Mr Easter Bunny pokes his head out of the rabbit hole to get ready for Easter Sunday. The grass is green, the eggs are in abundance – the world is a happy place!
Dive through the frosting and into a deliciously moist carrot cake. Each person gets a chocolate egg, of course!
Easter Bunny carrot cake
Course: All Recipes, Baking, Cakes/Muffins, EntertainingDifficulty: Medium12
30
minutes1
hour10
minutesTopping options
Dive through the frosting and into a deliciously moist carrot cake. Each person gets a chocolate egg, of course!
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
3 large carrots, coarsely grated, to make 3 cups firmly packed carrot
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
- Cream cheese frosting
30g butter, softened
80g cream cheese, softened
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- Decoration
200g shredded coconut
Green food colour paste, to tint
Ceramic bunny (I bought mine from Bed Bath ‘n Table), washed
1 pkt speckled milk chocolate Easter eggs
Selection of coloured sprinkles and star sprinkles, to scatter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease a 24cm (top measurement) bundt pan.
- Use an electric mixer to beat the oil, sugar and eggs in a large bowl until thick and creamy. Stir in the carrot and nuts. Sift in the flour, bicarb and mixed spice.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 5 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack, top-side up, to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, to make the frosting, use an electric mixer to beat the butter, cream cheese and lemon rind in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until well combined.
- Spread frosting over the top of the cake and halfway down the side. Place the coconut in a shallow dish, then stir in enough of the food paste to reached the desired ‘grass’ colour. Spoon the coconut all over the frosting, pushing lightly to adhere the coconut.
- Place the bunny in the centre hole so he just peeks out. Arrange the speckled eggs all over the top, then scatter cake with sprinkles. Serve.
Tips and notes
- Forget the bunny and chocolate speckled eggs and top the cake with halved Cadbury Creme Eggs (yolk side up) and sprinkles.
- You can also cover the grass in fluffy Easter chicks. Just remember to remove them before cutting the cake.
