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Home » Cake & Cupcakes » Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Published: Oct 23, 2017 · Modified: Mar 29, 2021 by Allison · 89 Comments

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A combination of pumpkin cake and carrot cake; a moist and flavorful layer cake filled with carrots, pumpkin, and warm spices and finished with tangy cream cheese frosting.  A beautiful dessert for Thanksgiving or any fall occasion. VIDEO below!

Close up of three layer carrot cake with white frosting.

Is it safe to say that the holiday season is upon us? Halloween is in a week and after that there’s no turning back.

A piece of pumpkin carrot cake on a white plate.

This Pumpkin Carrot Cake has been part of our Thanksgiving dessert spread for the last several years and this year will be no exception. When I think of this cake I automatically think “Thanksgiving”, but, there’s no reason something this good should only be served on a special occasion.

Which is why on a random, cloudy Sunday in October I made this triple layer, fall scented, cream cheese smothered cake for no reason at all.

Three layer carrot cake on a white plate.

Yes, you read that right. No reason at all. It was glorious (and a tad indulgent). My family of four ate our fair share of the cake and then I sent the leftovers with my husband to work. It was gone in record time.

This cake is always met with rave reviews.

Carrot cake batter in a glass bowl

The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake

What makes this cake so great? It’s tender and moist from pumpkin puree, crushed pineapple, and buttermilk. Pumpkin pie spice adds warm spices that will remind you of a pumpkin pie.

The sweetness of the cake gets balanced by the tangy cream cheese frosting. I covered the outside of the cake in toasted walnuts, which add a great crunch, but feel free to leave them off if you’d prefer.

Your guests/family/friends/co-workers/neighbors will devour every last bite of this beautiful cake.

Round layer cake with white frosting and walnuts

So now you have two options: Bookmark this cake for Thanksgiving (or any other holiday celebration) OR just go ahead and bake it right now.

Forget to buy buttermilk? This Buttermilk Substitute works beautifully in this cake.

You might also like:

  • Pineapple Carrot Cake
  • Carrot Cake Cupcakes (with brown sugar cream cheese frosting!)
  • Carrot Cake Cookies

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A slice of carrot cake on a white plate with a gold fork.

 

Close up of three layer carrot cake with white frosting.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A combination of pumpkin cake and carrot cake - A moist and flavorful layer cake filled with carrots, pumpkin, and warm spices and finished with tangy cream cheese frosting. A beautiful dessert for Thanksgiving or any fall occasion.
5 from 32 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 508kcal
Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ⅓ cups canned pumpkin puree
  • 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup crushed pineapple, drained
  • 1 cup grated carrots, (about 2 medium carrots see note)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2-4 teaspoons milk
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts, optional

Instructions

Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease two or three 9-inch cake pans, and line the bottoms with a round of parchment.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
  • With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, sugars, oil, vanilla, pineapple, and carrots until well combined. Slowly add flour mixture, beating until the flour is fully incorporated in the wet ingredients. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans (see note). Tap the pans on the countertop a few times to remove air bubbles.
  • If using two cake pans, bake for approximately 35 minutes. If using three cake pans, bake for 25-28 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

  • Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract for several minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
  • Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost the cooled cake. Press chopped walnuts onto the sides of the cake. Transfer to the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Video

Notes

This cake is made in 9 inch pans not 8 inch pans (see below). The batter will overflow in 8 inch pans. When placing the batter in the cake pans, make sure that it is evenly divided. To do this, I use a 1 cup measure and scoop the batter into each pan, a cup at a time, until they are evenly filled.
Only have 8 inch pans? You can still make this cake, just don't put all the batter into the pans. Fill your pans about halfway full and use any remaining batter to make cupcakes. Adjust cooking time accordingly.
I use the medium or fine holes on a box grater to grate the carrots.
Recipe updated November 2022. Original recipe HERE.

Nutrition

Calories: 508kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 4999IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!

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Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Stack of carrot cake cookies filled with frosting.

Healthier Carrot Cake

Square slice of carrot cake topped with white frosting.

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Comments

  1. Gina

    November 07, 2014 at 7:54 am

    Oh my stars – this looks incredible!!!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      November 07, 2014 at 10:56 am

      Thanks, Gina!

      Reply
  2. Annie+@+ciaochowbambina

    November 08, 2014 at 9:26 am

    Mm-mm-mmm. We just can’t get enough of these flavors, can we?? This looks divine! Love the walnuts along the side!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      November 08, 2014 at 7:18 pm

      That’s the truth! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  3. CakeSpy

    November 08, 2014 at 3:42 pm

    No words. Just want to bury my face in this!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      November 08, 2014 at 7:19 pm

      Me too. And I did. Haha! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Thao @ In Good Flavor

    November 13, 2014 at 8:17 pm

    Great recipe! I love your usage of pumpkin, carrot, and pineapple in the cake. Looks amazing!

    Reply
  5. Pearly

    November 21, 2014 at 8:56 am

    Allison,
    This looks delicious! I’m definitely making it for Thanksgiving. What do you think about replacing the vegetable oil or canola with walnut oil? Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes. ❤️❤️

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      November 21, 2014 at 2:49 pm

      Hi Pearly! Great question. I have never baked with walnut oil before, I’ve only used it in salad dressings. That being said, I can’t say for sure how it will turn out if you sub walnut oil for the veg oil. It shouldn’t affect the texture of the cake, but it might change the taste slightly. If you’re looking to use a healthier oil, coconut oil would definitely work. Just melt the amount needed in the microwave and continue with the recipe as written. Good luck! Happy baking!

      Reply
  6. Pearly

    November 23, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    Thanks Allison and will do!

    Reply
  7. Pearly

    December 04, 2014 at 9:53 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for the recipe. I made two of them for Thanksgiving and they were seriously delicious!! I’m making another one today to take to a party tomorrow. Thanks again Alli.

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      December 04, 2014 at 1:58 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback!

      Reply
  8. Pearly

    June 28, 2015 at 10:36 am

    5 stars
    Once again love this recipe! Made it for a party last night and a complete hit!! My friends rarely eat sweets but once they had a little taste of it, they went back for a whole slice! Thanks again Alli. I’m making the Berry Pie tomorrow.

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      June 29, 2015 at 1:02 pm

      Awesome! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  9. Julie

    October 09, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    Hello Alli
    I’m going to make this cake for my husband ( well, in truth me too) but it’s HIS birthday and he absolutely hates coconut with a passion.
    Do you think it would still work, be moist and delish without it? And if I use coconut oil instead of other oils is there any taste detectable of coconut?
    He loves carrot cake and also really likes pumpkin.

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      October 10, 2015 at 12:29 pm

      Hi Julie. Yes, the cake will still work without the shredded coconut. If you’re going to use coconut oil make sure it is refined. Refined oil has a much more mild/neutral flavor than unrefined. If you use refined coconut oil I highly doubt that the taste would be detectable (there are so many other flavors in there). But if you’re really concerned about it, I’d suggest canola or vegetable oil. Good luck! I hope you like it!

      Reply
  10. Karren Haller Join Me for a Party

    October 10, 2015 at 6:18 am

    What a wonderful presentation, the recipe looks devine, and looks like one my grandmother used to make!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      October 10, 2015 at 12:30 pm

      Thanks, Karen! It definitely has an “old fashioned” feel to it. 🙂

      Reply
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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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