If you love carrot cake you need to try this recipe for Pumpkin Carrot Cake. This layered cake recipe is made from layers of moist carrot and pumpkin cake filled with warm spices and topped with a fluffy brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
This is the perfect recipe to make to celebrate all things pumpkin this holiday season, spiced flavors included!
If you love cream cheese frosting as much as I do, try out this recipe for Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting or this recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes. These recipes are perfect for the pumpkin season!
Jump to:
Ingredients
You will need the full list of ingredients below to make this carrot pumpkin cake recipe. When baking always remember to use fresh room temperature ingredients.
- Sunflower oil
- Extra-large eggs
- Muscovado sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Self-raising flour
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Carrots
- Pumpkin puree
- Walnuts
- Vanilla extract
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
Sunflower oil – use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil to make this recipe like sunflower oil or canola oil.
Extra-large eggs – I use extra-large eggs when baking, the weight of my eggs out of their shell is about 56 grams so you can work out how many eggs you will need based on this.
Muscovado sugar – for this recipe I used a combination of muscovado and light brown sugar, I love the deep caramel flavor of the muscovado and the color it adds to the cake layers. You can choose to use brown sugar instead of the combination.
Self-raising flour – if you are using all-purpose or plain flour, weigh the same about of flour as stated in the recipe and add 2 tablespoons of baking powder. Sift the two together before using.
Ground spices – I made my own combination of spices, you can do the same or use pumpkin spice instead.
Pumpkin puree – you can use tinned pumpkin puree or make your own by microwaving a bag of pumpkin pieces as per the packet's instructions. Make sure you have squeezed any excess moisture away from the puree before using it.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the instructions below to make the best Pumpkin Carrot Cake. First, you will be making the cake layers, allowing them to cool, making the tangy cream cheese frosting, and then decorating.
Instructions for cake layers
STEP 1: Heat oven. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line 3 x 22cm (9-inch) cake tins with oil and parchment paper.
STEP 2: Beat oil, eggs, and sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and sugar. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
STEP 3: Add dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 batches. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
STEP 4: Add shredded carrots, pumpkin, vanilla, and nuts. Add the grated carrots, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined, be sure the ingredients have mixed through but do not over-mix the batter.
STEP 5: Bake. Pour the batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes, then remove them and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Instructions for frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter and sugar. Add the butter and muscovado sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the butter has softened and some of the sugar has dissolved. About 3 minutes.
STEP 2: Add powdered sugar. Add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined. This can take about 5 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the cream cheese and vanilla. Add the cream cheese and vanilla to the frosting mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until light and fluffy. This can take about 5 – 7 minutes.
STEP 4: Decorate. Secure one cake layer onto a cake plate with a little frosting, then spread a third of the frosting over the surface of the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of this and add the second third of the frosting. Top with the final cake layer and decorate the top of the cake with the remaining frosting and place edible pumpkins on top of the frosted layer if desired. Slice and enjoy!
Hint: For fluffy frosting that is lump-free always use room-temperature butter and cream cheese.
Substitutions
You can make the below substitutions without affecting the recipe.
- Walnuts – if you can’t find walnuts, use pecans or leave the nuts out if you'd prefer not to use any.
- Self-raising flour – use all-purpose or plain flour instead of self-raising but add two tablespoons of baking powder.
- Muscovado – this can be replaced with dark brown sugar.
Equipment
To make this recipe, you will need 3 x 22cm (9-inch) cake tins and either a hand mixer or an electric stand mixer.
Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Make sure this is out of direct sunlight. If it is particularly hot, choose to store the cake in the fridge rather.
To freeze this cake, cut it into individual slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge overnight, then bring the slices to room temperature before consuming.
Top tips
For the best results follow the tips below
- Always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking.
- For fluffy lump-free frosting make sure that you are using room-temperature butter and cream cheese.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before decorating them.
FAQ
Yes, the eggs I have used weigh about 56 grams out of their shell. Weigh the eggs you have and adjust accordingly.
Yes, you can use plain flour, you will need to sift two tablespoons of baking powder into this before using it.
You can use other-sized cake tins but you will need to adjust the baking time. If you use two tins instead of three then your baking time will be more as the cake is deeper. Also the smaller the cake tin, the longer the cake will bake, the larger the cake tin the quicker it will bake.
Few things beat a moist cake covered in a fluffy cream cheese frosting, so for that reason, I hope you give this carrot and pumpkin cake recipe a try! And if you do please leave a comment and star rating below – I would love to hear how this recipe worked for you!
Don’t forget to send snaps of your pumpkin layer cake to me on Instagram @with_love_kitty
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 3x 22cm (9-inch) cake pans
Ingredients
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
- 400 ml sunflower oil
- 300 grams muscovado sugar
- 150 grams light brown sugar
- 5 extra-large eggs
- 450 grams self-raising flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 grams pumpkin purée
- 450 grams carrots, grated
- 100 grams walnuts, chopped
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- 100 grams unsalted butter
- 80 grams muscovado sugar
- 500 grams icing sugar
- 250 grams cream cheese
Instructions
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 3 x 22cm (9-inch) cake tins with oil and parchment paper.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and both types of sugar. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 batches. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
- Add the grated carrots, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined, be sure the ingredients have mixed through but do not over-mix the batter.
- Pour the batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans and bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in their tins for 30 minutes, then remove them and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter and muscovado sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the butter has softened and some of the sugar has dissolved. About 3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined. This can take about 5 minutes.
- Add the cubed cream cheese and vanilla to the frosting mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until light and fluffy. This can take about 5 – 7 minutes.
- Secure one cake layer onto a cake plate with a little frosting, then spread a third of the frosting over the surface of the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of this and add the second third of the frosting. Top with the final cake layer and decorate the top of the cake with the remaining frosting and place edible pumpkins on top of the frosted layer if desired. Slice and enjoy!
Leave a Reply