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.
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!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Can these be cooked in the microwave?
I haven’t tried that, unfortunately.
I haven’t stopped thinking about carrot cake for days so I thought I may as well make one. I really didn’t want to make a huge cake because I’d definitely eat it all so I was so glad to find your recipe! Made the perfect amount for my partner & I & was absolutely delicious! So easy too! Thanks Beth!
I don’t know what u did wrong, but I only had enough batter for one ramekin and the batter was super thick, I baked it anyway and it was deflated
Meant “what I did wrong”
I made this for my boyfriend’s birthday last week and we LOVED the recipe! How would I convert this to make a larger cake – say for an 8″ round pan? I’ve offered to make it for my nephew’s birthday this weekend now ;)
Hmm, maybe try multiplying the ingredients by four… it’s hard to estimate if that will be enough for the 8″ pan, but that would be my first guess.
Great portion to make for a single individual . Two thumbs up.
I have to leave a comment here since it’s been around 10 times I do this recipe.
Super easy, foolproof and so good! Moist, sweet and spiced perfectly.
Thanks for sharing it, it is my favorites go to when my husband and I crave somehing sweet at 8pm since its so fast to prepare.
Yeah I don’t know what I did mine has no liquid in it it’s very thick but I’m baking it off anyway
Baked these today… Wonderful recipe to satisfy our sweet tooth with overdoing it… Perfect for two old lovers of sweets…
Released them from the ramekins before frosting and they turned out beautiful..
Will make a double batch for card night with friends…
Thank you… :O)
Hi Beth,
Love the carrot cake for two, and make it all the time. Do you have a similar recipe for zucchini cake?
Thanks very much.
Unfortunately I don’t… yet. ;) I bet you could just replace the grated carrot with grated zucchini, though! Maybe press out the extra water first?
Could you tell what of vegetable oil did you use?
It’s just labeled “vegetable oil” on the bottle and I think it’s usually a blended mix of vegetable oils (probably mostly corn).
Looks so yummy…
My mom and I really like this recipe. She claims it taste just as good ad the ones we purchase at the bakery.
Hi Beth,
This looks awesome and I loooove anything with cream cheese frosting. This looks perfect since have a bunch of carrots that have just been chilling in the fridge for a while now. (Oops)
What is the reasoning for using the yolk only? Is it just too much egg for two cakes? I’d like to double the recipe and am wondering if I can just use one full egg.
Thanks!
Yep, I used the yolk only because with the whites it’s just too much egg/moisture. That being said, if you double the recipe and use the whole egg, it still may change the consistency some because the whites are protein and moisture, whereas the yolk has quite a bit of fat. So, I’m not quite sure how it will turn out with the whole egg used in a double recipe.
I thought I had everything on hand to make these, but it turned out we were out of carrots. (And I’d just gotten back from the store, so I wasn’t going back.) So, I subbed about half of a medium zucchini. SO GOOD.
EXCELLENT idea!! Bravo! :)
Made these for dessert last night. Soooo good and it was enough for 3 since I split mine with my daughter.