Pumpkin Carrot Cake combines two of the best spiced cakes into one! With warming fall spices and cream cheese frosting, it’s a cozy fall favorite.
The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake
This may be my all-time favorite cake, and I think my boys would agree! I took my two favorite cake recipes on this site (carrot cake and pumpkin cake), combined them, and was blown away by the results.
This cake has incredible depth of flavor and is so moist and tender. The cream cheese frosting ties everything together beautifully, and there’s no way I’ll make it through fall each year without baking this cake.
Bring Ingredients To Room Temperature
Using room temperature ingredients will ensure the best-possible Pumpkin Carrot Cake texture.
- Using room-temperature eggs helps them blend more evenly into the batter, giving the cake a lighter texture (the eggs trap air).
- Soak refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature.
- Alternatively, pull the eggs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before using to make this Pumpkin Carrot Cake.
- Using room-temperature butter and cream cheese for the frosting will ensure a smooth, luxurious frosting without unpleasant chunks of cream cheese.
- Pull both out of the refrigerator about 45 minutes to 1 hour in advance.
- Alternatively, remove the cream cheese from the packaging. Place in the microwave and heat for 5 seconds, flip each and microwave for another 5 seconds. Continue to do this on each side of the cream cheese until softened to room temperature. Flipping frequently helps to evenly soften. Repeat in a separate bowl or plate with butter (I’ve found the two don’t soften at the same rate.)
Pumpkin Carrot Cake Tips
- Spoon and level the flour. If you pack in too much flour, the cake with be dry, dense, and less moist. Here’s a great video showing how to properly measure flour for this recipe.
- Grate carrots on the small holes of the grater. To ensure the right texture and even dispersion, we want the carrots very finely shredded. This is attained with the small holes on a grater.
- Thoroughly drain the pineapple. First, make sure you have the right can size — it’s easy to miss since there are so many different sized cans of pineapple! We want the 8-ounce (tiny!) can and for all the excess moisture to be drained out. I press out the liquid through a fine mesh sieve.
- Don’t overbake. To avoid dry cake, you’ll want to make sure you don’t overbake the layers; they can go from perfectly moist to far less flavorful in just a few minutes.
- Let the cakes cool for 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning them onto cooling racks to continue cooling. Wait for the cakes to be 100% cool before frosting.
Quick Tip
Don’t feel like every bit of the frosting needs to be used on this pumpkin carrot cake. I prefer to have a bit extra than to scramble and make more if needed. Use leftover cream cheese on these amazing pumpkin cinnamon roll cookies, on waffles/pancakes, or on these pumpkin cupcakes!
Lining The Cake Pans
Stick to 9-inch cake pans for best results. Here are the exact cake pans I use.
Pumpkin Carrot Cake is so moist that if the bottom of the cake pans aren’t lined, the cake won’t come out nicely (I speak from experience!). Make sure you line the cake pan with parchment paper.
There’s an easy to way to do this; check out this photo slideshow or read the directions below:
- Tear off a sheet of parchment paper slightly larger than the cake pan.
- Fold the parchment in half.
- Then fold the parchment in half again.
- Fold into a triangle.
- Fold the triangle in half again.
- Hold the triangle against the bottom of the pan from the center outwards.
- Cut the parchment right where it meets the edge of the cake pan along the curve of the cake pan.
- Unfold the parchment and press into the bottom of the cake pan.
Pumpkin Carrot Cake Troubleshooting
When making a layered cake, divide the batter equally between the pans. This helps the layers bake evenly and look nice.
Pour the batter into each pan, then use a kitchen scale to check. Adjust as needed to make sure each pan has the same amount of batter.
Using incorrect ingredients, over mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high of a temperature (incorrectly calibrated oven) can produce a dry cake.
To make a cake moist, be sure to follow baking directions carefully in a calibrated oven.
Storage
Pumpkin Carrot Cake Storage
Finished Cake: Store in the fridge, wrapped tightly or under a cake dome, for up to 3 days. Refrigerate due to the cream cheese frosting. The cake doesn’t freeze well once frosted.
Make Ahead/Freezing: Wrap cooled cake layers in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before frosting.
I prefer making and freezing the layers ahead. They’re more flavorful after sitting. Thaw for about an hour at room temperature (they don’t need to be fully thawed) before frosting.
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Pie with maple whipped cream
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies with chocolate chips
- Pumpkin Waffles with a buttermilk syrup
- 7 Layer Pumpkin Bars with sweetened coconut
- Pumpkin Scones with a simple glaze
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 2-3 medium-sized) carrots shredded
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 and 1/4 cups canned pumpkin *DO not use an entire can of pumpkin or pumpkin pie filling. (I recommend Libby's to keep it from being too watery)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple well drained
- 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Frosting
- 2 packages (8 oz. EACH) full-fat cream cheese soften to room temperature, do not melt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter soften to room temperature, do not melt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
- Optional: 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
Cake
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch-round pans generously with cooking spray and dust with flour. (Take your time preparing the pans so the cake doesn't stick). Line cake pans with parchment paper (See Note 1). Set aside.
- CARROTS: Peel and grate the carrots on the small side of a grater to get very fine pieces of carrots. Shred the carrots carefully. Measure to ensure you have exactly 1 cup (100 grams).
- MILK: Whisk together the whole milk and lemon juice and set aside for 5 minutes (it will look curdled!).
- WET INGREDIENTS: Grab a very large bowl and mix the pumpkin (make sure it isn't watery at all), white sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk/lemon mixture with a large whisk until completely combined and smooth. Add in the shredded carrots and crushed pineapple; whisk until smooth.
- DRY INGREDIENTS: Place a sifter over the bowl and sift in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Add in the coconut. Mix until JUST combined (do not overmix to avoid a dry, dense cake.)
- BAKE: Separate the mixture evenly among the prepared pans (See Note 2) and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool for 5-7 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a cooling rack for them to finish cooling.
Frosting
- CREAM CHEESE AND BUTTER: Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl fitted to a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter. Make sure both are softened to room temperature and not at all melted. Beat the two together until completely smooth and creamy.
- VANILLA AND SALT: Add in the vanilla extract and a generous pinch of salt (if desired). Beat until smooth.
- POWDERED SUGAR: Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you've added 3 and 1/2 cups. Remove 1/4 of the frosting now to go into the center of the cake. Add the remaining 1/2 to 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting until you have a good frosting consistency. If needed, add in the heavy cream. The frosting won't be as firm as a buttercream, but firm enough to frost the cake.
- DECORATE: Place a little frosting on the bottom of a cake pan (just to hold the bottom cake in place) and top with 1 completely cooled cake. Add the reserved 1/4 of the frosting into the center and smooth it. Add the other cake on top.
- DECORATE CONT.: Use the remaining frosting to generously frost the cake. If the frosting is too soft, either refrigerate it or add an additional 1/2 cup powdered sugar. (You will likely have a bit of extra frosting, so don't feel like you need to use it all on the cake.) Once the cake is frosted, decorate the sides with the chopped pecans if desired.
- STORAGE: Store cake in the fridge, tightly covered. Frosted cake does not freeze and thaw well, but unfrosted cake freezes nicely for up to a month.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Best cake ever! No need to ever make a plain carrot cake when you can have the added boost of flavor that the pumpkin gives. Hands down most requested cake at ourThirsty Thursday get togethers
YAY! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Dotty! 🙂
I’ve been making this cake today. It’s baking in the oven but it’s still a little wet in the middle. Am I missing something like should it be steaming in the oven instead?
Nope. Sounds like it just needs a little bit longer! Bake until a toothpick when inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs