Mini Carrot Cake

This small carrot cake recipe is just what you need when you're in the mood for cake, but still need to get your veggies in😉. This cake comes together in a flash - all you need are two bowls, a whisk, and a bit of patience as it bakes! It bakes up beautifully moist and packed full of warm spices. Oh and the brown butter cream cheese frosting?! You will be fighting the urge to eat it by the spoonful. It's so dang good. 

For more cake recipes, try Black Velvet Cake, Small Vanilla Cake, Lemon Blueberry Jam Cake, and Chocolate Tiramisu Cake.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour: Use a high quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda to give this cake the perfect rise.
• Spices: I used a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
• Oil: Use any neutral oil, like vegetable, canola, or light tasting olive oil.
• Sugars: You'll need both granulated sugar and brown sugar to add the right amount of sweetness and moisture to this cake. 
• Eggs: You'll need 2 large eggs at room temperature.
• Freshly Grated Carrots: You'll need about 2 ¼ cups of carrots, which is roughly 4-5 large carrots.
• Nuts: Add chopped pecans or walnuts (or really any other extra) if you'd like!
• Cream Cheese: Be sure to use cold cream cheese when making the frosting.
• Brown Butter: You'll need 300g, room temperature brown butter. Start with at least 340g of unsalted butter to make the brown butter. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this mini carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

STEP 2: Finish the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until fully combined. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Then, fold in the grated carrots and pecans.

STEP 3: Bake. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

STEP 4: Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 min, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

STEP 5: Make the brown butter. Start by browning enough butter to account for water evaporation. You'll need 300g of brown butter, so start with at least 340g. To brown the butter, in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color. Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge to solidify again, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Alternatively, place the bowl over a larger bowl of ice water, and whisk constantly until it becomes solid, yet soft.

STEP 6: Make the frosting. Once the brown butter is solid, yet soft, stir to mix in all of the browned bits that have settled at the bottom. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and brown butter on high speed until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until fully combined. Continue beating on low speed until no more lumps remain and the frosting is smooth.

STEP 7: Decorate. Secure the first cake layer on the cake stand with a small amount of frosting on the bottom. Add a few large scoops on top and spread into an even layer. Add the second cake layer and spread an even layer of frosting on top. Spread a thin layer of frosting all around the outside of the cake, then chill in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Spread a thicker layer of frosting on the sides, then pipe dollops of frosting on the top and bottom edges. Finish with chopped pecans, and enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

• If adding pecans, be sure to chop them very finely. Big pieces will make it a little difficult to cut the cake.
• You can make the cake layers the day before (or even earlier), then freeze them overnight, and decorate the next day. This allows you to skip the crumb coat and makes it so much easier to frost. Just leave the cake out for a couple hours at room temperature before serving.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x