Cottontail Carrot Cake

2 cups shredded & finely chopped Carrots 2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Baking Soda ½ teaspoon Salt ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg 1 ½ cups unpacked Light Brown Sugar 1 cup Vegetable Oil 4 large Eggs 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line 2 round (8-inch) cake pans with wax paper. Shred carrots and then finely chop and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg, then stir together and set aside. In a large mixing bowl and with an electric mixer, beat together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract, then add in the dry ingredients a little at a time while beating until combined. Beat in the shredded carrots. Divide the batter between the 2 pans. Bake on the 3rd (middle) rack for around 25 minutes or until a fork comes out clean in the center. Remove and let cool completely.

Frosting & Decorations:

1 (8-ounce) package Cream Cheese (room temp) 1 stick Margarine (1/2 cup) (room temp) 5 cups Powdered Sugar 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract Orange Food Coloring Green Food Coloring 9 crushed chocolate filled Oreo’s White, Pink, Orange & Green Fondant (*Peeps can also be used) Candied Eggs In a large mixing bowl and with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, margarine, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together. Remove a small portion of the frosting and set aside. Add orange food coloring the remaining batter. Once combined, frost the cake with the orange frosting. Create a small garden with the crushed Oreo’s. Add green food coloring to the small amount of frosting, then place in a pastry bag or freezer bag and cut a small slit. Pipe some green grass around the crushed cookies as well as leaves going up the sides of the cake. Make bunny ears and a bunny bottom with a cotton tail with the white and pink fondant, then place in the garden. Shape out 2 carrots and put stems on top, then cut 2 slits in the cake and push the carrots down in the garden. Add candied eggs in the center of the leaves around the cake as well as some eggs on top of the cake and in the garden.