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
Erin G. says
If you wanted to make this a normal sized cake, what would you use for the measurements?
Thanks!
Christina Lane says
Hi Erin, I have a recipe for a larger one made in a 8x8 pan here: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/small-carrot-cake-with-caramel-cream-cheese-frosting/
Lakshmi Nambakkat says
Turned out perfect. I made it with whole wheat flour and Brown sugar and it was still very fluffy and soft. Thanks
Lakshmi Nambakkat says
Just as good with whole wheat and brown sugar too. Thanks for the recipe
Christina Lane says
Yay! I'm glad to know this! I like to bake with whole wheat flour for my daughter :) Thanks!
Myra says
I would like to use your recipe for small batch cupcakes! How long would they bake for?
Christina Lane says
Hi Myra!
I'm not sure, as I've only tested the recipe as written here. I would set the time for 15 minutes and check every 3 minutes after that. Sorry I can't be of more help. But there's a carrot cake cupcake recipe in my first cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Dessert-Two-Small-Cookies-Brownies/dp/1581572840/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Holly says
I made this yesterday and I left it in the fridge overnight then I frosted it before serving. It was a big hit and I thought it tasted great even without the frosting! Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Cathy says
If i want to make a 4- inch carrot cake using this recipe, will the baking temperature and time change ?
Christina Lane says
Hi Cathy,
I wish I knew! Sorry! I haven't tested it that way. The batter will overflow a 4" cake pan :(
Namrata Dalmia says
Hello
I love ur recipes.. I just wanted to know if we can use caster sugar and the flour is it self raising flour?
Thank u
Christina Lane says
Hi, thanks, Namrata! I wouldn't use those substitutions. The recipes won't come out the same. Self-raising flour has, well, raising agents that would conflict with the amount of leveners in the recipe, and caster sugar is not the same as regular sugar. Since it is super fine, it will actually cause you to add way more sugar than you need. Can you find regular flour and granulated sugar?
sandra hasan says
I have a pair of springform 5 1/2 " baking tins. Would i have to adjust your mini recipes to work?
Christina Lane says
Hi Sandra,
I haven't tried baking with pans that size, but they're pretty close to the 6x2" pan I use for my mini cakes. You could try that and increase the baking times slightly to account for a deeper cake?
Naomi says
Hello! I tried the recipe last week and it was delicious!! I did it in a 6x3 round pan though and it worked. :)
eileen says
I love Carrot cake :) .....now that my son is in college and we have moved to NC there is no one to eat my tasty treats :( I'm so happy that I found ur site :) this carrot cake was amazing !!!!!! It was the first time I ever made a carrot cake lol I don't know why I always feared making one. This was delicious and just the right size for the two of us :) thank you :) with ur site I can bake again. We can have a variety of treats without the leftovers :) thank you again. I also highly recommend the pineapple upside down cake (I made it last nite, yum)....macadamia cookies and the brownie :) on to the next recipe :)