This is a beautifully moist carrot cake to enjoy at any time of the year. But, come Easter, it easily morphs into a fun, and seriously gorgeous, Easter Bunny carrot cake.

Kids and adults alike will most certainly adore this delightful Easter cake. The cake itself is not only very yummy, but all that icing and shredded coconut bring an extra layer of deliciousness and texture. And don’t get me started on those speckled eggs! Just make sure you add enough so that everyone gets at least one!

WINE PAIRING: You could pair this carrot cake with sweet, high-acid or nutty wines to complement spices and cut through the richness. Top choices include aromatic Riesling, buttery Chardonnay or dessert wines such as Tawny Port and Moscato.

“As Cute As An Easter Bunny” Carrot Cake

Recipe by Food and Vine

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: MainsCuisine: DessertDifficulty: Fairly easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

minutes

This gorgeous cake is sure to turn heads at your next Easter celebration.

Ingredients

Metric US

1 cup 1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups 2/3 lb brown sugar, firmly packed
3 3 eggs
3 large 3 large carrots, coarsely grated (you’ll need 3 cups, firmly packed)
1 cup 1/4 lb chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups 2/3 lb self-raising flour
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp 2 tsp mixed spice
200 g 7 oz shredded coconut
Green food colouring paste, to tint
Ceramic bunny, to decorate
Cream cheese frosting
30 g 2 tbsp butter
80 g 3 cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 tsp 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups 2/5 lb icing sugar mixture

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease a 24cm (top measurement) bundt pan.
Use an electric mixer to beat oil, sugar and eggs in a large bowl until thick and creamy. Stir in carrot and walnut. Sift in 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 the 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 butter, cream cheese and lemon zest in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until well combined.
Spread frosting over the top of the cooled cake and halfway down the side. Place coconut in a shallow dish, then stir in enough of the colouring paste to reach your desired ‘grass’ colour. Spoon the ‘grass’ all over the frosting, pushing lightly to help it adhere to the frosting.
Place bunny in the centre hole so he just peeks out. Arrange speckled eggs all over the top, then scatter cake with sprinkles, to serve.

Notes

Forget the bunny and chocolate speckled eggs and top the cake with halved Cadbury Creme Eggs (yolk side up) and sprinkles, of you like. You can also cover the grass in fluffy Easter chicks. Just remember to remove them before cutting the cake!
If using a bunny figurine, make sure that it is ceramic or hard plastic so that you can easily wash it before and after using.

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