Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Spice Frosting — Spooky Halloween Party Cake

Hello hello! Man today has been busy but productive, so that is always welcome. Don’t you hate it when you feel like you’re busy but nothing is getting done? Yea, me too. So I hope your day has been productive and you’re getting all the things done! Speaking of being done, let me tell you about this Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Spice frosting was demolished here at the office today. I mean, its gone. I had one bite and I completely missed out. Guess I’ll have to make it again.

Which isn’t a bad thing, let me tell you. This cake far exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to the chance to make it again! Maybe for Halloween?? We’ll see but really what I’m excited about it using these Nordic Ware Celebration Layer cake pans. Never before has making a layer cake been so easy and consistent!

I usually make my cakes in a regular pan and then split them once they are cool — which is the normal way of doing things — but! These cake pans have totally changed my game. I love how easy they are to use, clean and {of course} assemble the final product. Literally cut the time it takes me in half. *yes*

Ahem, so back to the cake. You can make this cake as a very traditional carrot cake, if you are so inclined. I made mine *extra* with the addition of Pistachios, pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and bananas. So it’s pretty much a kitchen sink cake disguised as a Carrot Cake — perfect for Halloween! But seriously, if you want to make this a regular carrot cake, just leave out all the extras (except the banana, you need that.) and it will still come out spook-ly good.

So once I baked, assembled and frosted my cake, I assembled my Halloween table decorations around it to create a spooky scene. This isn’t mandatory, but the Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Spice Frosting sure does make a good center piece, no? 🙂 I hope this inspires you to get in the kitchen and create something spooky for Halloween! See ya next time!

Happy Baking!

XO,

Danielle

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Carrot Cake with Pumpkin Spice Frosting

Things are getting spooky with this easy Carrot layer cake with pumpkin spice frosting! Perfect for any Halloween bash or a fall gathering!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 Slices

Ingredients

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Cup ripe bananas mashed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups carrots grated
• 1/2 Cup dried fruit chopped (dates, apricots, cranberries)
• 1/2 cup nuts chopped (walnuts, pistachios, pecans, etc)
• 1/2 Cup White chocolate chips
• Butter & flour for greasing the pans

For the Frosting

• 4 oz cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Powdered Sugar for garnish

Instructions

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease & lightly flour the bottom & sides of two 9-inch round cake pans or the Nordic wear celebration cake pans, if you have them. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk sugars, vanilla, banana and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, and whisk until well blended.
3. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula. Using a spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are incorporated and well mixed. Add in carrots, nuts, dried fruits, and white chocolate chips until the mixture is homogeneous.
4. Split the batter in two (or 4 if using more pans) and pour in each of the cake pans. Place the cake pans on the same rack in the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes (for 9in pans) or 30 minutes with smaller pans, or until the cake tester comes out clean.

For the frosting:

1. Whip the butter, cream cheese, pumpkin and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar one cup at a time, salt, and spices to the frosting and whip on high for 15 seconds.
2. Cool in the pan for 10-20 min, then turn out on to a cooling rack until completely cooled. Once the cakes are completely cooled, place the first layer on a cake stand, frost the top, then place the other cake layer on top of the frosting. Continue with all the layers. Frost the top of the cake and sprinkle with powdered sugar. (**if not serving immediately, refrigerate cake layers and frosting until ready to assemble. Allow frosting to come to room temperature before frosting — cakes can be frosted cold)
3. Cut and serve! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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