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!
Emily says
Omg I’m drooling at this, carrot cake is my favourite and this is probably the best looking one I’ve ever seen, can’t wait to try it!
Silvia says
Oh my, this cake would be perfect for our Christmas dinner 🙂 It’s really my kind of cake.
Patty says
That cake looks amazing, it’s very original too, I’ll try it as soon as I can get all the ingredients! Love your carrot cake sandwich cookies too!
Karly says
THISSSS is perfection. I mean, the cake and the frosting look like the pb&j of cake ingredients.. truly the perfect combo!
Andrea says
I changed this up a bit! I used vanilla yogurt for the buttermilk, 2 bananas instead of pineapple, only 1 cup of sugar, left out the oil, coconut shreds. Mostly b/c I had banana I need to use and no buttermilk but it worked :)! So good!
Celebrating Sweets says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your adaptations. Thanks for stopping by!
Geraldine Pierce says
I cook pumpins, puree them and freeze in freezer bags. This of course is more liquid than canned but I would love to use it in this cake. Would I just add less or keep to the same amount? This looks soooo good!
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Geraldine. I have never baked with frozen pumpkin before. Since it will have more moisture than canned, I would recommend that you either reduce the pumpkin puree (maybe to 1 cup?) OR use the full amount of pumpkin puree and leave out most or all of the crushed pineapple. Those are my best suggestions for balancing out the extra moisture. If you try it please let me know how it goes. Thanks!
Michelle says
This is fantastic! Thank you! I subbed powdered chai spice for the pumpkin spice as that’s what I had and used 1/2 the sugar in the cake (up here at 9100 feet, less sugar helps things raise nicely) and 1/4 the sugar in the frosting along with a wee bit of maple syrup. Oh, I also threw in some hemp seeds. It was a huge hit with everyone. Huge ?
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing your changes. The addition of chai spice sounds AMAZING!
Hillary says
This recipe sounds delicious and just the combination of buttermilk and pumpkin I was looking for! Do you think this would be good if I added a buttermilk glaze to the cake layers before frosting it with the cream cheese frosting?
Celebrating Sweets says
I think it would taste fine, I’d just worry about it being too wet. This is a very moist cake to start with. If you try it let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
Laura says
We made this for Thanksgiving and ADORED it!!! Fabulous recipe. Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets says
Glad to hear that! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. Happy holidays!
Laurie Reilly says
I made this for Thanksgiving and I’m so glad I did! My family and guests raved about it. The little bit that was left from Thanksgiving was shaved off bit by bit at breakfast and gone by 10:00 a.m.! So moist! I added finely chopped toasted pecans to the batter as well. I love a cake or bread with texture and partnering carrot cake with pumpkin is so perfect for the holidays. It’s something a little different that no one else will bring to the celebration. This is a sophisticated cake that would be great at any celebration.
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for the kind review. I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Happy holidays!