Not too sweet and with a hint of spice, these Ginger Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze are the perfect Easter or Springtime treat. Forget storing or serving a multiple layer cake! These mini cake loafs are perfectly portioned for a single serving.
I love carrot cake. L-O-V-E. Hands down my absolute favorite. That says a lot considering I’m not the world’s biggest fan of cake. And with Easter just around the corner, I thought it fitting to create a new recipe when Andy’s parents visited last week. But not a huge cake. Sometimes those two layer cakes are just down right daunting. So much to eat. Difficult to store. You get the gist. Instead, I went with mini loaf cakes. Forget mini loaves of bread, mini loaf cakes are where it’s at!
With these smaller sized cakes, they made serving them so easy! Everyone gets their own cake. No cutting slices that will topple over or anything of the sort. One cake per person. Or two. Whatever you’d like, I’m not going to judge.
What I did with these cakes is to try to cut the sweetness often associated with carrot cake and the cream cheese frosting that it’s often adorned with. Instead, these cakes contain a hint of spic from the addition of ginger to the cake batter. It’s amazing how a small amount of ginger can create a big wow factor! If you’re feeling especially daring, double the ginger for even more spice.
I also swapped out the traditional frosting for a cream cheese glaze. Although I love frosting as much as the next person, I wanted the focus to remain on the cake itself. This glaze is the perfect consistency to drizzle across the top and let drip down the sides. So pretty!
And to prove that I really do love cream cheese, I created a faux marbeling in the cake by simply layering cake batter with a cream cheese mixture and then topping it with more cake batter. No toothpick swirling here, my friends! Instead, the cake batter layers use a handy thing called gravity to push the cream cheese between it around. I love that no two cakes look alike but they’re all equally delicious!
- 1¼ c applesauce
- 2 c sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 c flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 2 c shredded carrots
- 1 c coconut
- 1 c chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, NOT drained
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preparing mini loaf pan by spraying with vegetable oil.
- In bowl of electric mixer, combine applesauce, sugar and eggs.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger and mix until just combined.
- Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Stir together ingredients in small bowl until smooth
- In greased mini loaf pans, in each well add approximately 1-1/2 tablespoons of cake batter. Top with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture and then another 1-1/2 tablespoons cake batter.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
- In bowl of electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar.
- Add vanilla and milk and mix until combined.
- When cakes are cool, drizzle with cream cheese glaze.
But we haven’t talked about my most favorite part of this recipe yet! These make the most perfect gift for neighbors, teachers, friend, the mailman – whomever! – for Spring or Easter.
Don’t believe me? Check out how my uber-talented friend Jennifer packaged them!
That basket, perfectly sized to fit the mini cake loaf? The most adorable thing ever! As if I wouldn’t absolutely love anyone that brought me cake, but if they brought it packaged like this they might just become my new best friend! Those pink pom pon bunny tails are just too much. I couldn’t keep the hands of two little girls away!
You can find instructions on how to create Jennifer’s amazing mini card and basket here.
These look yummy, do they need to be refrigerated?
Hey, Debbie! Because the glaze is cream cheese based, I do store them in the fridge.
Oh these look amazing! I love carrot cakes as well. Ill have to add some ginger to mine next time. And your photos – ahhh-mazing! I love the little cake on top of the carrots. Just too perfect!
Thank you so much, Kelley – you’re so kind!
Your cakes are the perfect match to Jennifer’s adorable basket. Thank you for sharing a yummy recipe!
Thank you so much, Donna! Isn’t Jennifer’s basket amazing?!
Just pinned this, exactly what I’m looking to make with our garden carrots!
So many people in my family, myself included, are diabetic. Do you have any suggestions how to make this lower in sugar or maybe even a different diabetic recipe? I love Jennifer’s blog and came here from her. Thank you
Hey, Deborah!
I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience in creating diabetic friendly recipes and would hate to lead you astray. So sorry I’m not of more help!
Just tried your recipe. Two Thumbs Up! Delicious..not too sweet and just right moistness..
Totally made my day, Holly – so glad you liked them. Thanks for a moment to let me know!
Saw your link at The Weekend re-Treat Link Party and had to stop by and check out your yummy recipe! Pinned 😉
Shauna @ The Best Blog Recipes
Thanks so much, Shauna – let me know if you give it a try!
Love these! The carrot and ginger combo sounds delicious, and who can resist a mini cake loaf? Definitely not me!
Thanks so much, Aida – so appreciate it!
I love these pictures! Like so cute with the carrot peel around the spoon! Love these Melanie!
Yummy, these look heavenly and have reminded me its been way to long since i’ve partaken in a slice of carrot cake
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for the recipe,sounds yummy.Do you know where I could get mini loaf pans?
Hi, Doris! Yes, I’ve included a link in my recipe to Amazon that carries the same mini loaf pan that I used for this recipe.
Thanks Melanie.I didn’t see that before.These will be gifts for my Easter brunch guests.
These sound great! Could the bread be made in muffin tins or small bread tins, adjusting the baking times?
Hi, Bonnie!
YES! You could definitely make in alternate pans and then adjust the baking time accordingly.