Carrot cake lovers – this Mini Carrot Cake is for you! This easy-to-make, delicious recipe gives you the moist, tender, sweet, and perfectly spiced carrot cake topped with a generous layer of brown butter cream cheese frosting that’s insanely good. Perfect for all the upcoming spring celebrations from Easter Sunday to Mother’s Day.
Of all the carrot cake recipes out there, this one is my favorite. It’s deeply moist and swirled with crushed pineapple and toasted pecans. Its flavor mainly comes from dark brown sugar and warming spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. But the star of the show here is a brown butter cream cheese frosting. It brings all the flavors together and makes this cake outrageously delicious. The secret to success? Using brown butter. And it’s easy to make at home. Simply melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once you smell the caramel, nutty aroma, and browned milk solids appear at the bottom of the pan, remove the pan from heat and pour the butter into a small bowl. Place the brown butter in the fridge for about an hour until it is almost solid. Let come to room temperature before using in this recipe.
To make the Mini Carrot Cake, you will need the following ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 °F and grease a 6-inch cake pan with 2-inch high sides. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, a pinch ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Stir in 3 tablespoons chopped pecans until well coated. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together 1 large egg, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and ½ cup dark brown sugar for 2 minutes with a whisk or hand mixer until light and thick.
Whisk in ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract and ¼ cup vegetable oil.
Stir in 3 tablespoons crushed pineapple.
Stir in ⅔ cup freshly grated carrots.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Gently drop the pan from a few inches onto the countertop to remove air bubbles.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it on a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Whip 6 tablespoons brown butter until light and fluffy.
Add 6 ounces cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Gradually add 2 ½ cups powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Beat for another 2 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Use a spatula to frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top.
Slice and serve!
Incredibly delicious, this Mini Carrot Cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting is swirled with pineapple, pecans, carrots, and warming spices. Bonus? If made and frosted ahead, the flavors meld and intensify, and the frosting blends into the cake, creating an even more tender bite. Keep the frosted cake covered in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if you wish, before serving.
Perfect cake for holidays! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
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