6 Inch Cake Recipes
Looking for small cake recipes? Here is the ultimate guide to baking 6 Inch Cake Recipes for two made from scratch for beginners. Flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and more!

Most cake recipes require an 8 inch pan or larger. Some are even two or three layers.
I love cake but my waistline certainly doesn’t. And I feel really guilty over food waste if I can’t find people to eat the leftovers.
There aren’t many small cake recipes for a 6 inch cake pan, which is why I wrote this ultimate dessert for two guide about 6 Inch Cake Recipes.
I rounded up all of my recipes for small cakes so you don’t have to go digging through my archives, ranging from my small chocolate cake and small vanilla cake to my small yellow cake and small red velvet cake.
Making small cakes means less food waste, cheaper by using less ingredient quantities, easier to adjust for dietary needs, and of course portion control.
Now my 6 inch cake recipes may not be literally two servings, but they’re catered for two people because they make a small amount (roughly 4-6 slices, depending on how hungry you are).
That means you can eat your small cake now then eat a little more later without having to throw away stale cake. Cake for dessert, cake for breakfast.
Bookmark these recipes for small cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, holidays, and any time you’re in the mood for cake!

Buying A 6 Inch Round Cake Pan
In order to make a 6 inch cake, you need to buy a 6 inch round cake pan. Easy enough, right?
A 6 x 2 inch round cake pan has a volume of 3 cups and can hold about 2 cups of batter to give it room to rise.
You can buy one online from Amazon (affiliate link) or from your local craft store in the cake decorating aisle.
I’m also starting to see them at big box stores like Walmart and Target.
Although my recipes are mostly for one layer cakes, I highly recommend buying two pans. That way you’re ready for a 6 inch 2 layer cake.
Plus if your current pan is in use, you have another one ready to go.
Did you know you can make chicken pot pie for two and shepherd’s pie for two in a 6 inch pan?
Now you can make both dinner and dessert!
How To Convert 6 Inch Cake Recipe To 8 Inch
If you don’t have a small cake pan, some readers have successfully made the cakes in 8 inch pans. I’m not a fan of this because the cake will be a lot thinner but could be beneficial for layer cakes.
Reduce the baking time by 5 minutes then check for doneness. If the toothpick is wet, keep going. If not, your cake is done.
You can also convert a 6 inch cake recipe to 8 inch by multiplying the ingredients by 1.5x. Sometimes you have to make minor adjustments, but it should get you in the ballpark!
Hate math? I have my 8 inch one layer chocolate cake for you to make without adjustments.
One 6 inch cake recipe also fits into three 4 inch springform pans, like my Mini Guinness Cake.
You can also turn 6 inch cakes into cupcakes or a Bundt cake! Check out my Small Batch Cupcake Recipes and Small Bundt Cake for recipes.

How To Make a 6 Inch Cake
Most cake for two recipes follow the same steps:
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and any flavorings
- Gradually add your dry ingredients, sometimes alternating with milk.
- Transfer batter to a greased 6 inch pan then bake.
My small carrot cake recipe is made a little bit differently as it uses vegetable oil instead of butter, so you beat the oil, sugar, buttermilk, and egg together.
How long should you bake a 6 inch cake?
Depending on the batter, you bake a 6 inch cake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes. Some recipes require 30-35 minutes. Always follow what the recipe tells you.
To tell if your cake is done, insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. A few crumbs are ok, but you definitely don’t want wet batter.
Not only will it be underbaked it’ll also collapse in the middle, leaving you with a crater.

How many servings will a 6 inch cake feed?
Serving sizes are subjective, especially if you only want a small bite of cake. Generally 6 inch cakes can be sliced into 4-6 slices, making it about 4-6 servings per 6 inch cake.
However, if you slice the cake small enough, you can push for 8 slices, equaling 8 servings. That way you can serve my Small Birthday Cake for someone’s birthday and have enough slices for everyone.
Hosting a small Thanksgiving or Christmas for two? Serve my Small Pumpkin Cake or Small Gingerbread Cake for dessert. There will be enough food at dinner that a small 6 inch cake will be plenty of dessert.
Feeling a bit fruity? Check out my Small Strawberry Cake, Small Lemon Cake, and Small Coconut Cake.
Want cake for breakfast? I got you covered with my Small Coffee Cake recipe.
Ultimately serving size is up to you depending on how small you cut your 6 inch cake.

How much buttercream do I need for a 6 inch cake?
You can’t serve your 6 inch cake recipes without frosting! That’s why I also have a list of small batch frosting recipes and ganache so you’re not stuck with leftovers.
You’ll need roughly 1 cup buttercream for your small cake recipes. Some popular frosting recipes are:
- Small Batch Chocolate Frosting
- Small Batch Buttercream
- Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Strawberry Buttercream
- Lemon Buttercream
Is buttercream too sweet for you? Go for a bit of tang with one of these cream cheese frostings:
- Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Finally, for specialty cakes I have German Chocolate Frosting and Coconut Frosting.
Looking for small cake recipes? Here is the ultimate guide to baking 6 Inch Cake Recipes for two made from scratch for beginners. Small Chocolate Cake is a moist and delicious one layer chocolate cake you can make from scratch without a cake mix. This Small Vanilla Cake recipe is a tender 6 inch vanilla cake decorated with creamy buttercream frosting. It’s the perfect one layer vanilla cake for birthdays, anniversaries, and more! Homemade Small 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake For Two is a moist and delicious one layer chocolate cake you can make from scratch without a cake mix. Recreate your favorite yellow cake mix from scratch with Small 6 Inch Yellow Cake For Two. Homemade Small 6 Inch RedVelvet Cake For Two is a moist and delicious one layer red cocoa cake fromscratch without a cake mix. Top it with cream cheese frosting. Small Birthday Cake for two with buttercream frosting and sprinkles helps make life a little sweeter. Recipe made from scratch without cake mix. Small 6 Inch Strawberry Cake is made from scratch using fresh strawberries. No cake mix and no strawberry jello! This Small Lemon Cake recipe is a 6 inch lemon cake for two from scratch then decorated with homemade lemon buttercream frosting. Welcome sunny days into your kitchen with this Lemon Raspberry Cake! It’s a 6 inch lemon cake with a raspberry filling and raspberry frosting and is the perfect small layer cake for any occasion. This 6 inch Small Coconut Cake recipe with coconut milk is a coconut cake for two from scratch decorated with homemade coconut frosting. This Small Vanilla Cake recipe with a cherry filling is a 2 layer 6 inch cake perfect for any occasion. This Small Coffee Cake recipe without sour cream is light and fluffy with fresh blueberries and a buttery streusel crumble topping. This Small Banana Cake with cream cheese frosting is a sweet, moist, and tender 6 inch banana cake made using only one banana. Tastes like cake, not banana bread! This 6 inch Small Carrot Cake recipe with pineapple, coconut, walnuts, and raisins is a super moist carrot cake for two from scratch decorated with homemade cream cheese frosting. This small 6 Inch Gingerbread Cake recipe made from scratch without cake mix is a moist and fluffy cake that tastes like Christmas in every bite.6 Inch Cake Recipes
Small Chocolate Cake
Small Vanilla Cake Recipe
Small German Chocolate Cake
Small Yellow Cake
Small Red Velvet Cake
Small Birthday Cake
Small Strawberry Cake
Small Lemon Cake Recipe
Lemon Raspberry Cake
Small Coconut Cake Recipe
Cherry Vanilla Cake
Small Coffee Cake Recipe
Small Banana Cake
Small Carrot Cake Recipe
Small Gingerbread Cake
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I have made the chocolate cake recipe twice. It has a nice chocolate taste and is moist. Also frosted cake with the cream cheese frosting, and it’s very good. My family of three lines cake so your recipes are perfect. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing, Denise! Glad you and your family are enjoying the chocolate cake.
I love the idea of a smaller, 6″ cake. I live alone and if I make a regular-sized cake, some of it will often go to waste.
Yes I hate that! And sometimes I simply don’t see anybody to take it off my hands before it dries out. Let me know if you try anything!
My family loved the 6″ chocolate cake that I made following the recipe. I am a big fan of chocolate+orange combination so tried replacing the hot water with some orange juice and added some orange zest. The result was fabulous! Frosted with raspberry buttercream that I had ready in my fridge-awesome! Am making this again.. And again! Thank you!
Oh using OJ instead of water is genius. Loving the sound of chocolate, orange, and raspberry together. Thanks for sharing your version!
Dessert for 2 is perfect! I always feel so bad making a beautiful cake and seeing it go to waste!
Ditto. Throwing away cake is the worst. Let me know if you make any of the recipes!
I have six inch square pans. Do they use the same amount of ingredients and bake time?
A 6 inch round pan holds 3 cups volume. I don’t have a 6 inch square pan to measure for you. The easiest way to measure is to fill it to the top with water then measuring how much water it holds. If it’s also 3 cups, then it’ll be roughly the same. If not, you’ll have to adjust for the difference.
To make a two-layer 6-inch cake, can you just double the recipe? Or isn’t it that simple?
Yes, you can double the recipe.
I made the chocolate cake last night and it was fantastic! So rich and chocolatey and the perfect size for my family of 5 to each have a small piece. It scratched the sweet tooth itch without overindulging. Because I never seem to have time or the motivations to make frosting, I instead spread a thin layer of peanut butter on top and drizzled a little chocolate sauce. So pretty and decadent! I’ll try it again with strawberry preserves on top next time.
Hey as long as you enjoyed the “frosting”, that always work! Glad everyone enjoyed the cake.
recipe for 6 inch coconut cake please
I’ll add it to my list!
Thank You. Hard finding single layer 6 inch cake recipes. Also looking for 6 or 7 inch pie recipes.
I’ve gotten multiple requests for 6 inch pies, so I need to buy a pan and work on some recipes. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Carla
Hope you are well.
I was overjoyed to find your website and see your 6 inch cake recipes. However, the ingredients are all given in US cup sizes. Is it possible for these to be shown in metric or please could you advise of the amounts for the 6 inch cakes you have in either grams or ounces. (preferably grams).
I would be sincerely grateful to you if this was possible. Please drop me an email in due course.
Kindest regards.
Deborah
I don’t have the metric measurements at this time. However, you can use this handy conversion chart https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Please I’d love a 6 inch prune cake recipe. It’s delish!
I’ll add it to my list!
Banana cake, please, 😊
Thanks for the suggestion! I do love banana cake and will add it to the list.
I love your recipes!!! I have made the Strawberry, my husband says it’s the best strawberry cake he has ever had. I sooooo agree! The chocolate, pumpkin, german chocolate, vanilla were also VERY good. My favorite has been the carrot, so tasty! The lemon for me was lacking in flavor, kind of bland but still good. Just not very lemony. Making the coconut this weekend, can wait, I just know it’s gonna be tasty! Thanks for all the recipes, I will be making them for years to come.
Sorry to hear you didn’t like the lemon cake. I made sure it had enough lemon between zest and juice, but ok. Glad you like the other cakes though!
Love this site
Thanks!
I love how you included frosting recipes with your cake recipes. But, do you have a small batch French or Italian buttercream recipe in your arsenal? I typically do not use American buttercream on my cakes. Thanks, Chef Ann
At this time I do not. It’s on my list but not sure when it’ll happen.