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 brown butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting and you have yourself a delicious treat for spring, Easter, or 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
Single Layer Carrot Cake
Author:Ingredients
6 inch single layer carrot cake
- ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, room temperature
- ½ cup Finely Grated Carrots
- ¼ cup Chopped Walnuts, optional for either adding to batter or as garnish (can also use chopped pecans)
small batch browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- ¼ cup Unsalted Butter, browned and cooled to solid state
- 4 oz Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 2 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Instructions
6 inch single layer carrot cake
- Adjust your oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat your oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a 6 inch cake pan with a flour based baking spray or grease and flour. If you choose, you can also add a 6 inch parchment paper circle to the bottom of the pan, and to the outside, a cake baking strip. Set to the side.
- With a small mixing bowl and a whisk, blend together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set to the side.
- In a separate medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and egg.
- Add the whisked dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk together until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the cake batter.
- Fold in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts (optional ingredient, can also use chopped pecans).
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350ºF or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the cake pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, frost with the small batch browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Garnish with chopped walnuts (optional ingredient, can also use chopped pecans).
small batch browned butter cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- In a medium-size (light colored recommended) saucepan melt the unsalted butter over medium heat. Continue to stir as the butter begins to bubble and foam, then subsides. This is the water evaporating from the butter. Continue to heat until the butter turns a light color brown and has a nutty aromatic flavor. From start to finish this step will take roughly 7-8 minutes.
- Immediately remove the browned butter from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl. Cover lightly and place in the refrigerator to cool and solidify. This takes about an hour. If you made the browned butter in advance, bring it to room temperature 20-30 minutes before adding.
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the browned butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and cinnamon and continue to mix until well blened. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in your sifted powdered sugar until it's well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes more.
- Frost your cake once it's completely cooled.
Recipe Notes
Pamela Katzenberg says
This Carrot Cake was absolutely INCREDIBLE! The frosting alone was SO good! I had to have major self control in not eating the entire batch! The cake was moist, flavorful and a carrot cake lovers dream come true! Not difficult to make either! Really, REALLY enjoyed this! Thank you! 😃😋🥰
Jennifer says
I am so glad you loved it Pamela, thank you!❤️
Natalia says
Hi! I only have a 9-inch cake pan, should I double or triple the recipe? I'd love to try this for Christmas.
Jennifer says
Hi! I haven't made this in a 9 inch pan, but you could double it, fill the cake pan, then use the remaining batter for cupcakes!
Anna says
Hello😊 I made this last night, but tried to make cupcakes. My cupcakes didn't rise at all. I want to make them again, because they were still delicious! The frosting is wonderful as well. I'm wondering if I need to put baking powder next time? Or could my baking soda have been old, maybe?
Jennifer says
Hi! Bummer they didn't rise, but glad you still enjoyed them. Yes, I would definitely try them again with some new baking soda!
Maria says
Hi, this cake looks amazing! What tip did you use for decorating? And was it a wilton? Thank you 🙂
Jennifer says
Hi Maria! I'm so sorry, I keep meaning to add this to the blog post, but keep forgetting. I used the Wilton 1M cake decorating tip!
Kim says
I only have an 8imch pan, will it still work?
Jennifer says
I didn't test the recipe this way, so can't say for certain it would. This cake is maybe 2 inches high when made in the 6 inch pan. So I think making it in an 8 inch pan would give you a pretty thin layer of cake.
Taylor says
This carrot cake recipe was perfect!! It was so moist, tender, and quick to throw together. Even my dad, who isn't usually the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting, ate two pieces because it was "soooo fluffy"!
Alaina says
This turned out great! Made everything as written and it was the perfect lil treat 🙂
Emily says
This cake was easy to make and delicious! It was moist and flavorful with a frosting that pulled it all together. I could have eaten the frosting by the spoonful!
Teresa says
Made this for the kids (ranging from 4-9yo) and they all absolutely LOVED it!
Im not very good at decorating so I had about half of the frosting left over. Next time I will make two 6” cakes and frost them with one batch of the frosting.
Annie says
The icing recipe here deserves 10/5 stars. It was absolutely amazing, with the brown butter complementing the cream cheese. I doubled the cake recipe and made 12 cupcakes and the single frosting recipe was more than enough.
The cake recipe was pretty good, but this icing will forever be in my rotation.
Pippa says
I just made this today and it’s so amazing! I used 60 grams of powdered sugar instead of 240 grams. Because my dad isn’t really a sweet tooth. But I just tried it and it tastes amazing. It’s moist, fluffy and I love the cinnamon and browned butter combo. It’s so comforting! And it’s still sweet enough for me even though I used less sugar. I also love the crusty bit around the cake. It tastes a bit more sweeter and like caramel. This is one of the best recipe I’ve ever made.
BERNADETTE MOLLOY says
This was delicious!! I will be making it again. I would like to make it in a 9X13 pan. Should I double and cook longer?
Jennifer says
I'm so glad you loved it, thanks! I haven't made this in a 9 x 13 inch pan, but if you google baking pan conversion sizes you'll be able to determine how much batter you would need to fill that pan and for how long to bake it. Just off the top of my head though, you will probably have to triple it to make this in a 9 x 13. Instead you can also take my carrot cake cupcakes recipe and double that.
BERNADETTE P MOLLOY says
Thank you!
Alicia C says
This is recipe for carrot cake is honestly amazing!!! I am not usually a big fan of carrot cake as I find the frosting can be way too sweet. However this frosting is pretty perfect, not sickly sweet and the brown butter cuts through the sweetness nicely adding a great nutty, almost caramelly flavour. The cake itself is moist, not oily, and the spice is a nice addition. I did use half soft dark brown sugar for extra flavour. I made this into a 3 layer cake, trippling the cake batter and only doubling the frosting which was more than enough. Couldn't recommend this recipe more!
Jennifer says
Thank you so much, Alicia! And thank you for sharing a photo of it on Instagram!❤️
Amy says
Hi Jennifer, I have a question about the frosting. Most cream cheese frostings are quite soft and don’t hold up well, how does this one compare? Does using browned butter (removing some of the water) help it become more stable/pipe-able than a normal recipe? I’d like to make this as a layer cake for a wedding but don’t want it to melt if left out for a few hours.
Jennifer says
Hi Amy, thanks for your question! This is definitely a thicker cream cheese frosting where I've been able to easily pipe a border to the top of the cake (see images in this blog post - or - if you have an Instagram account or TikTok, I shared on my @beyond.the.butter account (reels) how it looks with the piped border). And it should be fine if left out for a few hours too (out meaning still indoors or in a cooler environment). If leaving outside, I would be a bit more cautious given the current heatwave many of us have been experiencing. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Bethany says
The only 6-inch pan I have is a springform. Would that work with this recipe?
Jennifer says
I haven't tried making it in a 6-inch springform pan, but I think it should work okay! If it's known to leak a little though, maybe wrap a layer of aluminum foil underneath and/or bake it on a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.
Angelica Gruenwald says
If I want to make a 3 layer 6 inch cake shall I triple the recipe? Thanks it looks so yummy
Jennifer says
Hi! Yes, you certainly can. As one commenter noted, she tripled the cake batter, but only double the frosting recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Bethany says
This is the cutest little cake for the two of us! It's delicious, although it didn't rise very much. I baked it in a springform pan because that's what I had. Also, I didn't have as much cream cheese left as I thought I did (only 2 ounces) so I made up the difference with heavy whipping cream and it worked perfectly. I also used bourbon instead of vanilla.
Kirsten says
Great!! I always toast nuts before I add them to any batter, that way they don’t get mushy. And I bloomed the cinnamon in the brown butter, great combo!!😋Thanks!!!
Jennifer says
Thank you for trying the recipe and for the tips!
Nanamonster says
I used cake strips for the first time. My cake was the flattest cake I've ever baked and the edges were not crusty either. Thank you for this recipe and the suggestion as well.
Jennifer says
That's wonderful! I'm glad the recipe and the cake strips were a win!