This pumpkin carrot cake is a layered cake that is full of both pumpkin puree and grated carrots. The cake is full of cream cheese honey frosting and decorated in little pumpkins and carrots. The cake is full of spices and easy to put together.
This post is sponsored by Local Hive™ Honey and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Stephanie’s Sweet Treats possible!
The pumpkin carrot cake is the type of cake where you just want to scarf down the whole piece. It is that delicious.
This cake celebrates both a carrot cake and a pumpkin cake. Which makes this the perfect fall cake!
It is also made using Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey. It uses honey both in the cake batter and in the frosting!
For more cake recipes, try Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting, Mini Carrot Cake, and Apple Toffee Layered Cake.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Carrot pumpkin cake- The layered cake is also full of so many spices. it is perfect to make during pumpkin season.
- Tangy cream cheese frosting- You can't have pumpkin cake or carrot cake without cream cheese frosting!
- Decorated cake- The cake is decorated in little pumpkins and little carrots that makes a super cute little cake.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Oil- Use a canola oil or vegetable oil.
- Brown sugar- I used light brown sugar.
- Grated carrots- Use 2 medium-large carrots, peel them and use a grater with the smallest holes.
- Pumpkin puree- The best puree is Libby's pumpkin puree. Don't use pumpkin pie filling.
- Sour cream- Use full fat sour cream or greek yogurt. Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
- Eggs- Pull the large eggs out 2 hours before baking so they are room temperature.
- Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey- This honey is a great honey from Local Hive™ Honey. This is a medium bodied honey that has the classic honey taste.
- Cream cheese- Use full fat cream cheese. Pull this out 2 hours before using.
- Unsalted butter- Pull this out 2 hours before baking so it is softened.
- Powdered sugar- Make sure this is sifted to avoid a gritty frosting.
Step By Step Instructions
Here is how to make and bake the cake layers and the frosting. For the cake layers, you don't need an electric mixer, it can be made by hand. For the frosting, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer.
STEP 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and ground ginger.
STEP 2: Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, sour cream, pumpkin puree, and grated carrots. Use a whisk to mix it together.
Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Make sure to not over mix the batter.
STEP 3: Bake. Pour batter between the three 8-inch cake pans. Then, bake for 22-25 minutes.
Let the cake cool completely on a cooling rack until the cakes are cool completely.
STEP 4: Beat the butter and cream cheese. Using a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed. Then, add in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed.
STEP 5: Add the wet ingredients. Next, add the salt, vanilla, and honey. Mix until it is super fluffy.
STEP 6: Optional: color the frosting. Separate the frosting into 4 bowls. It should only be a little bit of frosting. Color two bowls with orange food gel dye. One bowl colored green. One bowl colored brown.
One of the orange bowls, I added a smidge of brown food dye so it is a bit of a muted orange for the pumpkins.
Assembling the Cake Tips
- Items that will be helpful in cake decoration: turntable, icing offset spatulas, straight icing spatula, cake scrapper, cake leveler (or a bread knife), and a cake carrier.
- If you have any uneven cake layers, use a serrated knife or cake leveler to cut the top, so they are perfectly even.
- First, spread ¾ cup of frosting over the 1st cake layer. Repeat with the second cake layer.
- Place the last cake layer with the bottom of the cake facing up. Frost the cake in a light layer of frosting. Freeze for 15 minutes to set the frosting and prevent crumbs getting into the final layer.
- Frost the cake with the remaining frosting. Freeze for 10 minutes to set the frosting before piping the decorations on.
- I used 3 small round piping tips and 1 small star tip for the decorations.
- Pipe 3 round lines for the pumpkins and one line that is thick on top and gets thinner as it goes down for the carrots.
- Pipe two green lines on top of the carrots for the leaves, and one small brown line on top of the pumpkins for the stump.
FAQ
Yes it can! Half the recipe to make 12 cupcakes.
You can also use two 9-inch cake pans, four 6-inch cake pans, or a 9X13-inch cake pan (half the frosting recipe for that one). Half the recipe to make three 6-inch cake pans, 8X8-inch square pan or 9X9-inch square pan.
Yes it can! Once the cake layers are done cooling, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Then, freeze up to 30 days. Pull it out 1 hour before decorating.
Storing and Freezing
Store this pumpkin carrot cake in an airtight container like a cake carrier. Store in the fridge up to 5 days.
Freezing
You can freeze the pumpkin carrot cake in individual cake slices. Place in an airtight container and freeze up to 30 days.
Thaw for 1-2 hours before eating.
Other Recipes To Try
Make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats. To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
- 3 ½ cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup Oil canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- ¾ cup White granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey
- 1 cup Sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Grated carrots Freshly grated using the smallest hole. Compacted.
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree blotted to soak up the extra moisture.
- 4 Large eggs room temperature
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ cups Unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 cups Powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking nonstick spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with 8-inch parchment paper circles and spray again.
- In a small bowl, line it with 2 paper towels. Pour in the pumpkin puree and wrap the towels around it. Let it soak up all the moisture. Using the smallest hole on a grater, grate the carrots. It should 1 cup that is compacted.1 cup Grated carrots, 1 cup Pumpkin puree
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice.3 ½ cups All-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon Ground ginger, ½ teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice
- In a separate bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar, sugar, sour cream, vanilla, honey, grated carrots. pumpkin puree, and eggs. Use a whisk to mix it together.1 cup Oil, 1 cup Brown sugar, ¾ cup White granulated sugar, 2 tablespoon Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey, 1 cup Sour cream, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, 1 cup Grated carrots, 1 cup Pumpkin puree, 4 Large eggs
- Add in the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold together until just combined. Pour the batter evenly between the three cake pans.
- Bake for 23-25 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cakes sit in the hot pans for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- Sift the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Using a mixer, in a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed for 3 minutes.8 oz Cream cheese, 1 ½ cups Unsalted butter, 6 cups Powdered sugar
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the rest of powdered sugar and mix again. Scrape the bowl using a rubber spatula.
- Add the vanilla, salt, and honey. Mix on high speed until creamy.1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon Local Hive™ Honey Rocky Mountain Honey, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Separate small amounts of frosting into 4 bowls. 2 different types of oranges, 1 brown, and 1 green frosting. You don't need much. (this part is optional)
Assembly
- Use a cake leveler or a serrated knife to cut the domes off the cakes.
- Place the 1st cake layer down and spread ¾ cup of frosting over the cake. Repeat with the second cake layer. Place the last cake layer with the bottom of the cake facing up.
- Spread a light layer of frosting over the cake. Freeze for 15 minutes for icing to set. Place the rest of the frosting in the fridge to firm up slightly.
- Frost the rest of the cake. Place back in the freezer for 10 minutes for the frosting to set.
- To decorate in little pumpkins and carrots, pipe the little pumpkins and carrots around the cake. Then, top with the brown stump for the pumpkins and green leaves for the carrots. See my blog post to see more information on how I did that.
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