicker shreds made the texture of the cake seem off. Along these same lines, don’t be tempted to buy pre-shredded carrots. Use some muscle, we only need ¼ cup. Your reward is cake!
Mini carrot cake for two updated notes:
This recipe is quite a few years old, but people continue to write to me and tell me it tastes like their favorite carrot cake for Publix! Which tells me that Publix doesn't use pineapple in their carrot cake, and also has a heavy hand with the cinnamon, just like me.
I hope you and your family love this mini carrot cake. Let me know if you make it for your small Easter celebration.
Yields 1 small 6" carrot cake. This recipe uses a 6x2" small round pan that yields 4 small slices of cake.6 As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Carrot Cake for Two
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 515Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 197mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 1gSugar: 37gProtein: 6g
Camille says
My hubbys favorite!! This recipe is awesome thank you.
Jennifer says
I have made this cake several times for my husband’s birthday. It’s the perfect size for us and absolutely delicious!!
Sarah says
Hello! I have just stumbled upon your site and LOVE the idea of 6” cakes! Now for this carrot cake, can I double the recipe and split it between two 6” cake pans with the frosting in the middle and on top? My birthday is coming up and my sweet hubby and daughter are going to attempt to make this for me!! (I’ll be on the sidelines cheering them on and also assisting, if needed..)
Vy says
I absolutely adore these “dessert for two” portions for our family of three who rarely indulge in sweets. It’s the perfect portions. This 6 in cake turned out wonderful. I left it in a min or 2 too long so the cake is on the drier side but nothing cream cheese frosting can’t fix. My cake turned out a bit short/flat but I only used about 1/4c of sugar so I’m not sure if that’s why. Next time perhaps I can add a little extra flour. I also made the frosting with 5 tbs of powdered sugar instead of 6 and feel like next time I could even get away with 4 tbs. Love the addition of walnuts for extra texture and healthy fats. Thanks for the recipe! We will make this every year.
Julia says
Why place on a baking sheet? I did so and they definitely didn’t bake like normal cakes. It’s a very light and fragile looking cake?
Natalie says
Delicious!
My mama used to make a similar cake growing up except she would add orange and lemon zest. I added those the second time I made this cake and it tasted like my childhood.
Joanne says
Could I add some crushed pineapples?
Christina Lane says
I wouldn't. They will drastically changed the wet texture of the cake and it might not cook all the way through. Just follow the recipe as-written or use google to find a recipe with crushed pineapple.
Katie S says
I made this for my father’s birthday. He loves carrot cake, but there were only 3 of us celebrating. This came out spectacular, there wasn’t a crumb left. He declared it perfect, not to sweet, cream cheese frosting was the perfect accent. Thanks so much for these mini recipes. My dad asked for the website, he likes baking, but my sister who lives with him, doesn’t eat sugar. He was delighted to be able to make small batches.
Christy Lynn says
Hi, I am wondering if I can add raisins? Has anyone tried? Thank you!
Carol B says
This cake is delicious and just the right size for my husband's lunches for the week. I decreased the sugar to 1/3 cup and may decrease it even more. He doesn’t have a sweet tooth. Thank you for these recipe adaptations. It makes cooking for one so much easier.