This Mini Carrot Cake is a lightly spiced two-layer 6 inch cake with an extremely soft crumb and a slight crunch from the walnuts. It is covered in a tangy cream cheese frosting – a classic flavor combination!
This mini carrot cake with cream cheese frosting uses the same recipe as my carrot cupcakes. I used to combine both recipes in the same post but decided to separate them to make it easier to find and to tailor the tip section for the 6-inch carrot cake instead.
This recipe is a readers’ favorite with so many great reviews and feedback. I’m certain you will agree that it is the best mini carrot cake recipe too. Give it a try and leave a review and star rating at the bottom of the post if you enjoy it!
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- This small carrot cake recipe makes a two-layer 6-inch carrot cake.
- It is perfect for a small Easter get together or if you’re making a carrot cake for two (with leftovers).
- The shredded carrot in the batter keeps the cake moist for days.
- The tangy cream cheese frosting compliments the flavor well and is not too sweet.
- It is very easy to make, you can even get the kids to help.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Flour – all purpose flour is all you need.
- Leavening agents – this recipe uses both baking soda and baking powder.
- Salt – I use kosher salt. You can substitute table salt, but use about half to two thirds as much.
- Spices – I use just a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg in this recipe for a very lightly spiced cake. If you want the flavor to be stronger, you can adjust the amount of spices to your taste. Other spices you may see in carrot cake include ginger, cardamom, allspice and cloves. I think ginger will play well with cinnamon and nutmeg. While I love cardamom, I think cardamom and cloves would be too strong for this cake.
- Buttermilk – use store bought buttermilk or make your own buttermilk by adding lemon juice, yogurt, or sour cream to regular milk. You can also make this cake with straight yogurt or sour cream if you don’t have any milk on hand.
- Oil – Butter adds flavor to cakes but oil makes them ultra moist. Since we want the flavor of the spices to shine, use a flavorless oil like vegetable or canola in this recipe. You can use olive oil if you want, though olive oil may impart some flavor to your cake.
- Sugar – Brown sugar will add flavor depth, richness and additional moisture to this carrot cake. Either light or dark brown sugar will work. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated sugar.
- Egg – Just 1 egg is used to bind everything together.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor of the cake and also to flavor the cream cheese frosting. Be sure to stay away from artificial vanilla flavoring.
- Carrot – it’s not carrot cake without grated carrots. So for obvious reasons, there is no substitution for carrots. However, you can make a completely different cake by substituting zucchini or pineapple.
- Walnuts – I added walnuts for textural contrast. Pecans can be used instead.
- Cream cheese – this is used in the cream cheese frosting. I would use full fat cream cheese for a richer frosting, don’t use light cream cheese.
- Butter – unsalted butter is also used in the cream cheese frosting. Make sure not to use salted butter or you’ll end up with super salty frosting.
- Powdered sugar – this is used to sweeten the cream cheese frosting. I don’t usually use a lot because I like my frosting less sweet. But you can increase the amount of sugar called for if you like a bit sweeter frosting.
Tools you’ll need
You can make the cake batter entirely by hand, but there are a couple of special tools you’ll need.
- A food processor or a box grater to grate the carrots.
- Two 6” cake pans (6” x 2”) to bake the cake layers in.
- A stand mixer or an electric mixer to make the frosting.
- A kitchen scale is recommended to measure the ingredients.
How to make mini carrot cake
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the carrot cake batter
First, prepare the wet ingredients by beating together buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in brown sugar until it dissolves completely. And then mix in the shredded carrot until evenly distributed.
Next, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and fold until incorporated. Fold in the chopped toasted walnuts.
Tip: Toasting the walnuts before adding it to the batter is highly recommended to bring out their flavor. It only takes a few extra minutes. Once you do it, you’ll never go back to using untoasted nuts.
Divide batter evenly among 2 parchment-lined and buttered cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Tip: Using a scale will help with dividing the cake batter evenly. This recipe yields about 850 g of batter, so each pan would hold about 425 g.
Make the frosting
Beat softened butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine. Stir in powdered sugar and slowly increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy.
Assemble and add frosting to the cake when the layers are completely cool.
Tip: If the cream cheese frosting seems a bit runny while you’re working with it, just pop it into the fridge and allow it to set up for 15-20 minutes.
If you want more tips on how to make the cream cheese frosting, check out my post for the cream cheese frosting recipe.
More baker’s tips
- I used 2 medium carrots in this recipe. They were about 8 oz total before peeling and shredding. It helps to have a kitchen scale to get precise measurement for the carrots or you can just weigh them at the store.
- I did not pack the shredded carrot when measuring them for this recipe. However, the best way to ensure you use just enough carrots is to weigh them. Be careful not to over-pack the carrots because too much can make your cake too wet.
- If you don’t have a scale to measure the cake batter, either eyeball the amount or use an ice cream scoop and count as you go to make sure you’re adding the same amount of batter to each pan.
- This mini carrot cake will yield 8 good size slices or 6 very generous portions.
- Bring this cake to the next level by using brown butter in the cream cheese frosting. I used it on a mini hummingbird cake a while back and it was amazing. I recommend straining the brown butter solids out if you’re using it in frosting.
- To get the pineapple carrot cake flavor combo without pineapple in the cake batter, try it with this fluffy pineapple frosting.
FAQs
I used two 6” cake pans with 2” sides. If you only have one 6” cake pan but the side of your cake pan is taller, you can probably bake the whole batch in one pan and cut the cake in half once finished to make two layers. You will need to increase bake time since the cake will be thicker. Check the doneness of your cake using a toothpick.
If you’re looking to make a larger cake, instead of trying to modify this small carrot cake recipe, use my full size carrot cake. It is a larger version of this mini carrot cake but it has been tested to bake in either 8” or 9”cake pans.
Yes, absolutely! This recipe is the same as my carrot cupcakes recipe but check out the post for the cupcakes for even more useful information.
Storage
Room temperature: You can leave the cake out on the countertop for a few hours while serving it.
Refrigerator: Leftover cake or cake made ahead of time should be stored in the refrigerator. It will last up to a week.
Freezer: You can also freeze this mini carrot cake whole or freeze leftovers in individual slices. Frozen cake will last up to three months. Before wrapping the cake for the freezer, refrigerate or flash freeze it so the frosting hardens, then wrap well and store in a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a couple of hours before serving.
More 6 inch cake recipes
- Mini Chocolate Cake
- Mini Strawberry Cake
- Mini Birthday Cake
- Mini Lemon Cake
- Mini Blueberry Lemon Cake
Hungry for more?
Mini Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 162 g
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup buttermilk, 180 g
- ½ cup vegetable oil, 107 g
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed, 144 g
- 1 ¼ cup shredded carrot, 170 g
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, toasted, 30 g
- More walnuts for topping if desired
- Melted butter for cake pans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature, 227 g
- 4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, 113 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, 75 g
Instructions
- Make the cake batter: Start by toasting the walnuts in a frying pan over medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes until fragrant. Let it cool and chop into smaller pieces.
- Scrub the carrots clean, trim the end and peel the skin off. Cut them into smaller pieces and shred them in a food processor or shred them with a box grater. This should yield 1 ¼ cups.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush melted butter on two 6” round cake pans. Line the bottom of the cake pan with a piece of round parchment paper and brush the parchment paper with butter as well. Set aside.
- Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add brown sugar and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add shredded carrot and mix until evenly distributed.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium mixing bowl. Add the salt and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and fold until incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Divide batter evenly between two cake pans, about 425 g of batter per pan. Bake for 30 – 31 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 – 15 minutes. When you can touch the cake pans, use a butter knife to loosen the sides, flip the pan over to remove the cake from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper, and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until thoroughly mixed and creamy.
- Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.
- Add powdered sugar and stir until incorporated, gradually increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
- Assemble the mini cake: Place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Put a few pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake to cover the cake stand or plate. This is to keep the frosting from smearing everywhere.
- Add about ½ cup of frosting on top of the first layer and even it out with an offset spatula. Add the second layer of cake on top.
- Frost the side and top of the cake with the rest of the frosting. Add chopped walnuts on top if desired. Carefully pull out the pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set or until ready to serve.
Notes
- Vegetable oil, canola oil or olive oil will work in this recipe.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, use regular milk, sour cream, yogurt or make homemade buttermilk by mixing regular milk with lemon juice or sour cream/yogurt.
- 2 medium carrots, about 8 oz total in weight, will yield enough shredded carrot for this recipe.
- If you don’t have a scale to measure the cake batter, either eyeball the amount or use an ice cream scoop and count as you go to make sure you’re adding the same amount of batter to each pan.
- This mini carrot cake will yield 8 good size slices or 6 very generous portions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Could I add some crushed pineapple and raisins to this recipe?
Hi Gail, raisins yes. Crushed pineapple might add too much moisture if you don’t adjust the other liquid ingredients. You could reduce buttermilk a bit if adding crushed pineapple. I’m going to take a guess here, you may want to subtract 3 tbsp of buttermilk for every 1/4 cup of pineapple you’re adding. Please let me know how it turns out!
Hi! How could I tweak the recipe to make a 2 layer 4 inch cake (I have 2 x 4 inch cake tins)? Thanks!
Hi Olivia, someone has asked this questions in the past actually. I have some suggestions though the reader never came back to let me know how it worked out for her. I’m going to paste what I responded below. If you go ahead and make this in 4″ cake pan, I’d love to know how it comes out!
The amount of batter for this recipe should fit in four 4-inch pans, so if you want to make a 2-layer 4-inch cake, you’ll need to halve the recipe. The problem with decreasing this recipe is that it calls for just 1 egg. All the ingredients are fairly simple to halve but it’s a bit trickier with the egg. You can beat the egg in a separate bowl and divide it in half, then use just the half egg for your halved recipe. Another option is – one large egg is 50 grams, so if you halve the recipe, you should only need 25 grams of eggs and 90 grams of buttermilk (that’s half of the original 180 g), if you want to use the whole egg, reduce the buttermilk to 65 grams (that’s 90 – 25 to account for the additional half egg). Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have further questions.