Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a look at the ingredients you’ll need for this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Carrot Cake Mix: This shortcut guarantees the perfect cake with a soft and tender crumb.

Buttermilk: This easy swap adds depth of flavor and richness to the batter. The acidic nature of buttermilk also helps keep the crumb tender and moist.

Oil: While butter is delicious, oil will always make a cake with a moister crumb that doesn’t dry out and is more forgiving of overbaking. It will also allow you to serve this cake cold without the crumb becoming firm.

Cold Cream Cheese: Cold cream cheese is key for making this frosting spreadable and stiff. Warm cream cheese will make a runnier frosting that will be difficult to decorate with and is easier to overmix and separate.

Butter: In addition to the cream cheese, butter adds body and richness to the frosting, as well as stability. Use slightly softened, but not warm, butter for this recipe to avoid a runny frosting.

Other Ingredients You’ll Need: Eggs, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, salt, and vanilla (optional). 

How to Make Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Here’s a look at the steps to make this moist Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. See the entire recipe for detailed instructions.

1. Make and Bake the Cake

Mix the cake batter and divide between two round cake pans. Bake the cakes on the center rack of the oven and cool completely before frosting. Cooling completely is important, if the cakes are even barely warm, the frosting will melt and slide off the cake.

2. Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes cream cheese frosting lacks structure and becomes runny. Making sure your cream cheese is cold from the refrigerator will help ensure a thick and spreadable frosting that melts on the tongue.

3. Assemble the Cake

This cake can be assembled as soon as it has completely cooled. Chilling the layers in the refrigerator firms up the cake layers and makes assembly easier. You can also wrap the unfrosted layers in plastic wrap, freeze until solid, and assemble with frozen cake layers.

How to Store Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Follow these tips for storing Easy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Refrigerator: Due to the cream cheese and butter in the frosting, this cake must be refrigerated. Cover any cut edges of the cake with plastic wrap, then place the cake in an airtight cake holder or cake carrier. Alternately, wrap individual portions of cake in plastic wrap before placing them in the refrigerator.

Freezer: Wrap portions of cake in a double layer of plastic wrap (or a layer of plastic wrap and foil). Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw wrapped portions of cake overnight in the refrigerator. Do not microwave as the frosting can melt or burn.