Mini Carrot Cakes

I’m a big fan of small desserts. From my chocolate chip muffin recipe for six to these mini lemon Bundt cakes, I’m a sucker for tinier treats and servings! But these mini carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting are a new favorite. These bite-sized layer cakes would be perfect for a tea party, brunch, or special occasion, particularly in the springtime. This recipe creates approximately eight mini cakes that stay moist for days and are easy to bake and assemble in about an hour.

Cake Ingredients

The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below. Here are some highlights and noteworthy items that make these bite-sized cakes tender and delicious:

• Canola oil – Canola oil helps keep this cake ultra moist. There is no butter in this recipe (and many carrot cake recipes) so oil is the fat that gives it moisture and its soft texture.
• Crushed pineapple, drained – I can’t imagine any carrot cake without pineapple because this is the way my family has always eaten and enjoyed it! The pineapple gives sweetness and moisture to the recipe. Be sure to drain the excess liquid, though. It’s important to avoid adding more moisture than you need – otherwise, this cake recipe won’t bake and rise properly. Too much liquid would make for a soggy cake.
• Cinnamon – I love adding this spice to carrot cake, in both the cake layers and a dusting on top of the cream cheese frosting. However, you could experiment with other spices like nutmeg, ginger, or cardamom if you prefer those.
• Carrots – You can’t have this cake without carrots. And carrots, when shredded, release sweetness, hence the reason they are part of this cake! In this Food52 article, Chris Kimball, formerly of America’s Test Kitchen, explains that shredding root veggies helps them taste both sweeter and fresher.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

And while I’m a big fan of the pairing of cream cheese frosting with these mini carrot cakes, you could go a different direction. Making a half batch of my Biscoff buttercream could be interesting, given the spices that are in that and the spices in the carrot cake. I haven’t tested the combination but imagine it would be a good if you want something a little different.

To make the frosting, you’ll need the following items:

• Butter, room temperature 
• Crisco (you could also skip the Crisco and sub in butter for the same amount. I like the aftertaste of Crisco, though, and typically use it in carrot cake frosting)
• Cream cheese, room temperature or slightly softened
• Powdered sugar 
• Vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt

Making Mini Carrot Cake Bites

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper on all sides. Butter and flour well or coat with baking spray before setting aside.

To a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together your sugar, canola oil, egg, vanilla, and crushed pineapple.

Add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Fold in your grated carrots and nuts before pouring batter evenly into your quarter sheet pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick into your cake and it comes out cleanly.

Let cake cool in pan about 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Making Cream Cheese Frosting

1. As your cake cools, place your room temperature cream cheese, butter, and Crisco into the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat until all ingredients are well-combined, about 3 minutes.
2. Stop mixer and add your vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and powdered sugar. Start setting on low to gradually incorporate sugar and prevent it from flying everywhere. Then increase speed to fully combine ingredients.
3. Fit a piping bag with the piping tip of your choice and spread the larger opening over the rim of a glass. Use a spatula to fill bag halfway with cream cheese frosting (it’s easier to maneuver and creates fewer hand cramps when the bag isn’t filled to the top!) from your mixing bowl. 

Assembling the Mini Cakes

Once cake is cool to the touch, use a 2” cookie cutter (or create a 2” circle of parchment paper to use as a guide and carefully cut around it with a sharp knife) to make approximately 16 circles together on your cake layer. Cut out by pressing down on the cookie cutter. You can save remaining cake scraps and add them to a bowl of oatmeal, ice cream, or enjoy on their own. 

Set out all cake layers and pipe onto half of them using your piping bag. Then, top your first layer with the remaining mini cake layers and pipe your final layer of frosting on top of that. Dust with cinnamon or crushed nuts if desired.

Individual Carrot Cake FAQ

Decorating Tips for Mini Carrot Cakes

• There’s no real rule about how to decorate them. For ease of decorating, though, I recommend putting your cream cheese frosting in a piping bag. Doing this will make it easier to direct your frosting onto the small cakes. You can also swipe the frosting onto them with a spoon, but it’ll be a bit trickier to do it evenly without the cakes sliding around.
• I found that the fastest technique to decorate all these individual cakes was to lay out all the miniature layers at one time. That way, you can add a layer of frosting to them literally in a row, place the final layer on top, add finishing touches of frosting, and be done!
• Your mini cakes will sit more evenly if you have an equal layer of frosting on top of each small layer.
• Have fun dusting the tops of these cakes with your favorite spice or some crushed nuts.

More Sweet Recipes

If you liked these mini carrot cakes, check out these homemade Funfetti muffins. They’re so cheery, thanks to all the brightly colored sprinkles!

More on a cookie kick? My matcha white chocolate cookies are so good and easy to make.

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