We aren’t big cake people. Well, that’s misleading. We love cake, but we can’t seem to eat a full-size cake fast enough. Everybody loves a cake the first day.
Weston’s birthday cake, one week later:
See? It’s not that the cake isn’t delicious, but after a few days, it loses its glamor. And freshness. And I’ve probably made some cookies or something by then and everyone gravitates to what’s fresh. I bake a lot, and I like fresh. I don’t keep a loaf of bread past three days if it’s not all gone. I give it to the chickens. I’m spoiled to fresh bread.
Back to cake– A new and rising issue at my house, too, is that I’m baking for fewer people. With Ross in the Navy, one big teenage boy is already gone and another will be leaving soon. That’s a big bite out of my baking audience. What’s going to happen when Weston goes to college? Do I have to give up cake? I know, I know, I could bake half-size cakes in 8-inch square pans and that would be fine. Only I like layer cakes. I like the presentation, and I like the icing in the middle. Don’t take away my icing in the middle.
Enter 6-inch round cake pans.
I contemplated what size cake pans to suit a half-size cake recipe and experimented with the 6-inch pans and they work perfectly.
Pair it up with a half-recipe of icing and you’ve got a layer cake that won’t outlast its welcome. It’s not always easy to find the off sizes in round cake pans. I found these at Michael’s (the craft store). You can also order them online. (Just do a search on Amazon etc.)
Here’s a tip to keep a clean cake plate when you’re frosting, by the way. Cut strips of parchment paper or wax paper and set the first layer down on top of them so that all the edges are lined with it.
You don’t have to worry about making a mess.
After frosting the cake, pull away the strips and it’s all clean!
The cake pictured here is a carrot cake. The kids don’t like carrot cake, which makes it perfect for the smaller pans. Instead of making a full-size carrot cake that wouldn’t get completely eaten, I made a half-size recipe.
I added 1/2 cup cooked grits to the cake, by the way! I’ve been trying grits in quite a few things recently. (I also used 1/2 cup cooked grits in a pesto the other night.)
If you’re interested in trying grits in different things, just experiment. I add anywhere from 1/2 cup to a full cup, depending on the size of the recipe. It adds a chewy texture to cakes and breads and cookies, and add substance to sauces etc. And, of course, it adds fiber and nutrition. And nobody knows it’s there but you!
Get my Spicy Carrot Cake recipe here.
Don’t forget the cream cheese frosting!
See All My Recipes
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Blessings says:
The carrot cake looks mouth watering good! I have never thought of buying 6 inch pans but will definately look for some as that would be perfect for hubby & I…as you mentioned…less waste..that’s a good thing:)
~~HUGS~~
On May 10, 2011 at 2:51 am
Granny Trace says:
:woof: TODAY is my pretend birthday and I will take that yummo Carrot Cake. I love cake.
Hugs Granny Trace
http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com
On May 10, 2011 at 6:08 am
smiledarlin says:
I did this same thing with pies. Love to make them but just couldn’t eat them fast enough. So at the Restaurant supply store I found 6 inch aluminum pot-pie pans and they make the perfect size- there are 3 of us in the house and we each get one piece… works well for the diet!
On May 10, 2011 at 9:03 am
redhot1n says:
So do you just 1/2 all the ingredients, when making the little cakes. Is the cooking time adjusted at all?
On May 10, 2011 at 9:39 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
redhot1n, yes, I just cut the recipe in half for all the ingredients. It took just as long to bake in the 6-inch pans, but I used cooked grits in this cake, which makes it moister and more dense, so that might be why.
On May 10, 2011 at 10:23 am
msmitoagain says:
That happens at our house too. Only 2 of us so a whole cake usually gets wasted.
On May 10, 2011 at 9:51 am
Window On The Prairie says:
Just to let you know that in future, you can mail any food to me that might go to waste otherwise. My address is: 2840 Falcon…. 😀
On May 10, 2011 at 9:55 am
cabynfevr says:
We have the same problem now that’s it’s only me and my husband. What I do though is after we have our share the first day, I slice it into individual servings and freeze them. They stay nicely and it cuts down on the tendency to overindulge!
On May 10, 2011 at 10:07 am
TinaBell says:
Great idea! And cute, too. I’m afraid I’d be tempted to eat the whole thing myself just because of it’s adorable, ‘personal-sized’ appeal! :hungry:
On May 10, 2011 at 10:14 am
bigbearsmomma says:
Love the little cakes idea. I am the only one who eats the cake fast enough and Lord knows that I don’t need to eat a whole cake.
On May 10, 2011 at 11:11 am
Trasee says:
Oh my goodness… This cake looks amazing!
On May 10, 2011 at 11:33 am
Darlene in North GA says:
Ok, so do you want me to tell you how to make cake in a mug? Well, I don’t make it in the mug because I don’t have a 12 oz mug, so I make it in a cereal bowl and it works a treat. Single serving cake in 5 mins from start to finish. :devil:
On May 10, 2011 at 12:06 pm
jeepdriver says:
Little cakes! What a clever idea but how do the girls down in the goat yard feel about it?
On May 10, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Heather Weather says:
Oh, these look really, really good 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 🙂
On May 11, 2011 at 1:13 pm
ibnsgirl says:
I absolutely love this idea! I have 4 small kids, so eating the cake isn’t necessarily the problem….it’s just that somehow I always eat it, too!
Plus, two of those kids have birthdays 10 days apart, so that way we could have a bit of a break between cakes!
Thank you for the idea!
On May 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Joell says:
:happybutterfly:
I have to say, these 6 inch cake pans are just wonderful, If you are looking for them, I asked Suzanne om another post where she purchased them, they are available at Micheals Crafts, for about $6 and change each, they are good Wilton pans. I looked at several different sites and they where more than double in price.
I love mine.
On April 4, 2012 at 5:29 pm