I’m lovin’ these desserts for two! It’s such a life saver for anyone living by themselves or with just one other person. Just enough indulgence without going overboard. When a reader requested a carrot cake recipe for two, I was happy to give it a try (or three tries). I LOVE carrot cake and I almost always have a partial bag of carrots hanging out in my fridge because I love shredding one or two into different recipes for added nutrients and they stay good for quite some time. So these little Carrot Cakes for Two are a great way to use up the last one or two carrots in the bag.
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It took me three tries to get this recipe right, but hey, I’m not complaining. That just means I got to eat carrot cake three times. Tee-hee! I left the recipe pretty simple as just a spiced cake loaded with shredded carrots, but you could always add a few raisins or even some shredded coconut to the mix (stir them into the wet ingredients). Oooh, or walnuts. Yes, walnuts would be good in there too. Yum.
Carrot Cake (for two)
Servings 2Ingredients
CAKE
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour $0.05
- 1/2 tsp baking powder $0.04
- 1/4 tsp salt $0.02
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon $0.05
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg $0.03
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger ((optional) $0.02)
- 1 large egg ((yolk only) $0.19)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar $0.12
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract $0.07
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.08
- 1 medium carrot $0.14
FROSTING
- 1 oz . cream cheese $0.22
- 1 Tbsp butter $0.07
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract $0.07
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar $0.13
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir until evenly combined.
- Peel the carrot and use a large holed cheese grater to shred it into a separate bowl. Add the egg yolk, brown sugar, vanilla, and vegetable oil to the shredded carrot. Whisk these ingredients together with a fork until evenly combined.
- Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until evenly combined.
- Coat two small (6oz.) ramekins with non-stick spray, then divide the batter between the two. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet to make them easier to transport in and out of the oven. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- While the cakes are baking, place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract in a bowl and allow them to come to room temperature. Once room temperature and soft, whisk with a fork until smooth. Stir in the powdered sugar a little at a time until it is all incorporated.
- Allow the cakes to cool before spreading the cream cheese frosting over top (otherwise it will melt and slide off). Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Carrot Cake for Two – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp ground ginger (optional).
In a separate bowl, combine the yolk of one large egg, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, and one medium carrot that has been shredded using a large holed cheese grater. Whisk with a fork until evenly combined.
Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until they are combined and no dry clumps remain. Try to avoid over mixing.
Coat two small 6oz. ramekins with non-stick spray (or a muffin tin) and divide the batter between the two. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet to make it easier to move them in and out of the oven. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cakes are baking, add 1 oz. cream cheese, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract to a bowl. Let them come to room temperature, so they are soft and easy to work with.
It’s easier to whisk the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla together into a paste before adding the powdered sugar. Once you have the soft paste, add the powdered sugar a little at a time until it’s all incorporated.
Ta-da! Now let these cool before adding the icing (or else it will melt and slide off).
Once the cakes are no longer hot-hot (a little warm is okay), slather that delicious icing over top. Oh my.
And enjoy.
It’s so nice to see recipes for smaller servings. Usually, when I make things for me and my daughter, we have so many leftovers. This is great!
This recipe was awesome! My kids loved them and the clean up was minimal.Thanks :)
I love the idea of scaling down the recipe for two people! I like cake now and then, but between myself and my partner we won’t finish the whole cake so half of it will end up in the trash. The finished product looks delicious and I can taste the frosting on my lips just by looking at the pictures. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I didn’t have ramekins, so I used 4 silicone muffin cups and baked for 18 minutes (will probably cut it to 16 minutes next time), and they turned out great.
I’m really digging these desserts for two, thank you. I’d love a chocolate cake one :D
How about this one? https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/02/chocolate-lava-cake-for-two-or-one/
This was pretty nice. I went half on the sugars and it was still nice and sweet. I wish there was a more exact measurement on the carrot because I think my “medium” carrot might have been too big :) I think I will try more cinnamon and less nutmeg next time as well. I was super impatient with the frosting and put it on too soon, but all in all it was a nice carrot cake. I will try this one again for sure!
I just made your recipe and the cake is AMAZING!!! It is moist. The spices and carrot are in perfect harmony. Just wow!!!! Thank you!
Can you sub butter for the oil?
It will change the texture slightly, but I think it will still be okay. Just be sure to melt the butter first.
Looks delicious..but that’s a lot of mixing for just two cakes. Why not just make a full batch and freeze the extra for later?
These look so cute! And I love carrot cake. Will try these, but may have to increase to five. There is five of us here, LOL.
definitely saved for that moment when the doctor will let me try my luck with gluten and sugar again XD carrot cake is best cake.
How much walnuts can I add to the carrot cake? Thanks, Beth!
A couple tablespoons, maybe? It’s flexible. :)
These small carrot cakes look perfect! They are going on the to do list.
The Old Fat Guy
Thank you so much for this! This is just what I was looking for. Hands down, you are amazing.
Wow Beth! This is an awesome recipe!
I know everyone is saying it – but it is fantastic that it just serves two. I am dreadful at down sizing cake recipes so I am so happy I found your recipe.
These would be so cute baked in the silicone mini Bundt cups I found at the dollar store. The recipe will probably make more than 2 because the molds are so small. Great for just a bite.