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
Sharmila Sutaria says
Thank you for this scaled down recipe. It's perfect and makes things simpler.
Just baked it. Turned out super soft and Yumm
Astrid says
This little cake is brilliant. I made some small changes: omitted walnuts; added a few chia seeds, used half sugar half xylitol and instead of icing I spread a layer of apricot jam on top and sprinkled with coconut flakes. I also used wholemeal flour as I wanted a breakfast cake. Super moist and delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Susan Bossert says
Great little baked cake but had difficulty getting it out of greased pan. Next time I will use parchment paper and
extra shortening on the cake pan. Luckily the cream cheese frosting and ring of walnuts will cover all of the
"divots" !
Linda says
The frosting was good, but the cake didn't taste like a carrot cake at all.
Christina Lane says
Maybe you grew up with a more heavily spiced carrot cake? Try adding ginger & cloves? Did you grow up with carrot cake that had raisins? I actually grew up with a heavily spiced carrot cake with ginger and raisins, but I make it this way because this is how my husband's family likes it. Add spices to your liking.
Cynthia Simpson says
Hi! I'm sure this is a silly question, but if i wanted to make double this, would ALL the ingredients be doubled? I have tested some before where doubling a recipe doesn't come out as good as the original recipe? Maybe the cooking time or temperature? I want to make this but with two layers as opposed to one.
Thanks!
Christina Lane says
Hmm...will you be doubling it and baking it in two separate 6" pans? If so, yes.
If you double it and change the pan size, it might not rise properly :/
Kat says
I've always believed that Publix makes the best carrot cake, not even an exaggeration, it's the perfect density and flavors that make Publix carrot cake stand out from the rest. Unfortunately, I moved to Australia and there is no Publix, so I HAD to find a dupe. I managed to find this recipe and it's now my go to! It's actually perfect! Not only did it settle my cravings and fulfill my high standards, but I made all my Aussie friends try it to which they said it was the best carrot cake they'd ever had. I can confirm this is a Publix dupe, and absolutely incredible, thanks so much for posting it!
RossC says
Was going to make your new 8X8 version but, had no pineapple..
So I made this yesterday... Truly a delicious and simple carrot cake.. Love it.. :O)
Love my 6" cakes but, the 8X8 with caramel/cream cheese frosting is next.. yum
Rashmi says
Can't count how many times I have made this cake. Absolutely delicious. Also have tried doubling the recipe and it was still perfect.
Christina Lane says
I'm so glad to know it can be doubled, thank you Rashmi! Do you bake it in a 9x13?
Rashmi says
I baked in 9 in round pan. Cake is so good that it’s not enough and needs to be doubled. I have also tried your Tiramisu cupcakes, chocolate, Crumb and Amish donuts. Wonderful recipes. Will try to post some pictures.
Stela says
Hello. I am a fan from Bulgaria. I am impressed by the amount of good reviews on this recipe so I am definitely going to make it. I would just like to ask if there would be any substitutes to the cream cheese - I would appreciate if you noted all the possible substitutions. Thank you in advance, and may God bless you and your family!
Christina Lane says
I'm not entirely sure what kind of cheese products you have in Bulgaria...hmm...do you have any kind of thickened, tangy cheese you could use?
Stela says
Thank you for your timely response. We have traditional white brine cheese here, which is a lot different from cream cheese, like, it is really firm and crumbly.
Astrid says
Love the cake. Have made it several times now. I don’t ice it but put some jam on top or icing sugar. It’s a great recipe. Thank you.