The best mini carrot cake recipe with pineapple and pecans! This small carrot cake recipe shows you how to make a mini carrot cake with brown butter cream cheese frosting, the perfect size for a smaller celebration!
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And if you like this recipe, you’ll love my Mini Vanilla Cake with Easy Vanilla Buttercream, my Mini Chocolate Cake, and my Vanilla Cake with Strawberries!
Best Mini Carrot Cake Recipe
I'm back with another mini cake recipe! I love making these 6-inch, single layer cake recipes because I'm usually only baking for 2 or 3 people at most (and sometimes just for myself!). I developed my first small batch cake recipe, this mini vanilla cake, at an Easter dinner with my husband. So it's fitting that I bring you a mini carrot cake recipe, my favorite cake! It's the perfect carrot cake for two to four people, just in time for your Easter celebrations or any special occasion!
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Mini Carrot Cake with Pineapple
This mini carrot cake is small, but big on flavor and spice! It's moist and tender, perfectly sweet and spiced, and full of lots of fresh carrots, toasted pecans, and crushed pineapple. And you know I had to drape it all with my brown butter cream cheese frosting!
It's the perfect spring recipe, great for a holiday, birthday celebration, or anytime! Sometimes you're just craving the best mini carrot cake recipe!
If you're looking for these same flavors in a larger portion, try my Carrot Pound Cake, which is based on this recipe and features a brown butter cream cheese glaze!
How do you make a carrot cake moist from scratch?
In this mini carrot cake recipe, we're using a few important ingredients to make sure our cake stays moist for days (not that it'll last that long). First, we're using mostly brown sugar as the sweetener for this cake. It adds flavor and moisture in addition to sweetness, and helps to give us a perfectly soft texture.
Next, we'll use oil as our main fat for the cake batter. Since this mini carrot cake is full of flavorful ingredients, it doesn't rely on butter to add flavor to the batter. So a simple vegetable oil adds richness without drying the cake out.
And we're also adding one of my favorite baking ingredients, crushed pineapple. Many carrot cake recipes omit pineapple or use banana, applesauce, or another fruit ingredient.
I love the flavor of pineapple in this mini carrot cake! Just like in my pineapple banana bread, the crushed pineapple only adds a hint of flavor, but definitely delivers on texture!
Finally, make sure you don't overbake your carrot cake -- that can dry it out. This cake is slightly denser than other types of cakes, so it may take a bit longer in the oven. But watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't overcook. When your toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs, your mini carrot cake is done!
How to Make a Mini Carrot Cake - Ingredients
- all-purpose flour - you'll want to make sure your dry ingredients are measured correctly, so either weigh it using a kitchen scale (you'll need 96 grams) or use the spoon-and-level method.
- baking powder & baking soda - helps to add lift, and keep this mini carrot cake light and fluffy.
- warm spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves are a perfect warming blend to complement the carrot, pineapple and pecans in this mini carrot cake for two.
- salt to bring out all these flavors!
- toasted pecans - adding toasted chopped pecans gives this cake wonderful texture! You can buy store-bought roasted pecans, or see below for tips on how to toast raw pecans yourself. We'll be using them both in the batter fr this moist carrot cake and sprinkled on top of the cake. And if you love pecans, try my Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars or my Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie!
- egg - make sure your egg is room temperature so that your carrot cake bakes up fluffy and even.
- dark brown sugar & granulated sugar - a nice blend of sweetness from the white sugar, along with deep molasses flavor and moisture from the dark brown sugar creates a great texture for this carrot cake for two!
- vanilla extract - vanilla isn't a major flavor in this carrot cake for two, so you won't need too much of it, but I still recommend using a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- vegetable oil - instead of butter, we're using oil in this mini carrot cake. It helps to ensure a moist and tender cake, and it's easier to work with than butter! Also, with all the spices, brown sugar, and fruit and carrot flavors, you definitely don't need added flavor from butter!
- crushed pineapple - canned crushed pineapple is such a fun ingredient to use in baking. I love it in my pineapple banana bread and my pineapple bars, but in this mini carrot cake it adds just enough pineapple flavor and texture to take it over the top!
- grated carrots - where this cake gets its name! We're using a box grater since it's the best way to give this cake the flavor and texture of carrots all throughout. Make sure to grate the carrots yourself by hand -- using a food processor gives you a different texture, and store-bought shredded carrot is cut way too big for our purposes with this mini carrot cake!
Check the recipe card below for full list of ingredients, ingredient measurements, and instructions!
Equipment
First, you'll need a box grater and vegetable peeler for your carrots. You'll also need a large bowl to mix your batter and a light-colored frying pan to brown your butter. And definitely a 6-inch round cake pan with 2-inch sides. I love these Wilton 6-inch cake pans. I also use these silicone liners for my 6-inch cake pans instead of parchment paper. They're so easy and my cakes never stick!
You may also want a wire rack to help your cake cool. Here are all my recommendations for tools you'll need to make this mini carrot cake!
Storage
Because of its amazing brown butter cream cheese frosting, you'll want to store this delicious cake in the fridge in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for up to four days this way.
Tips and F.A.Q.
I mean... it does have carrots?? OK, in all seriousness, this mini carrot cake is decadent. It's got plenty of sugar and fat, so I wouldn't call it health food by any means. Luckily, its small size makes portion control a bit easier, so you won't be as tempted as you might with a full size carrot cake!
Another variation carrot cakes have is that most carrot cake recipes use vegetable oil instead of butter to ensure a moist cake. This mini carrot cake for two is no different! I actually use oil in a lot of my cakes, including my mini vanilla cake. It's a great way to add a moist texture, and it's also much easier to work with than butter!
Not much, actually! Carrot cake is basically a spice cake, with some slight variations. This mini carrot cake adds freshly grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and toasted pecans to a basic spice cake recipe. And the result is so good!
It's easy! Just spread your pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 5-10 minutes, checking and stirring every few minutes. Your pecans are done when they're a deeper golden brown on the outside, a light tan color on the inside, and have a toasty, nutty aroma.
Yes it does! The carrots add a nice texture and moisture to this cake, and provide a slight carrot flavor.
I highly recommend grating your carrots by hand using a box grater -- since you'll only need ⅔ cup of carrots for this mini carrot cake recipe, it won't take long at all. And freshly grated carrots will give your cake the best texture! Just use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer peel, then use the smaller holes on the box grater to grate your carrots.
I love a classic cream cheese frosting, but brown butter in this recipe takes one of my favorite desserts to another level! Cut your salted butter into chunks and melt it over medium heat in a light-colored sauté pan. Once your butter is melted and the milk solids have sunk to the bottom of the pan, they’ll start to turn a deep golden brown. You may also smell a nutty or toasty aroma. That’s when your brown butter is ready and when you should remove it from the heat right away!
Scrape your browned butter (and any brown bits in the pan) into a heatproof container and store it in the fridge for about an hour until it is almost solid. It should have the consistency of softened butter, but if necessary you can let it sit out at room temp to soften back up a bit. For more details on browning butter, check out my Brown Butter Appreciation Post.
This mini carrot cake is a perfect small-batch Easter dessert, but I have so many others for you too! My Lemon Lavender Cookies or Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies are a great treat, or for a more decadent dessert you can try my Strawberry Crisp or my Earl Grey Lavender Cake with Honey-Lemon Glaze! Cadbury Mini Egg lovers will adore my Mini Eggs Cake and my Mini Egg Brownies
Variations
You can definitely make some substitutions to personalize this mini carrot cake for two! First, you can swap out the pecans for walnuts for a slightly different nutty flavor. Since walnuts toast more quickly than pecans, you can just use raw walnuts instead of toasting them first. You can also skip browning the butter in the cream cheese frosting. Just prepare the frosting the same way, but with softened salted butter.
Another swap you can make is to switch out the pineapple for unsweetened applesauce, mashed overripe banana, or puréed carrots for even more carrot flavor! Any moist, sweet fruit puree can serve to add moisture and sweetness to this mini carrot cake batter and give it a slightly different flavor!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Small Batch Desserts You'll Love
- Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter and Sea Salt
- Mini Basque Cheesecake
- Mini Vanilla Cake with Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- Butter Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Nutella Baked Oats
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
- vegetable peeler
Ingredients
- baking spray
- ¾ cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon (1 g) ground nutmeg
- pinch ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon (2 g) salt
- 3 tablespoon (30 g) toasted pecan halves - chopped, plus more for topping (see note)
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar - packed
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (2 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (55 g) vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoon (44 g) crushed pineapple - well-drained
- ⅔ cup (85 g) carrots - freshly grated
- 1 batch (170 g) Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 6-inch cake pan with 2-inch high sides with parchment paper or a silicone liner and spray with baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.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, pinch ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Stir chopped pecans into the flour mixture until well coated. Set aside.3 tablespoon toasted pecan halves
- In a large bowl, beat egg and sugars together for 2 minutes with a whisk or electric mixer until lightened in color and thickened.
- Whisk in vanilla extract, followed by vegetable oil, crushed pineapple, and grated carrots, mixing well after each addition.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Drop from a few inches onto countertop to minimize air bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and spread over cooled cake. Top with toasted pecans.1 batch Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on March 28, 2026 by Chenée Lewis
Jen says
My 7 yr old finished it within an hour !!She says it tastes fantastic !Skipped the nuts and the frosting, it came out so moist and yummy.
Chenée Lewis says
Glad you both liked it! 🙂
Vicki says
Love this recipe! Just found and made it 3 times already. I skipped the nuts and topped with regular cream cheese frosting. Still tasted fabulous. Yum!!
Chenée Lewis says
So great to hear! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Marguerite Tamborrello says
can i double the recipe and bake it in 2 - 8inch pans. If so how long would i bake the carrot cake?
Chenée Lewis says
Yes you definitely can! I would suggest that you start checking the cake layers after 20 minutes.
Jazz says
Listen, I am a carrot cake fiend and this carrot cake is bomb! I love the mini size because I've been known to overindulge lol. And the taste and texture are just right.
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Britney Brown says
This cake was so tender and fluffy and it was just the right amount for just the two of us! Can't wait to make this cake again!
Chenée Lewis says
So glad it worked out for you two!
Shanna Jones says
This is now my go-to carrot cake recipe --- and for many reasons! I love the size (it's enough to feed a family of four), and it's so moist! Thanks for sharing.
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you!! I agree that it's the perfect size!
Jen Sim says
I love a good carrot cake and this recipe ticked all the boxes! I didn’t want to make too much so the size was perfect.
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! I'm so glad you liked it.
Tamara says
Carrot cake is one of my husbands favorite desserts. So when I found a recipe I knew I had to make it! It was simple to follow, and absolutely delicious! He said it’s one of the best ones he’s ever had. So thank you foe sharing this recipe!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad your husband enjoyed it!!
Kaluhi says
Glorious! Made this beaut for my sister and we both loved it! The pineapple in particular allowed this to shine and we loved loved loved the moistness too!
Chenée Lewis says
Thanks! I love pineapple in carrot cake!
Jessica Lawson says
I LOVE your mini cake recipes! I tried the chocolate one not too long ago and then made this last weekend when we needed a little something sweet for just the two of us. Carrot cake is my favorite and I almost never have it because I don't want to have a huge cake around for just two people. This was the PERFECT size for a little treat for the two of us.
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! 6 inches is such a great size for a small group!
Taneisha says
I'm always down for small batch baking recipes especially being a family of just 2 and this was perfect! Also, this Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting was perfect!!!!!! I could have eaten it alone!! Thanks so much!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed!
Mireille E Roc says
Carrot Cake is my all time favorite cake recipe, but I always have to make it myself as I'm allergic to nuts and everyone puts nuts in it. Of course, I had to omit the nuts but I wanted to try this version with the pineapple. It was so moist and delicious. Definitely will now be my go to carrot cake recipe!
Chenée Lewis says
I love the addition of pineapple! Glad you liked it!
Lilly says
This cake is just the perfect size! I served it for dessert for my book club meeting! Everyone absolutely loved it!
Chenée Lewis says
I love the size too! It's great for small groups!
Marta says
This is one of the kiddos favorite cakes. We made two of them and had them for dessert. Perfect!
Chenée Lewis says
Awesome! It's one of my favorites too!
Mila says
I loved having this as a tiny cake. I'm always trying to watch portions, so it was great to have these flavors in a manageable portion size! It tasted delicious!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you! I love the small size too!
Jamie says
This is going to be perfect for me and my husband! We're not big on sweets so this is just the right portion. Looks incredible!
Chenée Lewis says
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy!
HEATHER PERINE says
It's only going to be 3 of us for Easter this year so I can't wait to make this mini carrot cake! Looks delicious!
Chenée Lewis says
Perfect! Same for us! Small batch cakes are the best 🙂
Beth says
Oh wow! Carrot cake is my favorite cake! I'm definitely making this as soon as I can! So excited!
Chenée Lewis says
Yay! I hope you enjoy it!
Andrea Metlika says
This is my all time favorite cake and I am so happy that it's the perfect amount for us. No wasted leftovers!
Chenée Lewis says
Exactly! It's the perfect size!
Shalini says
I love a good carrot cake and this looks sumptuous!
Chenée Lewis says
Thank you so much! I love carrot cake too!