This Pumpkin Carrot Cake is rich, moist, spiced, and perfectly sweet. It’s a two tier cake with a homemade cream cheese frosting sandwiched between the layers for a delicious fall dessert.
Table of Contents
Carrot Pumpkin Cake
Carrots in cake? Some people turn their nose, but shredded carrots add the perfect moistness and sweetness to the baked good. Pumpkin also adds natural sweetness and a smooth, rich, and tender cake texture.
A typical carrot cake has raisins and walnuts. This Pumpkin Carrot Cake, instead has craisins and honey roasted pecans scattered throughout. All of the flavors of this dessert come together with the fluffy cream cheese frosting between the moist pumpkin carrot cake layers and on top for a dreamy homemade treat.
The combination of carrot AND pumpkin this recipe just scream fall. This is the perfect cake to serve at Thanksgiving or another fall season get together. It’s a family favorite cake recipe and crowd pleaser, for sure.
And if you're looking to do some more seasonal baking, also try Jojo’s Carrot Cake for a more classic cake, these Healthier Carrot Cake Bars for a healthier take, or this Low Sugar Pumpkin Bread or these Butterscotch Pumpkin Muffins, which I think you'll love, too!
Recipe Ingredients
For the cake:
- Light Brown Sugar - We’ll use brown sugar for richness and more moisture as compared to white sugar.
- Cultured Oil, Zero Acre - Carrot cake uses oil instead of butter. Cultured oil is a great neutral oil for this recipe.
- Canned Pumpkin - Adding pumpkin to carrot cake gives it a richer texture and provides extra moisture. Not pumpkin pie filling!
- Oat Flour - I used Bob’s Red Mill. I’ve not tried any substitutes.
- Craisins - You can use raisins instead if you prefer, but I think craisins add even more flavor.
- Honey Roasted Pecans - A buttery nut that goes great in this cake. Honey roasted are delicious.
- Fresh Carrots - Grate your own carrots instead of buying the pre-shredded kind from the store. Freshly grated carrots make a big difference in the texture of the carrot pumpkin cake.
For the frosting:
- Cream Cheese - Cream cheese gives the frosting little more depth of flavor rather than just straight sweetness that you may get with a traditional buttercream frosting.
- Powdered Sugar - The frosting gets its sweet and a smooth texture with icing sugar as compared to the granular result you’d get with regular sugar.
- Lemon Extract - A bit of citrus flavor to balance the sweetness. Do not substitute lemon juice!
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make The Best Pumpkin Carrot Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from the carrots and then add to a food processor. Pulse until all of the carrots are shredded into small pieces (You can also shred on a box grater if you don’t have a food processor).
2. Add brown sugar and oil to a large bowl. Beat on high until all of the sugar is absorbed by the oil. Add the canned pumpkin and vanilla extract and beat again.
3. Then add in eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat for 4-5 minutes until everything is very well combined.
4. Pour dry ingredients (oat flour, ground cinnamon, salt, baking powder + baking soda) into the mixing bowl. Beat for at least another 2 minutes so everything is well combined.
5. Fold in dried craisins, diced pecan pieces, lemon zest, and shredded carrot.
6. Line two 8x8 pans with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray (or two circular 9-inch cake pans). Pour batter evenly between the two pans.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center is completely set. Note: Depending on the size pan used / how much is in each pan, cooking times will vary. Use the toothpick method to test for doneness.
8. Let the cake cool completely before adding the frosting. To make the frosting, combine everything except the coconut flakes in a medium bowl and beat with a hand mixer. Mix until all of the powdered sugar is dissolved. Fold in the shredded coconut.
9. Place ⅓ of the frosting on one of the cakes, then place the other cake on top of the frosted one. Add the additional frosting to the top of the cake and decorate as you wish.
10. I like to add toasted coconut - just pop some coconut in an oven safe pan in the broiler and wait 2-3 minutes until it starts to toast. Remove it promptly before it starts to burn! Then, sprinkle on top of your frosting.
11. Slice and enjoy!
Pro Tip
Fresh grated carrots are essential for these bars. Avoid using pre-shredded carrots. They are too thick and won’t release moisture properly during the baking process.
Beat VERY well after adding in the eggs. This Pumpkin Carrot Cake (and most carrot cake) is oil-based instead of butter. This keeps it super moist, but it loses a bit of the rise that you’d get when you cream butter and sugar. Therefore, it is important to beat the eggs well. Whipping them creates the peaks we need for a good rise.
Don’t go overboard with the add-ins. I’m all for LOTs of mix-ins when it comes to cookies (it’s a sin in my book to measure chocolate chips), but in this recipe it’ll only weigh down the cake and affect its structure. We’re already using pecans and craisins in this Carrot Cake with Pumpkin. You can choose to omit, but don’t add more.
Recipe FAQs
Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can choose to cover the entire cake using a cake dome or with plastic wrap. You can also slice into pieces and keep in airtight container.
Yes! To freeze this Carrot Cake with Pumpkin, first let it sit in the fridge for at least 6 hours to let the frosting firm up a bit. Then, cover tightly (either slices or the whole thing) with plastic wrap and add to a freezer bag or airtight tupperware. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Recipe is already gluten free, since we’re using oat flour. You can make it dairy free by using a dairy free cream cheese in the frosting.
Although I have not tested it, it is likely you can use flax eggs to make this Pumpkin Carrot Cake vegan.
Definitely! But you'll want to use a LARGE pan. This recipe makes enough batter to fill two 8x8 pans, so if you're planning to use just one pan, it needs to be big. A 9x13 pan should work, but it will likely need a few extra minutes of bake time because it'll be slightly thicker.
The pumpkin taste is very mild. We are using just cinnamon (instead of pumpkin spice), and the pumpkin puree does get masked by the other included ingredients.
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Recipe
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Equipment
- Food Processor or cheese grater
- Mixing Bowl
- Vegetable peeler
- Measuring cups and spoons
- handheld electric mixer
- 2 8x8 baking pans
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- ½ cup cultured oil
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups oat flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ⅓ cup dried craisins
- ⅓ cup honey roasted pecans, finely diced
- 3 cups carrots, grated
- 1 tsp lemon zest, optional
Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup shaved coconut
- ¼ tsp lemon extract
Topping
- 2 tbsp dried cranberries
- ¼ cup shaved coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from the carrots and then add to a food processor. Pulse until all of the carrots are shredded into small pieces (You can also shred on a cheese grater if you don’t have a food processor).
- Add brown sugar and oil to a mixing bowl. Beat on high until all of the sugar is absorbed by the oil. Add the canned pumpkin and vanilla extract and beat again.
- Then add in eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat for 4-5 minutes until everything is very well combined.
- Pour oat flour, ground cinnamon, salt, baking powder + soda into the mixing bowl. Beat for at least another 2 minutes so everything is well combined.
- Fold in dried craisins, diced pecan pieces, lemon zest, and shredded carrot.
- Line two 8x8 pans with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. Divide the batter evenly among the two pans.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center is completely set. Note: Depending on the size pan used / how much is in each pan, cooking times will vary. Use the toothpick method to test for doneness.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before adding the frosting. To make the frosting, combine everything except the coconut flakes in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer. Mix until all of the powdered sugar is dissolved. Fold in the shredded coconut.
- Place ⅓ of the frosting on one of the cakes, then place the other cake on top of the frosted one. Add the additional frosting to the top of the cake and decorate as you wish.
- I like to add toasted coconut - just pop some coconut in an oven safe pan in the broiler and wait 2-3 minutes until it starts to toast. Remove it promptly before it starts to burn! Sprinkle over top of the frosting.
- Slice and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
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If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find Carrot Cake with Pumpkin calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Courtney Paige says
such a great way to use canned pumpkin. Brings a ton of moisture to the cake. YUM!
Sydney Van Acker says
this cake was so moist. I may or may not have had it for breakast the day after I made it;)