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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, perfect for a smaller celebration!
Servings: 6 slices
Calories: 614kcal
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.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.1 large egg, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup dark brown sugar
- Whisk in vanilla extract, followed by vegetable oil, crushed pineapple, and grated carrots, mixing well after each addition.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoon crushed pineapple, ⅔ cup carrots
- 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
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Video
Notes
Toasting pecans: To toast your pecans, spread them 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.
Room Temperature Brown Butter: To make the brown butter cream cheese frosting for this mini carrot cake, you'll need brown butter that is softened, but not melted. To achieve this, I typically brown my butter, and then place it in a heatproof container in the fridge for about an hour. The butter should be cold, but still mostly soft. If it has gotten too solid, just let it sit at room temperature a bit before using it in your cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 614 kcal | Carbohydrates: 79 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 33 g | Saturated Fat: 16 g | Cholesterol: 93 mg | Sodium: 341 mg | Potassium: 208 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 64 g | Calcium: 79 mg | Iron: 1 mg
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