It's a small carrot cake with caramel cream cheese frosting is a one-layer cake for Spring and Easter!
First things first, did you know: I have 5 different sizes of small carrot cake on this site?
-this single layer carrot cake made in a 8x8” pan
-my 6” small carrot cake
-my carrot cake for two made in ramekins
-a healthy carrot cake made in a mini muffin pan
-and of course, a small batch of carrot cake cupcakes
While we love warm mini carrot cakes with melted cream cheese frosting, we also love cold carrot cake right out of the fridge. This is one of those cold carrot cakes you sneak for breakfast with coffee.
I'm not sure how big your Easter celebration is going to be, but I'm guessing carrot cake is on the menu. While I already have a mini carrot cake for two on this site, I thought I would make you a slightly bigger one.
This isn't your standard 3-layer carrot cake--which is super yummy but oh-so-much work; it's a smaller 8x8-inch single-layer carrot cake. (A 8x8-inch pan is your standard brownie pan, friends.)
I'm not skimping on the frosting here. Just because it's a single layer carrot cake doesn't mean we can't have mounds of frosting. And instead of cups and cups of powdered sugar in a standard cream cheese frosting recipe, we're going to stir in melted caramel sauce. Oh yeah, baby. This will be your new go-to cream cheese frosting recipe.
I'm in love with the honey-hued frosting:
A few notes about this small carrot cake:
My version of carrot cake has pineapple in it. I hope that's okay with you! My family can be purists about carrot cake and insist that it should not have walnuts, raisins, or pineapple. They love this version!
I should warn you that the cake is going to sink ever-so-slightly in the center as it cools. I've never met a carrot cake that doesn't sink a tiny bit. Carrot cake is warm, spicy, and so very moist. In order to make a non-sinking flat or domed carrot cake, the texture of the cake would have to be altered to be too light and fluffy. That is just not carrot cake, my friends. Carrot cake is dense and moist, and that's exactly the way it should be. My grandma's carrot cake sank, and my grandkids' carrot cakes will sink, too. It's just the only way to do it.
So, grab your brownie pan, a handful of carrots and caramels, and make this small carrot cake. Tell me it isn't the most delicious carrot cake you've ever had!
Small Carrot Cake with Caramel-Cream Cheese Frosting
Small carrot cake (single layer) with caramel cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- ½ cup neutral oil (like canola or grapeseed)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the caramel cream cheese frosting:
- ¾ cup caramel bits
- 8-ounces of cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a 8x8-inch square pan with parchment paper on all sides (see photo for reference).
- In a large bowl, stir together with a wooden spoon (do not use a mixer) the oil and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, pineapple and carrots.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet, and stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 33-36 minutes, until nicely golden brown and starting to pull away from the edges.
- Let the cake cool--it will slightly sink in the middle, but it's fine.
- As the cake cools, whip together the frosting: melt the caramel bits in the microwave with a splash of water. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the caramel and vanilla.
- Frost the cake with the caramel cream cheese frosting, and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 674Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 546mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 1gSugar: 71gProtein: 7g
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Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes) says
YAS! This gets all the yases in the world right now. Delish!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I seriously cannot wait to try this caramel cream cheese frosting!!
Nancy says
I have asked twice what are caramel bits and my comments appear and disappear before an answer can be obtained. I would like to make this cake, but I will ask only one more time: what are caramel bits?
Christina Lane says
Hi Nancy! I'm sorry for the confusion! I haven't deleted any comments, so I'm not sure what's going on.
I thought I answered this question earlier, but it was on the Caramel Nut Brownie Sundae recipe, so I thought it was on this recipe! So sorry!
Are you in the US, Nancy? They’re a relatively new product, usually located near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. The gist is that they’re small bits of caramel that melt easily. If you can’t find them, chop up regular caramels :)
Christina Lane says
Also, here's a link to what they look like at the store: http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Caramel-Bits-11-Ounce/dp/B00Z9YSN1K/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1458314346&sr=8-1&keywords=caramel+bits
Lorr says
Regular caramels chopped do not work in this frosting. Found out the hard way.
Ashley - Baker by Nature says
That caramel cream cheese frosting tho...!!! Need.
Courtney Lopez says
I just can't get over that frosting - nom nom!!
michele says
You had me at carrot cake and sent me to my VERY HAPPY PLACE with the caramel frosting! Yum! Pinned!
Debbie the NY Baker says
Hi - and thanks for this amazing sounding and looking recipe! I wonder if it would be possible to use the recipe to make cupcakes instead of in an 8x8 pan... I'm thinking it might make 6 cupcakes? No matter what, I'll keep that frosting recipe - yum!!! Thanks!
Christina Lane says
Nice to meet you, Debbie! Did you see the note about sinkage? I do worry your cupcakes would sink, but I think it's worth a shot! Let me know how it goes :))
Brenda says
I'm confused about parchment paper. Do you remove cake off of parchment paper , carefully placing it into a different square pan before frosting? It sounds amazing. I'm thinking of toasting pecans and adding on top of frosting. Thanx so much!
Sara says
Hey! I'm not a big fan of pineapple (or raisins but that's not listed here) in carrot cake. Do you think I could try replacing with a different liquid? This cake and the FROSTING are making my stomach grumble.
Christina Lane says
Hi Sara! I haven't tried the recipe any other way than the way its written, but what about just adding more carrots?
Kirstin says
The directions indicate to add sugar (granulated) in both steps 2 and 3. Which should it be? I added it with the wet ingredients (and it smells delicious cooking) so hopefully that works.
Christina Lane says
Sorry! Fixed it! I wrote the recipe when I had a sick kid in my lap-hah!
Kdh says
The recipe still shows sugar in both steps 2 and 3. Which one is correct? Thanks!
Christina Lane says
Fixed, sorry! :)