Carrot and Spice Mini Bundt Cake

Spring in my family is filled with celebrations, from birthdays to holidays, which means lots of opportunities to make delicious goodies, including these carrot and spice mini bundt cakes.  Over the weekend we had a family birthday celebration for my Mom whose actual birthday was a few weeks ago.  She requested a carrot cake and so I went to searching to find the perfect recipe.  If you have been reading the blog for a while, you have probably noticed that I love baking, especially bundt cakes.  Last year, I made a wonderful chocolate bundt cake for her drive-by socially distanced celebration, and you can find the recipe for that scrumptious cake here. 

This recipe for carrot and spice mini bundt cakes can easily be used in a full-sized bundt pan, or even as muffins (minus the frosting) but I just love how cute miniature bundt cakes look.  I used this mini bundt cake pan. Now, the recipe below is based on a cake mix that I doctored up.  If you are looking for a homemade carrot cake recipe, click here for the cake I made for my grandmother’s 95^th birthday.  I love doctoring up box mixes; they are so easy to make and taste just as great as scratch cakes do. 

Serves 8

Ingredients:

(For the cake)
1 Carrot Cake Box Mix
1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (3.4 to 3.9 ounce size)
3 Eggs
¾ Cup Water
½ Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Sour Cream

(For the cream cheese frosting)
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions for Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, mix together carrot cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs, oil, and sour cream.  If you have a stand mixer, I highly recommend using it for this recipe.  The cake batter is very dense and will become difficult to mix well by hand or with a handheld mixer.  Mix for two minutes at medium speed. 
3. Grease a mini bundt cake pan with butter or cooking spray for baking (such as PAM Baking made with Flour) and set aside. 
4. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.  Be sure to fill each cavity up just below the center post.  The cakes will puff up in baking and deflate while cooling.  I tapped the pan on the counter, so the batter laid in an even layer in each cavity. 
5. Bake the mini bundt cakes at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
7. After 5 minutes transfer cakes to a wire cooling rack.  Allow the cakes to cool down and come to room temperature.  It is important to remember to let the cake cool completely before frosting it, otherwise, the frosting will melt.

Directions for Frosting:

1. While the cake is cooling prepare the cream cheese frosting. 
2. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.  Mix for 3 minutes, until the combination becomes smooth and creamy. 
3. Fill a pastry bag with a round piping tip.   Pipe icing on each cake starting at the bottom and finishing in the center of the bundt hole. Repeat until the cake has lines of icing all the way around.

If you are looking for other baked good recipes, you might enjoy looking through my collection of recipes here. One of my favorites is the whipped maple frosting waffle cake. It’s oh so good and perfect for brunch celebrations! 

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