Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you've ever had a carrot cake bundtini from a bakery, you know how irresistible they are - soft, sweet, and topped with that signature swirl of cream cheese frosting.

But here's the thing: after testing and comparing, I discovered something surprising. These Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes are even better!

They're perfectly moist without being overly soft, packed with real carrots, crushed pineapple, and toasted pecans. The crowning glory is the thick, bakery-style cream cheese frosting swirled on top that holds its shape beautifully.

Best of all? They're made with simple ingredients and a technique that I tested and refined to achieve the perfect size and texture every time.

Quick Look at the Recipe

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 16 to 18 minutes
• Total time: About 40 minutes
• Special pan: Nordic Ware Brownie Bundt Pan
• Yield: 18 mini bundt cakes
• Skill level: Easy
• Make-ahead friendly: Yes
• Perfect for: Easter desserts, spring baking, small-batch treats, gifting

Jump to:

• Quick Look at the Recipe
• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Mini Carrot Cake Ingredients
• Step-by-Step: How to Make Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes
• Step-by-Step - The Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chula's Test Kitchen Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Other Easter/Spring Treats
• Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Perfectly moist without being mushy
• Real carrot cake texture with visible ingredients
• Bakery-style cream cheese frosting swirl
• Ideal for Easter, spring gatherings, or gifting
• Tested and refined for consistent results

Mini Carrot Cake Ingredients

Step-by-Step: How to Make Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes

1. Make the batter: Beat the butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and oil until combined. Add the eggs and milk; beat until combined. Beat in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Add the flour and beat on low speed just until incorporated. Finally, fold in the grated carrots, crushed pineapple, and toasted pecans.

2. Fill the pan: Spray the pan with nonstick spray. Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, add the batter to each cavity.

3. Bake: Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.

4. Cool and remove: Remove the pan from the oven, and cool for around 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, place the mini carrot bundt cakes in the Fared Brioche Standard Muffin Wrappers.

Step-by-Step - The Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Ingredients: For the frosting, you'll need cream cheese, unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar, clear vanilla, and fine sea salt.

2. Make the frosting: Beat together room-temperature cream cheese and butter. Add the confectioners' sugar in stages, beating well after each addition. Finish with clear vanilla extract and a pinch of salt; beat until well combined. If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar to achieve then perfect piping consistency.

3. Pipe frosting: If desired, place the mini carrot bundt cakes in Flared Brioche Standard Muffin Wrappers. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a 4B piping tip. Holding the piping bag vertically above the center of each mini cake, pipe a swirl outward to cover the tops of the cakes.

These Mini Carrot Bundt Cakes are everything I love about carrot cake in a perfectly portioned, bakery-style dessert. They're moist, flavorful, and structured just enough to hold their beautiful shape. In some ways, the best part is the thick swirl of cream cheese frosting that makes them irresistible.

Whether you're baking for Easter or just want a small, elegant dessert, these bundtinis are sure to impress.

After testing and comparing, I can confidently say: They're even better than the bakery version. Yum!

Chula's Test Kitchen Tips

• If you follow me, you probably know that I'm a fanatic about measuring ingredients, especially flour and packed brown sugar. These ingredients are key but are also prone to variability in how they are measured. If you don't have a kitchen scale, do yourself a favor and get one. They are inexpensive and invaluable in the kitchen.
• When developing this recipe, I tested three different scoop sizes to determine how much batter to use in the mini bundt pan.
  • 1 tablespoon scoop - too small
  • 1½ tablespoon scoop - better, but still too small
  • 2 tablespoon scoop - perfect!
• The 2-tablespoon scoop held 1.4 ounces of batter. With that amount, the batter rose and fully defined the bundt shape.
• I also experimented with the size of the shredded carrots and found that finer shredded carrots produced a slightly more uniform texture while still maintaining the classic carrot cake look and taste.
• To achieve the lighter crumb, I ultimately used Gold Medal Blue all-purpose flour. This flour has less protein than my standard King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour.
• This recipe uses half of an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple. I measured out 4 ounces, including the juice, and found that straining the pineapple through a wire mesh strainer to end up with 2 ounces of pineapple worked best, providing moisture without adding too much.
• I consistently use Bak-Klene ZT All Purpose Release Spray to spray the cavities of the pan. Perfect release every time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Easter/Spring Treats

Recipe