6 Inch Cake Recipes

posted by Carla on Apr 15, 2019 (updated Mar 17, 2023) 24 comments »

Looking for small cake recipes? Here is the ultimate guide to baking 6 Inch Cake Recipes for two made from scratch for beginners.

Baking a small cake for two is one of the hardest things to do.

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 small cake recipes 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.

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.

That means you can eat your cake now then eat a little more later without having to throw away stale cake. Cake for dessert, cake for breakfast.

Bookmark this guide for birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, holidays, and any time you’re in the mood for cake!

Homemade Small Chocolate Cake For Two is a moist and delicious one layer chocolate cake you can make from scratch without a cake mix.

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.

Although my recipes are mostly for one layer cakes, I highly recommend buying two pans. That way you’re ready for a double layer cake.

Plus if your current pan is in use, you have another one ready to go.

Bonus – 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!

What if I don’t have a 6 inch pan?

If you don’t have a 6 inch pan, some readers have successfully made the cakes in 8 inch pans. The cake will be a lot thinner, so you may want to reduce the baking time by 5 minutes and check for doneness.

If the toothpick has wet batter on it, then you can continue with the normal baking time.

Sometimes you can multiply the ingredients by 1.5 and get a thicker 8 inch cake.

Don’t have that either? Check out my Small Batch Cupcake Recipes for more small cake options.

Small Batch 6 Inch Yellow Cake with chocolate frosting

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, then gradually add your dry ingredients.

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.

Then you transfer the batter to a greased 6 inch round cake pan lined with some parchment paper. This ensures your cake won’t stick when you invert it after cooling.

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.

Small 6 Inch Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese frosting

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 Funfetti Cake for someone’s birthday and have enough slices for everyone (plus a few extras).

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.

Small 6 Inch Strawberry Cake made from scratch using fresh strawberries. No cake mix and no strawberry jello!

How much buttercream do I need for a 6 inch cake?

You can’t serve 6 inch cake recipes without frosting! That’s why I also have 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 my Small Batch Chocolate Frosting, Small Batch Vanilla Buttercream, Peanut Butter Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, and Lemon Buttercream.

Is buttercream too sweet for you? Go for a bit of tang with Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting, Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, and Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting.

Finally, for specialty cakes I have German Chocolate Frosting and Coconut Frosting.

Equipment You Will Need