Carrot cake is the quintessential spring dessert, and with Easter just around the corner, it’s always one of the first sweets I consider for the holiday table. This Easy Carrot Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting is a standout choice for Easter dinner: festive, comforting, and guaranteed to please a crowd.
Thanks to a boxed cake mix, this recipe comes together with very little effort, making it perfect for busy holiday preparations. The result is a wonderfully moist cake that’s easy to adapt. You can use a traditional, keto, or gluten-free mix and bake it as a simple 9×13-inch cake or dress it up as a beautiful round layer cake.
And then there’s the frosting. The bright citrus flavor blended into rich cream cheese frosting makes this cake truly special. It’s silky, tangy, and completely irresistible; the kind of frosting you might be tempted to eat straight from the bowl. Once you taste it, you’ll understand why this cake earns a place on the Easter dessert table year after year.
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups carrots, shredded
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup coconut (optional)
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
For the Frosting:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 blocks cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups powdered sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer, add cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and ginger. If you are using a gluten-free or keto cake mix, make sure the mix weighs about 15.25 ounces, the same as a regular box of cake mix.
Mix the wet ingredients in the mixer for 2 minutes. Then scrape down the sides with a spatula.
Fold in the pineapple, carrots, pecans, raisins, and coconut. If you don’t want to add any of these items, you can leave them out. My family isn’t very fond of raisins, so I don’t add them. You can include whatever your family enjoys for the same flavor profile.
Transfer the cake batter to a greased 9×13-inch pan or two 8-inch round pans.
Bake the cake according to the directions on the cake mix box for the size of pan you are using. Make sure to check for doneness using a toothpick or skewer. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool the cake completely.
In the meantime, combine all the ingredients for the frosting in the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low using the whisk attachment for 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
Spread the frosting over the cake. If you are making a layer cake, spread the frosting between the layers and frost the outside.
Decorate the cake with pastel sprinkles, nuts, coconut or leave it plain. No matter what, this cake is a delicious finish to an Easter meal.
If you like this recipe, you may also like the following recipes:
Low-Carb Boston Cream Poke Cake
Keto Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Carrot Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 cups carrots shredded
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup coconut optional
- 1/4 cup raisins optional
- For the Frosting:
- 2 sticks butter room temperature
- 2 blocks cream cheese softened
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp. orange juice
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a mixer, add cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and ginger. If you are using a gluten-free or keto cake mix, make sure the mix weighs about 15.25 ounces, the same as a regular box of cake mix.
- Mix the wet ingredients in the mixer for 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Fold in the pineapple, carrots, pecans, raisins, and coconut. If you don’t want to add any of these items, you can leave them out.
- Transfer the cake batter to a greased 9×13-inch pan or two 8-inch round pans.
- Bake the cake according to the directions on the cake mix box for the size of pan you are using.
- Check for doneness using a toothpick or skewer. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Cool the cake completely.
- Combine all the ingredients for the frosting in the bowl of a mixer.
- Beat on low using the whisk attachment for 1 minute.
- Increase the mixer speed and beat until fluffy.
- Spread the frosting over the cake. If you are making a layer cake, spread the frosting between the layers and around the outside.
- Decorate the cake with pastel sprinkles, nuts, coconut or leave it plain.
