I have become a massive fan of small-batch dessert recipes simply because there are only two of us, and who needs a lot of sugary leftovers? As much as I enjoy them, I sure don’t need them!
Recently, I’ve made 6-inch cakes whenever I’ve needed one for an occasion, and they’ve been perfect. Granted, they usually have three layers, but it still comes out to about ⅔ of a normal-sized layer cake, so you have to figure it’s a third fewer calories! Right? I do like my logic here.
I’ve been using Fat Daddios pans, and I highly recommend them. I made one recently for hubby’s birthday, and it was just enough. He is crazy about carrot cake loaded with goodies, and I’m delighted to oblige. I found a fundamental recipe online and adapted it to our tastes.
It’s funny, but since coming back from 28 years of living in Hawaii, I still put macadamia nuts in certain things, and carrot cake is one of them. I find their texture irresistible. I put walnuts in it, too, so yes, my cake is pretty nutty. I’ve also been known to put lime and coconut in my cake, but I didn’t do that this time—just the coconut.
I found Martha Stewart’s cream cheese frosting recipe to ice it with—it was perfect! What I love about it is it doesn’t have 3 tons of sugar to compensate for the moisture in the cream cheese, and it still goes on the cake without sliding down the sides. I’ve always tried to reduce some calories from such an icing without much luck, so I was thrilled to find this one. Thanks, Martha!
A Couple Tips
It’s important to use freshly grated carrots for the cake—please don’t be tempted to use the ones you find in the store that are already grated. They will be too dry.
If you don’t have three 6-inch cake pans, use two 8-inch pans. If you don’t have two 8-inch pans, consider making cupcakes.
Parchment on the pans’ bottoms will make releasing the baked cakes much easier, so that’s a priority.
For the Cake
- 2 cups freshly shredded carrots (3-4 carrots)
- 2 cups flour
- 1-¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup avocado or other vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup chopped macadamia nuts
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (packaged is fine)
- ⅓ cup raisins (I used golden, but dark ones are good, too)
Prepare the pans by lining the bottoms with parchment circles, then greasing them and the sides with butter.
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Gently toast the walnuts and macadamia nuts in a small pan over medium heat until lightly toasted.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Beat the sugar and oil together using a hand or stand mixer and a large bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, mixing until just shy of being combined. Over-mixing can toughen the cake, so we want to avoid that in the process of adding the rest of the ingredients. Add the nuts, coconut, and raisins and continue mixing until all is combined.
Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. Remove layers from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes, then remove them and cool on racks.
For the Icing
- 1 block of full-fat cream cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Beat the cream cheese to soften it with a hand mixer and a medium-sized bowl, then add the butter cubes one at a time. When the butter is thoroughly mixed with the cream cheese, sift the sugar into the bowl a bit at a time and blend it in. When it is thoroughly combined, mix in the vanilla.
To Frost
You can trim the rounded portions of the cake with a serrated knife or not, depending on your preference for a flatter cake and who you may need to impress. I usually don’t, but I usually place the bottom two layers top-down, so there is a little bit less of a gap between the layers. To each their own, I say. Frost away and enjoy!
