Carrot Cake for Two

Seriously, Jim sometimes walks into the kitchen randomly and asks if there is carrot cake.  As if it is supposed to be a regular, if not permanent feature in the fridge.

The problem is, I would eat way too much of it, if it were around all the time.  We both love it that much.  For this reason, as well as the fact that we are still doing the social distancing thing and not having friends over etc, I thought it would be good to take one of our favourite desserts and make it ‘just the right size’.  This new little version is perfect for two, maybe four people, max.  But this doesn’t mean that there is only enough for one piece each.  Rather, it is more like two reduced-sized slices each.  This is the cake to make, when you just want to satisfy a craving, but don’t feel the need to share!

So how does one go about re-calculating a recipe to reduce it?  Especially if ingredients like 3 eggs are involved?  Most of it is good old math class.  The math from when we were in grade 5 or 6.  A bit of fractions, measures and weights.

For measurements like 3/4 cup of sugar or milk, how do you split it in half?  Easy.  By determining how many tablespoons are in 3/4 cup.  One quarter cup has 4 tablespoons.  Therefore, 3 quarter cups has twelve tablespoons.  Half of this would be 6 tablespoons.  There, we have our adjusted measurement. 

Same goes for the tablespoon.  Say a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of salt.  We know that there are 3 teaspoons in one tablespoon. So your revised measurement will be 1 1/2  teaspoons. 

What about a weird measurement like 1 1/4 cups of flour?  Take the one cup and divide it, and you have 1/2 cup.  We already established that a quarter cup has four tablespoons, so half of this is 2 tablespoons.  So the revised measurement is 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons.

But what about eggs?  There is no easy way to say this.  You still need three eggs.  Not for the recipe itself, but to create the required 1 and 1/2 egg amount.  How the heck do you divide an egg in half?  So what we’ll need to do, is take all three eggs and whisk them, and pour them into a measuring cup.  One large egg is roughly 1/4 cup in volume.  Therefore the three eggs should hit the 3/4 line on your measuring cup, give or take a smidge.  From this, you will pour out half of it for your recipe.  Or you could use a tablespoon to measure out 6 tbsp worth. I just eyeball it from the measuring cup.  Save the rest of the eggs for breakfast the next morning.

You may wonder, ‘what if I just used an extra egg yolk, instead of cracking THREE eggs’?  Well, eggs are usually in a recipe for two reasons.  The yolk is a binder, helping all the other ingredients stick together.  The egg whites provide volume, helping the cake etc to rise.  So you really need both in a recipe.  And this is why you should also beat the three eggs very well to make sure that they are evenly broken down and well incorporated before you try and take half for your recipe.

Other than that, it’s pretty self explanatory.  As long as we know how many tablespoons in a quarter cup, or how many teaspoons in a tablespoon, we should be good.  When it comes to the smaller measurements, like 1/8 teaspoon of cloves, just go with a pinch or a smidge, you’ll be fine!

I give you enough icing to fully ice the cake if you want.  But feel free to just do what I did in these photos and keep the cake naked, with icing layered in between and on top.  Any extra icing can be stored in the freezer till the next time you want to make a mini cake.  Or frost some cupcakes.

You can decorate the top as you see fit.  I like toasted coconut, coconut chips, chopped walnuts, carrot ribbon curls etc.  Or feel free to leave the icing naked.  It will still taste amazing!

This cake will satisfy your sweet tooth without making you commit to a large cake in the fridge.  We’ve been trying (rather pathetically) to reduce the amount of sweets we are consuming, so half of the cake that I made went to friends.  Another couple, who were quite content to have a little nibble with their coffee.

You definitely don’t need to make this a layer cake.  You could just fill an 8 x 8 baking pan, for a quick snack cake.  But there is something so charming about a little layer cake, isn’t there?

Love Jen

5 from 1 vote

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Carrot Cake with Allspice Cream Cheese Icing for Two

All that you want a moist, tender carrot cake to be, just smaller! Perfect for when you have a craving, but don't really want to share!

Course Dessert

Keyword carrots, cream cheese icing

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

CARROT CAKE

• 3 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp kefir or buttermilk
• 6 Tbsp vegetable oil canola, sunflower or grapeseed
• 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut it can be sweetened or unsweetened, your call, I use sweetened
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped small
• 6 Tbsp crushed pineapple and juice

ALLSPICE CREAM CHEESE ICING

• 4 oz 125 grams cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup butter softened to room temperature
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups of icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour 2 6-inch round spring form pans (you can also use an 8 x 8 baking pan). If you choose to use springform pans, then try lining the bottom with parchment paper. I do this by layering the parchment on top of the bases, and then secure the sides and clamp, trapping the paper inside and outside the pan. This makes for easy removal once the cakes have cooled.

2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon.

3. Break the three eggs into a small bowl. Whisk well to break them down evenly. Pour these into a measuring cup. You should have roughly 3/4 cup. Use half of this for your recipe, and the other half can go into the fridge for tomorrow's scrambled eggs.

4. In a large bowl combine the eggs, kefir, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture to the bowl. Mix until all incorporated.

5. In a medium bowl combine the carrots, coconut, walnuts, and pineapple.

6. Using a large wooden spoon, stir the carrot mixture into the egg and flour mixture, Fold in well.
7. Pour into prepared pans.
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Start checking after 40 minutes. Remove when skewer comes out clean. Timing will be affected by the size of pans you are using.
9. Allow to cool completely on rack before icing. I actually chill the rounds in the fridge, even overnight.

ICING

1. In a stand mixer add the cream cheese, butter, spices and vanilla extract. Mix until completely smooth. Add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Stop when you have enough or it is sweet enough for your liking. If it is too thick use the milk to thin it out.
2. Wait until cake is completely cool to ice.

3. After chilling properly, it will be easy to cut away any domed part of the cake with a serrated knife. This will ensure that you have smooth, level surfaces to ice and layer. Save the scraps for snacking on while you ice the cake.

Recipe Notes

I say it feeds four, but it can probably feed six no problem!