Easy Carrot Cake from Box Mix

Turn a yellow cake mix into a moist, delicious carrot cake. A few simple pantry items are all you’ll need to bake a beautiful spring dessert.

My Easy Carrot Cake starts with your favorite yellow cake mix!

Wow, it’s Easter weekend and crunch time! If you’re like me, there’s the final run to the grocery store to be made, the house needs a cleaning (or at least a quick freshening) and the meal must be made. I also attend church services Thursday and Friday evening, as well as Easter morning.

So, I’ll keep this recipe brief because we don’t have a lot of time! But I wanted to share my Easy Carrot Cakerecipe with you because it’s a wonderful last-minute dessert for an Easter celebration (you know, when Auntie Janie calls last minute to say she can’t make dinner — and she offered to bring dessert). This recipe is also a good way to use up those last few carrots from the bag after Easter.

You will need the following ingredients to make Easy Carrot Cake, which yields 12 servings

• 1 yellow cake mix

• 2 cups grated carrots

• ½ cup milk

• 3 eggs

• ½ vegetable oil

• ½ crushed pineapple (do not drain)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon orange extract

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• ¼ cup chopped pecans

• Optional: ½ cup raisins

• Optional: 24 bunny Peeps® (recommend if making this cake for Easter)

Directions to make Easy Carrot Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. You can also line bottom of pans with parchment and grease sides.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil and milk for 30 seconds. Add cake mix, carrots, pineapple in juice, orange extract and spices. Beat with electric mixer until wet, then raise the speed to medium and mix for another 2 minutes.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes (you’ll want a toothpick to come out clean when testing the center). Cool on two wire racks for 5 minutes.

Finishing the cake

Let’s face it, the cream cheese icing is the star of this show, am I right? Now, if you’re really pressed for time, prepared cream cheese frosting is acceptable. I prefer Pillsbury’s Creamy Supreme prepared cream cheese frosting; you’ll need to buy two 16-ounce cans if you go this route.

But making cream cheese frosting from scratch is super easy. Here’s the recipe I used from the Kraft Heinz web site.

• 1 (8-ounce) package Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended.

2. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition until blended.

3. Ice top of the cake with frosting and sprinkle with chopped pecans. If not using Peeps in finishing the cake, frost the sides, too.

4. If using Peeps, spread about a teaspoon of frosting onto the back of 4 Peeps and press into side of cake. Continue process until the candy bunnies encircle the entire cake.

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About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Pick the perfect ham

Follow these guidelines to pick the perfect ham for your family’s holiday dinner.

A luscious baked ham is the centerpiece for Easter dinner (and often for Christmas feasts), but combing through the varieties in your grocery store can be a little confusing. Welcome to my class, Ham 101 where you will learn how to pick the perfect ham. And I have a delicious recipe at the end for Apricot Bourbon Glazed Ham, so "stick" around!

What type of ham should you buy?

The most common variety is a fully cooked ham. Cured and smoked, you can buy this ham bone-in or boneless. In my opinion, bone-in has the best flavor and value because after you’ve enjoyed most of the meat, you have an amazing bone with which you can make a bean soup!

Of course, a boneless ham is super easy to carve and has almost no waste. If you don't plan on using a ham bone for anything, maybe this is the right ham for your dinner.

A spiral-cut bone-in ham is easier to carve, but this cut can dry out quicker in the oven, so follow the directions on the packaging. Here’s a good video for carving a spiral-cut bone-in ham.

Try and avoid products labeled “ham and water product” because it’s a lower grade ham. Water (in any amount) plus other ingredients are added during processing. Look instead for labels that simply say “ham” or “ham with natural juices.”

How big of ham should you buy?

For your holiday dinner, plan for ¾ pound per person with a bone-in ham or ½ pound with boneless. After that, the size depends on how much you’ll want for leftovers or to send home with guests!

Now that you’ve selected the right ham, here’s a recipe for it.

You will need the following ingredients to make my Apricot Bourbon Glazed Ham, which yields 12 servings.

• One 8-pound bone-in spiral-cut ham

• 1 cup apricot jam

• ½ cup bourbon

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• Nonstick cooking spray

• Water

Follow these directions to make Apricot Bourbon Glazed Ham 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the ham in a roasting pan with rack fat side up. Using a small paring knife, cut crosshatch marks to score the fat. Do not cut into the meat.

Add about a cup of water to bottom of pan and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

While ham is baking, make the glaze. Combine jam, bourbon, sugar, butter and spices in a small saucepan. Cook over medium or medium-low heat (don’t let sugars burn) for about 20 minutes or until glaze gets thick (syrup consistency).

Brush the ham with glaze about every 15 minutes and continue baking for another 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. The ham will get brown, but you may need to tent with foil sprayed with nonstick to prevent it from burning.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Leftover lovin’

Leftover ham can be enjoyed in sandwiches, fried for breakfast, and so on, and it’s delicious! The USDA recommends storing leftover baked ham for up to five days. (Honestly, I’ve gone seven days without a problem.) But if the ham starts to get stick or slimy, don’t eat it.

Freezing leftover ham is fine. Be sure to wrap it in plastic wrap then foil before putting it in a zipper-top freezer bag and store for two months.

You also can make something like my tasty Ham Loaf and then freeze it to enjoy later. Or dice ham and swap out for the Italian sausage in my recipe for Comforting Vegetable Soup. I love ham in casserole dishes and it’s a natural protein for Mom’s Hot Dish (substitute hamburger with the leftover ham).

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About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Set the perfect spring table

These simple ideas will help you to set the perfect spring table for your Easter or Passover gatherings.

Passover and Easter are almost here! Will your dining table be ready for guests? Whether you host a large or small gathering of family of friends, these simple ideas can help you set the perfect spring table for these important celebrations. Let’s start with Easter.

This year, Easter falls on April 20. My family’s celebration tends to run smaller, and that’s fine by me. A friend of mine said their family Easter tops 25 people (bless them)! Whether you’re doing a fun or elegant table, you need some type of centerpiece, and I love this idea from Family Features that includes colorful Peeps, foil-covered chocolate eggs and either fresh or silk flowers.

Easter centerpiece directions

To make the centerpiece shown in the above photo, you will need:

• 1 clear glass trifle bowl

• 1 bag chocolate foil-covered eggs

• 3 or 4 packs of Peeps chicks (or bunnies), your choice of colors

• Fresh or silk flowers, your choice of colors

• (If you’re using fresh flowers, you’ll need a smaller vase that fits inside the trifle bowl.)

Add the chocolate eggs to the bowl. If using a vase for fresh stems, nestle it among the eggs. Fill vase with just enough water to keep stems moist (about an inch).

Line marshmallow chicks (or bunnies) around the bowl. You may need to arrange two rows of these, depending on the size of your bowl.

Nestle the silk flowers in the middle of candies. If using fresh stems, add the flowers to the vase.

Carrot utensils trick

This idea for presenting cutlery is fun for a more casual table or buffet. The orange paper napkins give a great color pop to a table. While I like the contrast of green cutlery, I’m not a fan of plastic. I think a better option would be using compostable bamboo cutlery.

Although plastic cutlery technically can be recycled, most sources say these items wind up in the landfills. You will need the following to make these cute cutlery holders for your Easter table:

• Orange napkins

• Compostable bamboo cutlery

• Green ribbon

• Carrot tops

Lay napkins flat on table. Place one of each utensil in napkin facing top corner. Wrap napkin around utensils. Tie ribbon around middle of napkin and tuck a bit of green, carrot tops inside the cone. Place the cutlery package in an Easter basked (for a buffet) or at each place setting in the middle of the plate.

I like the neutral color of the bamboo cutlery, but compostable cutlery is easily found in stores today, so opt for that over plastic. Otherwise, use your usual flatware.

And if you're setting a more formal table for Easter, here's a cute idea for a place setting courtesy of The Dollar Tree.

Bunny ear napkins

For this craft, you’ll need:

• Cloth napkins  

• Speckled faux Easter eggs

• Twine

• Faux Greenery and Floral

• Optional, chalkboard wooden clips and white paint pen

Lay out the napkin so that it is shaped like a diamond with a point at the top and at the bottom. Rolling it from the top point down until the entire napkin has been folded. Fold the napkin in half, leaving room for the faux egg in the middle. (It could be fun to tuck a few after-dinner mints inside the plastic egg.) Secure folded napkin with a piece of twine and tie into a bow.

Add an egg to the middle of the napkin. You may choose to clip on a chalkboard wooden clip with your guest’s name on it and add a touch of faux greenery or floral.

Beautiful Passover table ideas

My friend Leslie's Passover seder table from 2024. She provided the photo to use here.

This year, Passover begins the evening of April 12 and continues through April 20. The seder plate holds symbolic foods used to help retell the Exodus story in the Torah. Although these symbolic foods are integral at the seder, the table settings vary between families.

For example, my friend, Leslie, each year sets a unique table. “It’s a mashup of Japanese, Jewish, and Hawaiian,” she says, a beautiful reflection of their family’s diversity. But family heirlooms are always mixed in, including the seder plates from her great, great-grandmother.

“These are what my mom used my whole life,” Leslie says. There’s also a Depression-era rose-colored press glass dish from her great-grandmother that always holds the charoset, the mixture of fruit, nuts and wine to symbolize mortar Hebrews used to build Egyptian structures.

In addition to using heirloom pieces, keeping to a color scheme can create a lovely table. This blue-and-white color scheme is elegant for a seder. Featured on blogger Deborah Shearer’s site, Table + Dine, she beautifully mixes patterns here.

Blogger Milena Kukurekovic last year shared a striking table of creams, greens, and fresh flowers. You may want to do less disposable cutlery and drinkware, but otherwise, her little touches like sprigs wrapped in napkins are elegant.

Do you have photos from your Easter or Passover tables from last year? If so, drop them in the comments so we can be inspired by your creativity! No matter how you choose to celebrate, I wish everyone a Happy Spring/Passover/Easter. And watch for the special holiday newsletter next week with recipe ideas for your spring gatherings.

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.