Mini Olive Oil Carrot Cakes with the Creamiest Cream Cheese Frosting
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(UPDATE: This carrot cake recipe post has been updated with the ingredients amounts in grams and some ingredients additions like brown sugar and spices for even more flavor in every bite.)
Aren’t these mini carrot cakes the cutest?! These mini carrot cakes are incredibly moist and super soft thanks to the olive oil and buttermilk I used in this recipe. You can use coconut milk for a dairy-free version. They are warm and spiced with a good amount of cinnamon and ginger and a touch of cardamom and all-spice. It has a ton of carrots and some chopped pistachios for extra crunch. Trust me the flavor will burst in your mouth after every bite!
I love baking carrot cakes. They’re Mariana’s favorite and it was the first kind of cake she ever had. I have made different versions depending on her favorite flavors at the moment, one time even doing a cherry cream cheese frosting because she was loving cherry jelly at the time. And the frosting has always been her favorite part. I know that wherever she is in Heaven, she will be devouring this latest version with olive oil and licking the creamy frosting because it’s mostly cream cheese. I kept butter to a minimum so the cream cheese truly shined. It’s such a perfect match!
Using olive oil here really makes this the best carrot cake EVER. I’m telling you, you need make these ASAP! You only need two bowls, very simple ingredients and 45 minutes total to make these carrot cakes. They ended up with an incredibly tender crumb and soooo pillowy and moist!
This recipe makes a deliciously carrot cake sheet cake on its own. But oh boy, aren’t these bite size mini cakes the cutest?! They only require an extra hour ahead and a cookie cutter to make this carrot cake totally EPIC! Or make the cake and frosting one or two days before you are planning on assembling them, totally fine!
What about the cake scraps Dev?
Ok, I hear you. And let me tell you that I made something kind of clever with the cake scraps that you have to try as well!!
After they were completely cooled down (I worked first the mini cakes so after a couple of hours), I cut them like “biscotti” or squared cookies if they were the scraps from the center and returned them to the oven at 300°. I let them toast for about a bit more than an hour, flipping them twice, until they were toasted. The pieces should barely yield when you poke them and should look toasty and deep golden brown. Let them in the tray exposed to dry out completely until the next day. If you have your windows open, wait until they have cooled down completely to cover them with loose paper towel. The important thing is to let them exposed to the air.
BEST SNACK EVER!!! These were an amazing surprise, I’ll probably make half recipe of the cake just to make these again. With coffee they were priceless! If you try it you will be remembering my words!
Making mini olive oil carrot cakes with the creamiest cream cheese frosting
1. I love making these with buttermilk. If you don’t have any you can mix 1 ¼ cup of pure coconut milk or regular milk with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice and let it rest at least 20 minutes. This is a homemade version of buttermilk. Also, start preheating your oven at 350°.
2. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. You can always place them in a small bowl with hot tap water for 3 minutes to speed up the process.
3. I like to shred the carrots and chop the pistachios before proceeding with anything else.
4. Next, I whisk in a bowl the dry ingredients. Technically you can do this while the eggs and sugar are being mixed, but you know how it is. This will be the time when you are not going to find the baking powder or you need to open a new bag of flour because the one in the canister is gone. Since respecting the mixing times is very important in this recipe, I prefer to have everything ready as much as possible before starting mixing the eggs.
5. I next serve the olive oil in a measuring cup, which is perfect for slowly streaming the oil later in the process.
6. I then start whisking the eggs with the sugar and vanilla for 5 minutes in high speed. During this time you can prepare your pan if you haven’t done so or quickly check your Instagram feed : )
7. Next it’s time to decrease the speed and thinly stream the olive oil into the eggs and sugar mixture. Slowly add the buttermilk and finish it up by adding the dry ingredients. As soon as you add the last of the flour mixture stop the mixer and finish the batter by gently mixing in the carrots and pistachios.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and the cake is done!! This cake makes and incredibly delicious carrot cake sheet cake. Just smear the cream cheese frosting and you are done as it is!
9. If making the mini cakes, you should place the pan in the fridge after 15 to 20 minutes of cooling down to make it firmer and able to hold the round shape. It’ll be way easier to cut them this way! Use a round small biscuit or cookie cutter to cut the cake disks. Cut them as close as you can so you can get the most disks. I got about 20 disks to make 10 mini layered cakes.
9. You can whip up the creamiest cream cheese frosting while the cake is baking or make it after while the cake is cooling down. You’ll only need half of the recipe, which is what I left you here, but you can make a whole batch a use it for another cake! This frosting will be good for many days in the fridge. Please check the post for the creamiest cream cheese frosting recipe if you want to know why is this frosting so creamy while being able to hold its shape pretty well, plus many tips for total success!
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You’ll need a small biscuit cutter or a tall round cookie cutter.
A sturdy 9” x 13” sheet cake pan. This purple sheet cake pan is a fun option as well.
A pretty mixing bowl for your kitchen.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Rosette Plum Tarts
Lemon Basil Olive Oil Cake
Classic Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
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This recipe is truly amazing and I hope you make it soon! If you don’t want to bother making the adorable mini cakes, you need to taste this as a regular cake. It’s so, so good!!
Don’t forget to share and tag me in Instagram (@devamadeo), Facebook (@DevAmadeo) when you make it. Love to see my recipes in your kitchens!
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Mini Olive Oil Carrot Cakes with the Creamiest Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Mini olive oil carrot cakes
◯ Buttermilk - 1 ¼ cup, 297g
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour – 2 cups, 280g
◯ Ground cinnamon - 1 ½ Tsp, 3g
◯ Ground ginger - 1 Tsp, 2g
◯ Cardamon - a good pinch
◯ All-spice - a good pinch
◯ Baking powder – 1 Tsp, 5g
◯ Fine sea salt – ½ Tsp, 3g
◯ Large eggs, at room temperature – 3
◯ Natural granulated sugar – 1 cup, 210g
◯ Brown sugar (you may use light brown as well) - ½ cup, 100g
◯ Vanilla extract – 1 Tsp, 4
◯ Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 cup, 212g
◯ Carrots, medium shredded – 2 cups, 264g
◯ Pistachios – 1 cup, 150g, medium chopped
◯ Crushed pistachios if desired to assemble the mini cakes
Creamiest Cream Cheese Frosting
(Note: This is half recipe of my Creamiest Cream Cheese Frosting. Check the original post here for many tip on getting the creamiest and studier frosting)
◯ Butter (salted or unsalted), a bit softened - 4 TBSP, 56g
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - 1 ½ cup, 192g
◯ Vanilla extract (optional) - ½ Tsp
◯ Fresh lemon juice - ½ Tsp
◯ Cream cheese (in bricks, not whipped, and still chilled) - 6 oz, 170g
Details
Yield:
9” x 13” sheet cake for 10 layered mini cakes
Total time:
1.5 hours, including making the frosting
Active time:
30 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or hand held mixer, large bowl, 9” x 13” cake pan, small cookie cutter for shaping the cakes
Steps
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9” x 13” cake pan with parchment paper or grease it with plenty of butter.
Using a hand whisk mix the 2 cups/264g of flour, the 1 ½ teaspoon/3g of cinnamon, the teaspoon/2g of ginger, the pinches of cardamom and all-spice, the teaspoon/5g of baking powder and the ½ teaspoon/3g of salt.
Place the 3 eggs, the 1 cup/210g of sugar, the ½ cup/100g of brown sugar and the teaspoon of vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk in high speed (level #8 in the Kitchen Aid) for 5 minutes.
With the mixer running, start drizzling slowly the 1 cup/212g of olive oil in a thin stream. Mix for 2 minutes. Decrease speed to the lowest (level #1 in the Kitchen Aid) and add the 1 ¼ cup/297g of buttermilk. Gradually add the flour mixture and run mixer just until you add the last of it. Remove bowl from mixer and with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon gently mix the 2 cups/264g of shredded carrots and the cup/150g of the pistachios already chopped, making sure there are not any visible streaks of flour when you finish mixing.
Pour batter evenly into your cake pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean after you insert it through the center. After it cools down for 15 to 20 minutes, place it in the fridge so it’s firmer and cooler to cut out the circles.
Note: if not doing the mini cakes, just let it cool down completely over the counter.
For making mini cakes, cut the cake using a 2” to 3” cookie cutter. Cut them as close as you can so you can get the most disks. If there are pieces of carrot hanging from the cakes, press them gently towards the cake. If they are bumby on top, level the bump with a serrated knife.
I got about 20 disks to make 10 mini layered cakes. Read above what to make with the scrapes.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
With a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand mixer using the beaters, beat the 8 tablespoons/113g of butter in medium speed (#4 in the Kitchen Aid) until loose and fluffy.
Place a large sieve over the bowl and sift the 3 cups/384g of confectioner’s sugar over, or sift it on a separate bowl and scrape it into the butter. Beat until a course crumbly paste forms.
Add the 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the teaspoon of lemon juice and mix.
Smear the 12 ounces/339g of cream cheese into the butter mixture as much as you can, then beat it until well incorporated. You would still see lumps of cream cheese.
Scrape the beaters and the walls and bottom of the bowl to reincorporate any pieces of cream cheese.
Change to the whisk attachment and beat still in medium speed (bring it down to speed #2 in using a stand mixer) until very creamy and silky, without any lumps of cream cheese. Stop and scrape the walls of the bowl one or two times in between to make sure cream cheese is incorporating well.
Chill for 30 minutes before frosting any cake.
You can make this cream cheese frosting a few days ahead, just let it out of the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes before working with it.
To assemble the cakes:
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the frosting on top on a round cake. Top with another round cake and spoon another tablespoon of the frosting. Sprinkle finely chopped pistachios on top to decorate.
