Name: Bunny Carrot Cake
Yield: Serves 12 to 15
Ingredients: Vegetable-oil cooking spray; 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 2 pounds carrots, finely grated; 6 large eggs, room temperature; 2/3 cup nonfat buttermilk; 4 cups sugar; 3 cups vegetable oil; 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved; 1 cup golden raisins; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; Cream-Cheese Frosting for Bunny Carrot Cake; 10 cups mini marshmallows; 2 chocolate-covered espresso beans; 1 pink jelly bean; 1 pale-yellow licorice twist (6 inches), cut into 2-inch lengths and sliced into needle-thin pieces; 2 cups loosely packed pink cotton candy

Carrot cake, naturally, is the foundation for our cotton-candy-tailed Easter bunny cake. Miniature marshmallows make fur that is inexpensive, easy to apply, and fun to eat, while gold licorice whiskers are a cute touch.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, April 2005

Serves 12 to 15

Yield

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat an ovenproof 13-inch-diameter 6-quart bowl with cooking spray. Dust with flour, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. Whisk together carrots, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, oil, vanilla seeds, and raisins in a large bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a medium bowl. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture. Transfer batter to prepared bowl.
3. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 2 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in bowl 40 minutes. Unmold onto rack. Let cool completely.
4. Place cake, broad side down, on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, trim 2 sides to create a slightly pointed head and body. Using 2 scraps from sides, cut out two 5-inch-long ears. (Trim bases of ears at an angle so that they will lean toward tail.) Attach with frosting. From 1 scrap, carve a ballshaped tail that has 1 flat side; attach with frosting. Refrigerate cake 20 minutes. Spread a thick layer of frosting over cake.
5. Cover entire cake (except for insides of ears and the tail) with marshmallows. Press in espresso beans for eyes and the jelly bean for a nose. Add 8 pieces of licorice for whiskers. Just before serving, cover ears and tail with cotton candy.