Mini Carrot Cakes
I am all about mini cakes because they are cute, tasty, and different from a slice of cake. These Mini Carrot Cakes with an irresistible buttermilk glaze are all that and more. This is a vintage recipe; if you love carrot cake, you’re really going to love this recipe!
I love cakes, but sometimes, a whole slice just feels like too much. Cakes can also be complicated to make or take forever to bake. That’s where this Mini Carrot Cake recipe really shines. It’s much easier to make than a layer cake, and it bakes quickly in a muffin tin.
Mini Carrot Cakes
Well-balanced and with just the right amount of spices, these Mini Carrot Cakes have pineapple, coconut, and raisins in them in addition to the carrot, so they’re unbelievably moist and delicious.
Read more: Mini Carrot Cakes
This is another one of my favorite vintage recipes, and I’ve been making this recipe since 1992, the year my oldest son was born. It is inspired by an old Junior League of Portland cookbook. Those were the good old days before the internet when cookbooks like this were the best way to share recipes.
The recipe is a bit different now because I’ve perfected it over the last few decades. It’s a great recipe. I make them each spring and often at Easter. My family loves these Mini Carrot Cakes, and I know yours will, too!
Why I love this recipe
- It makes 36 mini cakes, which is perfect for sharing. So maybe 2 per guest?
- These carrot cakes are glazed AND frosted because why not have both?
- They’re freezer-friendly, so you can save some to enjoy later.
Gather these ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil – Or canola oil.
- Buttermilk
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Canned crushed pineapple – You’ll need an 8-oz can, drained.
- Carrots – Grated.
- Shredded coconut
- Raisins
- Walnuts – Chopped. Toast them first for extra nutty flavor.
For the glaze:
- Granulated sugar
- Baking Soda
- Buttermilk
- Butter
- Light corn syrup
- Vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- Butter – At room temperature.
- Cream cheese – At room temperature. You’ll need 1 8-oz package.
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Orange juice – Freshly squeezed.
- Orange zest
How to make the best Mini Carrot Cakes
- Preheat your oven to 350-F and generously grease 3 muffin tins. You’ll need 36 muffin cups in total.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together and set aside.
- Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and add the oil, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir well.
- Add the pineapple, grated carrots, coconut, raisins, and walnuts to the batter and stir to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake at 350-F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Combine the sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set the glaze aside until the muffins are baked.
- Slowly drizzle the glaze over the mini cakes, then cool them in the muffin tin until fully absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Cream the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with a stand or hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Mix until smooth.
- Frost the mini cakes with the frosting and refrigerate.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips & substitutions
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Mix until just combined and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- You can make these cakes ahead of time and freeze them until you’re ready to frost them. Simply bake them, glaze them and then freeze them. Thoroughly thaw them before frosting them.
- Don’t care for walnuts? You can add pecans instead or skip the nuts entirely.
Serving suggestions
These Mini Carrot Cakes are perfect for Easter dinner dessert or brunch, along with other tasty eats like my Bloody Mary Charcuterie Board, baked salmon or seasonal charcuterie cups.
Storage
Store any leftovers in the fridge or freezer in airtight containers.
Check out these awesome carrot recipes while you’re here
Get the Recipe:
Mini Carrot Cakes
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR MINI CAKES:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 8 oz pineapple, crushed and drained
- 2 cups carrots, grated
- 3 ½ ounces shredded coconut
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
INGREDIENTS FOR GLAZE:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup butter, 1/2 cube
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING:
- ¼ cup butter, 1/2 cube, room temperature
- 1 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange peel, grated
Instructions
TO PREPARE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Generously grease (3) 12 regular muffin tins (36 total).
TO PREPARE MINI CAKES:
- Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add oil, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture, pineapple, carrots, coconut, raisins and walnuts and stir well.
- Pour into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
TO PREPARE BUTTERMILK GLAZE:
- In a small saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Set glaze aside until muffins are baked.
- Remove muffin tins from the oven and slowly pour glaze over the muffins/mini cakes. Cool mini cakes in muffin tin until glaze is totally absorbed, about 15 minutes.
FROSTING:
- In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add vanilla, powdered sugar, orange juice and orange peel. Mix until smooth. Frost muffins with the frosting and refrigerate. Serve chilled mini carrot cakes!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
