Pumpkin spice is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and ground cloves which are all used in carrot cake. Some brands of pumpkin pie spice contain allspice, the brand that I use does not. If your pumpkin spice does contain allspice, you can still use it. Pumpkin spice is convenient when you don't have all of the spices listed in this recipe on hand. It's also inexpensive.