Pumpkin Carrot Cake

4.62 from 21 votes

Pumpkin Carrot Cake brings together the best of both worlds—rich, spiced pumpkin and carrot cakes—topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting. It's the ultimate cozy fall treat!

Prep Time45

Cook Time30

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert, Vegetarian

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pumpkin carrot cake

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $8.24

Equipment

2 cake pans 9-inch
Parchment paper
Sifter
Cooling rack
Stand mixer

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

1 cup carrots shredded, 2-3 medium-sized carrots
3/4 cup whole milk
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1-1/4 cups pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling and not the whole can
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
3/4 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple well drained
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Dry Ingredients

2 cups flour spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese soften to room temperature, do not melt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter soften to room temperature, do not melt
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream optional
1 cup chopped pecans optional

US - Metric

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round pans with cooking spray, dust with flour, and line with parchment paper (see note 1).
Peel and finely grate carrots, ensuring you have exactly 1 cup.
Whisk together milk and lemon juice, then set aside for 5 minutes (it will look curdled).
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin (make sure it isn’t watery at all), granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk/lemon mixture until smooth. Whisk in carrots and pineapple until smooth.
Place a sifter over the bowl and sift in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, then add coconut and mix until just combined.
Divide batter evenly between pans (see note 2), then bake for 35–45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool 5–7 minutes before inverting cakes onto a cooling rack for them to finish cooling.

Frosting

In a large bowl fitted to a stand mixer, beat softened cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt, then gradually mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until you’ve added 3-1/2 cups. Mix until you have a good frosting consistency. Adjust consistency with heavy cream if needed.
Remove 1/4 of the frosting for the center of the cake. The frosting won't be as firm as a buttercream, but firm enough to frost the cake.
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.
Use remaining frosting to generously frost the cake. If the frosting is too soft, either refrigerate it or add 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.

Video

Notes

Note 1: There’s an easy way to line the pans with parchment paper; check out this photo slideshow or read the directions in the blog post.

Note 2: Pour even amounts into each pan and then check the accuracy with a kitchen scale. Adjust the batter in each cake pan so that each pan contains perfectly even amounts.

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.

Nutrition