Today is my lovely, generous, kind, wonderful, strong, handsome husband Justin’s Birthday! It just so happens to be his 30th birthday today and I thought I’d do a little something special for him. We’ve been together now for 11 birthdays and for as long as I can remember I’ve always made him carrot cake. Each year I try to do a little something different than the normal two-tiered cake. I’ve made carrot cake into bundts, cupcakes, sheet cake, and this year I decided on mini cast iron skillet cakes. Which I’ll admit was a challenge because I only used two mini cast irons so I had to adjust/cut the recipe. But it turned out fantastic.
And when a baking recipe of mine turns out fantastic, I have to share it. I don’t bake often so when I do, it needs to be documented.
Not your normal carrot cake, a couple ingredients makes it a little extra special. Justin loves pineapple so it was a no brainer to add crushed pineapple. Rum extract gives it a little something extra, the extract tastes like rum without being overly boozy. And buttermilk is my secret weapon when it comes to cake baking. It gives it some extra needed moisture and acid.
Now I didn’t frost this like a normal cake. Typically I make my cream cheese pineapple rum frosting for this cake, but I thought it was more appropriate to serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the warm cake. A little drizzle of glaze didn’t hurt either.
These cakes are each shareable for two. This recipe is for two mini 6.5 inch cast iron skillets so it’s plenty of cake for four people. If you have four mini 3.5 inch skillets those are definitely more single serving sizes. You can also use a large 12 inch skillet for this recipe. Just keep in mind that this particular recipe is for two mini skillets.
So let’s pop the champagne, sing Happy Birthday to my Justin, and dig into some cake!
Cast Iron Skillet Carrot Cake
I used two 6.5 inch mini cast iron skillets for this recipe. If you have 3.5 inch mini cast iron skillets, you can use up to four or one large 12 inch skillet to fit this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1/3 cup Buttermilk
- 1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Rum Extract
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour or Cake Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 large Carrot, shredded
- 1 can {8 ounces} Crushed Pineapple, drained
- 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Rum Extract
- Vanilla Ice Cream, for serving
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 6.5 inch cast iron skillets with nonstick cooking spray and set on a sheet pan.
- Step 2 In a large bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and rum extract until well combined. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully mixed together. Fold in the shredded carrots, drained crushed pineapple, and walnuts.
- Step 3 Pour evenly into the prepared skillets. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove and cool slightly.
- Step 4 Prepare the glaze while the cake cools. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk and rum extract until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
- Step 5 Scoop vanilla ice cream on the still warm cake and serve immediately. There’s nothing better than a warm cake and ice cream for dessert.
Savor and Enjoy!
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