Baking Mini Carrot Cakes 

1. Preheat 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.
2. To a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together your sugar, canola oil, egg, vanilla extract, and pineapple.
3. Add your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Fold in your grated carrots and nuts before dividing and pouring batter evenly into your quarter sheet pan.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick into your cake and it comes out cleanly.
6. 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 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 Mini Carrot Cakes

1. 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) 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. 
2. 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 add pipe your final layer of frosting on top of that. Dust with cinnamon or crushed nuts if desired.