Mini Coconut Carrot Cakes With Candied Ginger

Directions

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350ºF with a rack in the center position. Grease and line the bottom of a 9x13-inch rectangular baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt; mix together on the top before fully mixing it into the wet ingredients. Stir in the shredded carrots and toasted ½ cup of the coconut flakes (save rest for decorating). Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let it cool completely in the pan.
3. Flip the cake onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice it lengthwise into three equal strips, wiping the knife clean between each cut. Then, cut each strip into eight equal pieces along the short side. You should end up with 24 mini cakes (8x3).
4. Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. Starting on low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly up, beaut until the frosting is light and fluffy. The idea is to “whip” the cream which will help this.
5. Add the cream cheese and beat until just combined. Avoid overmixing as this will draw out too much moisture from the cream cheese and make the frosting less stable.
6. Transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with the chosen tip, then pipe onto each mini carrot cake. Decorate with the remaining toasted coconut and the sliced candied ginger.