This 6 inch Single Layer Carrot Cake is super moist and fluffy with the warmth of cinnamon and chopped walnuts in each bite. Pair it with this creamy browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting and you have yourself a delicious treat for any time of the year!

let's talk about the recipe!

This easy single layer carrot cake, adapted from my super moist carrot cake cupcakes, is the latest addition to my small batch recipes!

The key players in this cake recipe, which give it that moist and fluffy texture, are the vegetable oil, the egg, and—of course—the grated carrots.

The cinnamon adds a nice distinctive aromatic smell and the chopped walnuts give it a nice bit of crunch! Of course, the walnuts are an optional ingredient, but I do recommend including them.

And what cake wouldn't be complete without frosting, right? This cream cheese frosting has just the right amount of balance between the sweet from the powdered sugar and the nutty, aromatic flavors from browned butter and cinnamon. It smells absolutely wonderful and pairs perfectly with the carrot cake!

substitutions and optional ingredients

The optional ingredient in this recipe are the chopped walnuts. You can choose to add them to both the cake batter and as a garnish or leave them out entirely.

As a substitute, you can use chopped pecans. I've actually used both at the same time—walnuts for the cake batter and pecans for garnish. Basically because I ran out of walnuts 🙂

I did not test this adapted recipe using any flour substitutes, egg alternatives, or butter in place of vegetable oil.

To make regular cream cheese frosting (also small batch), use unsalted butter at room temperature instead of browned butter, and omit the cinnamon.

tips for making the best carrot cake

Skip the mixers. For this single layer carrot cake recipe you don't need any mixers. Just some mixing bowls, whisks, a spatula, and grater (for the carrots) will do the trick. To make the browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting, however, you will need a saucepan and a hand mixer or stand mixer.

Prep your ingredients. One of the keys to a successful recipe is prepping your ingredients first. For this carrot cake you will want to grate your carrots and chop your walnuts (unless you bought them pre-chopped) before starting. I used this medium grater from Microplane. For chopping the walnuts, you can place them in a sealed plastic bag and break them up using a heavy spoon or rolling pin, or you can use this small food chopper.

Don't over mix the cake batter. Mix the ingredients until they're just combined—meaning until you can no longer see it. This really comes into play when you mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

Use cake strips. I mention this in my single layer chocolate cake recipe post as well, but using a cake strip—it helps with getting a nice flat cake surface. I have a bunch from Wilton which I use regularly with my cakes and love them!

Cool the cake completely. Whether you are frosting your cake the same day or planning to store it in the refrigerator or freezer, you will want to let it cool completely.

First cool it in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then carefully invert it onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. It's one of my favorite steps with any cake recipe because you get this fabulous smell when you lift up that cake pan.

helpful baking tools

how to make browned butter

Use a light colored saucepan. Using a dark colored saucepan makes it difficult to see when the butter begins browning. I made this mistake when I first tried it and ended up burning it. No good.

Melt and brown over medium heat. From start to finish, you'll want to melt the butter and brown it over a medium heat. Do not boil it.

Bubble and foam. After the butter melts it will begin to bubble up and foam, then subside. This is the water evaporating from the butter and when the butter begins to brown. From start to finish, this took roughly 7-8 minutes.

Continually stir. This is for both the melting and the bubble foam stages of browning butter. I used one of my GIR heat-proof spatulas, but a whisk will work well here too.

Color and smell. When your melted butter has turned to light golden brown color and has a nutty aromatic smell, it's time to remove it from the heat. Another indicator that your browned butter is ready—seeing small brown bits at the bottom of your saucepan.

Pour and cool. Immediately after you remove the browned butter from the heat, pour it into a heat-proof bowl. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to cool and solidify. This takes roughly about an hour. I used one of my glass mixing bowls.

can I make the browned butter in advance?

Yes! You can make it up to 2-3 days in advance. Keep it in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap or use a sealed food container.

I made extra to use for some other recipes I'm working on. Some of them call for the butter to be melted, so I reheated the amount needed in the microwave. Use a food scale to make sure you're using the correct amount for whatever recipe you're making.

need tips on how to freeze an unfrosted and frosted cake?

Check out my single layer chocolate cake recipe! I give pointers on freezing an unfrosted and frosted cake, or cake slices.

more small batch recipes for you!

• Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
• Single Layer Chocolate Cake
• Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
• Mini Strawberry Nutella Tarts