Happy Easter Friends!

My transplanted Primrose obviously love their new home and I love seeing them grow and bloom every day. Some tulips have started poking up and I'm curious to see what they will look like. I am having issues with the neighborhood bunnies but I figure if they like my garden bed so much now, they will really love it when I spice it up a bit with some Cayenne Pepper ;o) Here are a series of photos of my primrose and our family's bunny cake. It's the first year of a new family tradition. This year's bunny cake is Carrot Pineapple cake that I made a little healthier. The recipe follows. Happy Easter Friends!

Carrot Pineapple Cake

[I know my little one will eat cake but getting him to eat veggies is a little more difficult, thus the carrot cake for Easter! I am putting the original recipe and in parentheses my changes. Either way you fix it, I know it will be yummy!]

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (1cup whole wheat flour + 1cup all-purpose flour)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves)
  
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar (1 1/2 cups sugar)
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil (1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup unsweetened organic apple sauce)
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots (1 pound organic carrots, about 8 carrots)
  
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts ( toasted on stove top before adding)
  
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.(I used a Nordicware 3D bunny pan and followed their baking instructions. This way, the recipe yielded one bunny cake and 12 cupcakes)
   
2. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center and add sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix with wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple.
3. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Don't panic, the center will sink a little. Allow to cool.

   

Cream Cheese Frosting: 8 ounces cream cheese softened but still cool 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, but still cool 1 tablespoon sour cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 ounces)
When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in clean food processor work bowl until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. (Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)