Carrot and Pumpkin Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
This pumpkin carrot cake is the fall baking project you'll want to make every single year. Two tender layers packed with pumpkin puree, freshly grated carrots, crushed pineapple, shredded coconut, and walnuts come together in one showstopping cake. The orange-kissed cream cheese frosting pulls every warm, spiced bite together with a bright citrusy note.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking soda
- 3 teaspoons Pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Milk
- 1½ teaspoons Lemon juice
- 1½ cups Sugar
- ½ cup Brown sugar, packed
- 1¼ cups Pumpkin puree
- 3 Eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- 8 ounces Crushed Pineapple, drained
- 1 cup Carrots, grated (about 3 medium carrots)
- ¾ cup Shredded coconut, Use more for topping if you wish
- 1¼ cups Chopped walnuts, divided use 3/4 for cake batter and the rest as topping
Frosting
- 11 ounces Cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup Butter, softened
- 3½ cups Powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons Orange juice
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and lemon juice until combined; the mixture will appear curdled, and that is completely normal.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat the sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vegetable oil together until fully combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add the drained crushed pineapple, grated carrots, and the milk mixture to the large bowl and mix on low speed until just combined.
- With the hand mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in 3/4 cup of the chopped walnuts and the shredded coconut until evenly distributed.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, then divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean.
- Place the cake pans on a cooling rack and cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the edges of each pan, then carefully remove the cake layers from the pans and transfer them directly to the cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together using a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- With the hand mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture, beating until fully incorporated and fluffy.
- Add the orange juice and vanilla extract to the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
- Once the cake layers are completely cool, place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of cream cheese frosting over the top using a rubber spatula or offset spatula.
- Place the second cake layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.
- Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chopped walnuts over the top of the frosted cake as a garnish.
Christina's Notes
- Drain pineapple thoroughly: Press the crushed pineapple firmly to remove excess liquid before adding it to the batter, or the cake layers may not bake through properly.
- Room-temperature ingredients: Pull the cream cheese, butter, and eggs out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking for the smoothest batter and frosting.
- Cool completely: Never frost warm cake layers. The frosting will melt and slide off, so give the layers plenty of time on the cooling rack.
- Mix gently: Once the flour goes in, mix only until the dry streaks disappear. Overworking the batter leads to a denser, tougher cake.
- Store in the fridge: Because of the cream cheese frosting, keep this cake covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Let slices sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving for the best texture.
MY NOTES
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Recipe compliments of www.ITISAKEEPER.com