Carrot Cake Bunny Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
For our third annual bunny cake, well, third together, but I’ve been making these since I was a kiddo, we’re making a carrot cake bunny cake.
Seeing as people start craving carrot cake come spring, with all the fresh blooms and garden hopes and dreams (before reality, bugs, and lack of plant knowledge kill your crops). It seemed the perfect cake for this year.
Though, to be fair, aside from the freshly grated carrots, to me this is more of a fall cake. The warm spices and rich flavors give off cozy vibes more than sunshine ones, but… I guess that’s just me.
So grab your girlfriends or some random kiddos (jk, please know and have permission to involve said children) and make a spring bunny cake your new bird-chirping tradition!
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CARROT CAKE BUNNY CAKE
A bunny cake is really just a fun way to bring in the season, and I get a true thrill out of making one every year. This year, we’re taking my homemade carrot cake and transforming it into a carrotty spring cake.
This cake is MOIST (yes, I said it, and I would like to say it louder), thanks to the coconut oil, applesauce, eggs, orange zest, and, of course, carrots. So make sure to grease your baking pans really well, so you can cut and shape the most perfect Easter dessert.
Can I just decorate my bunny cake with frosting? Absolutely! If you want to frost more than just the top of the carrot cake, I’d recommend doubling the frosting recipe to smoothly decorate the sides. Tripling it if you also want to do some fancy pipework.
INGREDIENTS
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture while giving the carrot cake a deeper caramel flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps create a soft, tender crumb.
- Coconut oil: Provides fat for moisture and richness while keeping the cake soft.
- Eggs: Bind the batter together and provide structure and lift.
- Unsweetened applesauce: Adds moisture and natural sweetness while keeping the cake tender.
- Carrots: Provide the signature carrot cake flavor, natural sweetness, and moisture.
- Orange zest: Adds bright citrus flavor that complements the warm spices and carrots.
- All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of the cake.
- Cinnamon: Adds warm spice that defines classic carrot cake flavor.
- Ground nutmeg: Deepens the warm spice
- Salt: Enhances overall flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic ingredients to help the cake rise and stay tender.
- Baking powder: Provides additional leavening for a lighter cake texture.
- Salted butter: Browned to create a nutty, rich base for the frosting.
- Cream cheese: Adds tangy flavor and creamy texture to the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting for a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Milk: Loosens the frosting to the desired creamy texture.
- Sugar: Combined with water to create a syrup for candying the carrot garnish.
- Water: Dissolves the sugar to form the syrup used to soften and candy the carrot topping.
I don’t like coconut oil. What else could I use? You can swap any neutral oil – think canola or vegetable – for the coconut oil in this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE CARROT CAKE BUNNY CAKE
Make the candied carrot topping…
I recommend making the candied carrots the day before, to give plenty of time for drying. To make, peel two carrots into thin strips and grate the remaining carrot.
Place the sugar and water in a pot and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, add the carrot strips and cook for about 8 minutes, until soft and slightly translucent.
Remove the carrot strips with a slotted spoon and place them in an even layer on a paper towel to dry and cool slightly. Bring the syrup back to a simmer and add the shredded carrots, cooking for about 3 minutes before transferring them to paper towels to dry.
Once the carrot strips have cooled, roll them up, starting from the thinnest end, to create small rosettes. Place the rosettes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 200°F for about 20 minutes to dry and lightly candy them.
Brown the butter for the cream cheese frosting…
Next, brown the butter for the frosting by placing it in a small pot over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally as the butter melts and the milk solids begin to separate and settle at the bottom.
Continue cooking until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter develops a nutty aroma. Immediately pour the browned butter into a bowl, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator to firm up while you bake the cake.
Prepare the carrot cake batter…
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted coconut oil, and applesauce for about one minute until smooth and combined. This mixture should look thick and glossy.
Add two of the eggs and mix until fully incorporated, then add the remaining eggs and mix again. Stir in the grated carrots and orange zest until evenly distributed.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can make the cake dense.
Bake the carrot cake layers…
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert them onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper, and let them cool completely.
Make the brown butter cream cheese frosting…
While the cakes cool, finish preparing the brown butter cream cheese frosting. Once the browned butter has firmed up to room temperature and is no longer liquid, add it to a mixing bowl along with the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and beat slowly until fully incorporated. Add the milk and beat once more until the frosting is creamy and spreadable.
Cut, assemble, and frost the bunny cake…
To create the bunny shape, place one cake round on a cutting board and cut out the ears and bow tie. Start by cutting a curved line across the lower third of the cake to create one ear and the bottom of the bow tie.
Next, cut a curved line across the upper third of the cake to form the second ear and the top of the bow tie. You should now have two ears and a bow tie shape remaining in the center.
Arrange the bunny on a large tray or cookie sheet by placing the bow tie at the bottom. Set the uncut cake round above it to form the face, then position the ears on either side of the head.
Spread the brown butter cream cheese frosting evenly over the entire bunny cake. Decorate with the shredded candied carrots and carrot rosettes before serving.
3 reasons you’ll love this carrot cake bunny cake
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Make sure your cake ingredients are room temperature before assembling. This will help them mix smoothly and prevent overmixing.
- Freshly grate your carrots for this recipe! Pre-shredded carrots have dried out some of that natural moisture, which will affect your final baking texture
- If you don’t like coconut or have an allergy, you can easily swap the coconut oil for canola or vegetable.
- As always, I highly recommend sifting your dry ingredients into your wet, to prevent any unwanted clumps (which won’t smooth out as they bake…)
- When decorating, if you want to frost the sides of the cake as well, I’d recommend doubling the frosting recipe. Tripling it if you want to get fancy with a piping bag.
- If you want more carrot rosettes, honestly, you should just peel the whole bag. It takes quite a few carrot strips to make one rose, so you’ll use them up quickly.
- For carrot roses that are taller, leave them as-is once you’ve rolled and dried them. If you want to have twice as many rosettes, carefully cut them in half (at the middle) before decorating, for a slightly shorter rose.
- Want to decorate your bunny cake with flowers? Check out my previous chocolate bunny cake or raspberry bunny cake for inspiration!
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
I highly recommend making your candied carrots the day before, to give them time to dry. Once you bake them, you can leave them uncovered overnight to continue drying on the tray.
To make assembly easier, you can prep your brown butter cream cheese frosting the day before, and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will also keep for up to 2 months when stored in the freezer.
If frozen, place in the fridge overnight to thaw before placing on the counter to come to room temperature an hour or two before decorating. It’s much easier to frost a cake with room temperature frosting!
Once baked and decorated, store your carrot cake bunny cake in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 months. I find this cake is best at room temperature, so remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
MORE EASTER RECIPES
- Asparagus and Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Twists
- Chocolate Velvet Linzer Cookies
- Lime Olive Oil Cake
- 1 Focaccia, 2 Flavors: Tomato Pesto & Strawberry Cheesecake
- Classic French Quiche Lorraine
Equipment
- 9″ Round Cake Pans (2)
- Grater
- Peeler
- Slotted Spoon
- Mixer
- Medium Pot
- Spatulas
- Spoon
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Wire Rack
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup coconut oil* melted
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 cups carrots grated (approx. 4 medium carrots)
- 1 tbsp orange zest optional (approx. 1 orange)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup salted butter
- 6 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 3 carrots regular (not baby)
Instructions
- *If you want to top with the candied carrots, I’d recommend making them the day before so they have lots of time to dry before assembly
- Make your carrot topping: Lay 2 of your carrots flat and peel them into strips. Grate the remaining carrot. Place sugar and water in a pot and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add your peeled carrots first and simmer for 8 minutes until soft and slightly translucent. Remove with a slotted spoon and lay on a paper towel to dry and cool slightly. Bring the liquid back to a simmer and add your shredded carrots, and simmer for 3 minutes. Transferring to a paper towel to dry. Once your carrot strips are cool, roll up starting at the skinniest end, to form rosettes. For larger roses, line a few strips vertically, slightly overlapping one to the next, before rolling. Place rosettes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 200°F to lightly dry out. Repeat with grated carrots, then leave them uncovered overnight.
- Brown the butter for your frosting by placing your butter into a small pot over medium heat. Swirl the pan every minute or so. As the mixture begins to separate, the milk solids will rise and then slowly drop to the bottom of the pot and begin to brown. Once browned, remove from the heat and pour immediately into a bowl. Leave to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before moving to the fridge to set while you bake your cakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir and set aside
- In another bowl, beat together your sugars, coconut oil, and applesauce for a minute until combined
- Add in two of your eggs, mix them in completely, then add the remaining two eggs. Mix in your grated carrots and orange zest
- Mix in your dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Split your batter between your lined cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely (remove parchment paper from the bottom of the cake)
- While your cake cools, finish making your cream cheese frosting. Once your butter has softened to room temperature and is no longer melted or liquid, add it to a mixing bowl. Add your room-temperature cream cheese and beat for a minute until smooth. Sift your powdered sugar into the bowl and carefully beat until all is incorporated. Add the milk and give one final beat. Keep at room temperature while you prepare the cake (this will make it easier to spread)
- To form your bunny, place one of your cake rounds on a cutting board and cut out your ears and bowtie. It will look kind of like a tennis ball when you cut it. To do this, at the bottom of your round, about a third of the way up, cut a line curving downward from one side to the other. Now you have one ear and the bottom of your bow tie! From the top of your round, about a third of the way down a line curving upward, from one side to the next. You should see two bunny ears (top and bottom of your round) and a bowtie in the middle. On a large cookie sheet or tray, place your bowtie at the bottom. Then, above the bow tie, fit your remaining 9-inch round that hasn’t been cut – this is your face! Lastly, place one of your bunny ears on either side of the face. Now you have your bunny!
- Frost all over with the cream cheese frosting and top with the shredded and rosetted carrots. Enjoy!
I love a good carrot cake and this one does not disappoint!