This moist and flavorful cake is a combination of pumpkin cake and carrot cake! It’s packed with carrots, pumpkin puree, and warm spices and finished with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Choose between a layer cake OR a 9×13 sheet cake for this pumpkin carrot cake recipe!
Totally delicious and pretty easy to make. A new favorite for my family and friends.
★★★★★
– reader review
What sets this recipe apart
Flavor: A combination of pumpkin cake and carrot cake with lots of pumpkin spice and cinnamon!
Two pan sizes: Make this as a layer cake OR a 9×13 sheet cake.
Ease: This batter comes together in minutes! The most time consuming part is gathering the ingredients.
Perfect for feeding a crowd: This recipe is great for fall and the holidays. We always make it for Thanksgiving!
Key ingredients
These ingredients boost the flavor and moisture in this recipe:
Pumpkin puree: Canned pumpkin puree will produce a consistent result. Be sure you’re not using pumpkin pie filling.
Shredded carrots: Use the medium holes on a box grater to grate two medium-sized carrots.
Pumpkin pie spice AND cinnamon: This combination of spices imparts the best flavor.
Buttermilk: This keeps the cake moist and enhances the rise.
Recipe at a glance
Full recipe below in recipe card
Step 1
Combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Step 2
Combine wet ingredients: sugars, eggs, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, oil, shredded carrots, and vanilla.
Step 3
Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Beat until combined.
Step 4
Bake in 9-inch layers OR a 9×13 pan.
Step 5
Make the cream cheese frosting and add it to the cooled cake.
Recipe tips and modifications
Weight measurements will give you the most accurate results.
Feel free to swap the crushed pineapple for shredded apple, or omit completely.
Nuts can be added into the cake itself or used to decorate the outside of the cake.
Add cinnamon or pie spice to the cream cheese frosting for a deeper spice flavor.
Don’t have buttermilk? This buttermilk substitute works beautifully in this cake.
Recipe
Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (270g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (175g) buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups (270g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 ⅓ cups (268g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (73g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (98g) vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (135g) grated carrots, about 2 medium carrots see note
- ⅓ cup (45g) shredded peeled apple or drained crushed pineapple , optional
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups (390g) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, optional
- 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 OR grease a 9×13 baking pan (preferably metal).
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat buttermilk, eggs, pumpkin, both sugars, oil, vanilla, carrots, and pineapple/apple until combined. Add flour mixture, beating until the flour is fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared round pans (see note) or add the batter to the prepared 9×13 pan. Tap the pans on the countertop a few times to remove air bubbles.
- If using two round cake pans, bake for approximately 35 minutes. If using three round cake pans, bake for 25-28 minutes. If using a 9×13, bake for 35-40 minutes, tenting loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes of bake time to keep it from getting too dark.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:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, followed by the vanilla and pie spice/cinnamon, if using.
- Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost the cooled cake. Press chopped walnuts into the frosting, if desired. Serve immediately (the frosting will be on the thinner side) or transfer to the refrigerator for several hours and the frosting will firm up.
Video
Notes
PAN SIZE:
This cake is made in 9-inch round pans or a 9×13 rectangular pan. Do not use 8-inch pans, the batter will overflow. When placing the batter in the round cake pans, make sure that it is evenly divided. Do this by filling each pan with a measuring cup or by weight.BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE:
Don’t have buttermilk? Use one of these buttermilk substitutes.SERVING and STORAGE:
Serve chilled or at cool room temperature. Cake should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.UPDATES:
August 2025: New photos added along with instruction for a 9×13 cake and weight measurements. Original recipe from prior to Nov 2022 is HERE.Nutrition
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!
Sharon Chen says
This cake looks perfect in every angle! I want to try it, too! 🙂
Esther says
This looks so good. I am pinning this and might make it soon.
Brittany says
Yum! This looks so good! I love pumpkin anything!
Khadija says
Made this cake for my sister’s birthday, everyone at the party said it was the best cake they ever had. It is so good moist and delicious . I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter and nuts to the batter and raisins. I am making again for my husbands birthday
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed it. 🙂
Carol says
I made this cake yesterday (11/6/16) for a friend’s birthday who likes all the main ingredients. If I had to toss all dessert recipes except one, this would be the keeper. DELICIOUS and MOIST. My friends liked it and I had four waitresses at the restaurant line up for a piece. One waitress said it was the best cake ever and “not too sweet”. People commented how you could taste each flavor–pumpkin, carrot, pineapple and coconut. It looked beautiful too, very much like yours, and appropriate for a special occasion. Something like Mom would have made for family celebrations.
I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Perfect.
Was not able to make a trial run of this cake and any worries were unfounded. Was it going to be done because it was so moist? Yes, few to no crumbs upon testing with a toothpick was fine. Was it overdone because the top looked so dark? No. Was it going to be moist enough if I served it within a few hours (seems some cakes taste better later in the day)? Absolutely. The layers were rounded out of the oven–how would the two layers stack together? They cooled to perfectly flat for easy assembly and decorating. Any trouble getting the cooled cake out of the well buttered and parchment bottom pan? Fell right out and the regular Wilton pan (not a non-stick) washed easily. And…I didn’t have a cake carrier so the frosted cake was uncovered a few hours before serving and the frosting was still soft.
I would be proud to call this my “signature cake” that I bring to all gatherings. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Carol. Thank you for your kind comment. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this cake, it is a favorite of mine too. Thanks for sharing your gluten free adaptation – that is great to know. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment. Take care!
Mae Quon says
I made this cake for our Bible Study group…it was a hit!! I didn’t have walnuts and used chopped pecans instead and whole pecans to outline the top of the cake.. Still a great tasting cake. Our group couldn’t say enough about thismoist cake. I usually don’t make scratch cakes but this was worth the time. There was enough batter to make three layers. Instructions were very clear. The use of parchment paper freed the cake easily. On my next cake I will add some raisins too. Thanks for this delish recipe!! This is going to be my go to cake for special and anytime occasions.
Celebrating Sweets says
Thank you for your kind comments! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Happy holidays!
Cathy Crocker says
Could you use a bundt cake pan to make this recipe.
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Cathy. I have never tried it, but according to the link below you should be able to. I think you might have a little too much batter for a standard sized bundt pan, so be careful not to overfill it. If you give it a try please let me know how it goes. Thanks! https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/8746-converting-layer-cakes-to-bundt
Dawn says
Made this for myself for my birthday and everyone loved it. Myself included! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it. Happy belated birthday! Thanks for stopping by!
Julia Crow says
Can I make this in cupcake form?
Celebrating Sweets says
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, you should be able to. Begin checking them around 15 minutes.
Brian Jones says
That sounds lovely, fab set of ingredients for a cake all of which bring their own unique sweetness.
Emma | The Cake Mistress says
Never thought to add pumpkin into carrot cake before, but you’ve convinced me! This looks so moist and wonderful, and who can resist cream cheese frosting??