Preheat the oven to 325℉ and coat a 11”x17” rimmed baking sheet with baking spray. Set aside.
Sift together the cake mix, pudding mix, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves in a large mixing bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, blend dry ingredients with the oil, water and eggs on low with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. By hand, fold in the carrots.
Pour the batter into prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 25-28 minutes until the cake is lightly browned, pulls away from the sides and passes a toothpick test.
Remove and allow the cake to cool fully, then place it into the refrigerator to cool for a minimum of one hour. Do not cover.
Remove from the refrigerator. Spray a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter with cooking spray and then cut out the circles of cake. Make sure to cut closely together and right on the seams to ensure you have enough space for 24 circles. Carefully transfer them to a piece of parchment paper or work space. Set side.
For the frosting:
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese and salt until light and fully blended.
Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and mix until light and fluffy.
Spoon the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip attachment. Alternately, you can slather it on using an offset spatula.
Pipe a large dollop onto 12 of the circles and then sandwich with another circle. Make another large (and potentially more decorative) dollop on the top of each.
Leave plain or decorate with pecans, freshly shredded carrot, candied walnuts or even use green and orange frosting to pipe out small carrots.
If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
What to Do With the Leftover Cake
You will be left with shreds of leftover spice cake. Unless you are like me and munched on it while making these.You can use these to make homemade cake pops, crumble it up and use it as a topping for the cakes (like red velvet cake) or cube it and layer it with whipped cream or pudding to make mini trifles. You’ll have enough for about two in rocks or wine glasses.