Described are component carriers (100; 200a, 200b) comprising a stepped cavity (150; 250) into which a stepped component assembly (160; 260) is embedded. The component carriers comprise (a) fully cured electrically insulating material (M) originating from at least one electrically insulating layer structure (112) of the component carrier (100) and circumferentially surrounding the stepped component assembly (160) and/or (b) an undercut (254a) in a transition region between a narrow recess (252) and a wide recess (254) of the stepped cavity (250). Further described are methods for manufacturing such component carriers (100; 200a, 200b).