i am a food blog

Happy Easter Friday! I don’t usually celebrate Easter, unless peeps topped cakes or potato buns count as a celebration…for the record, they definitely count in my books.

We did have a little ham dinner yesterday! Mike made a spiced ham with the creamiest mash ever and I made some sweet potato biscuits and this surprise bunny-in-the-middle coconut and carrot loaf. I love coconut cake and carrot cake so I figured why not combine them into one loaf. I was a little worried that the carrot bunnies would get over-baked but they ended up being good!

I am in love with loaves – they are so hot right now! Or at least I want them to be. They’re quick to make and you can eat a slice for breakfast, for afternoon tea, or with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. I love how they’re infinitely customizable and how little loaves are the perfect size for Mike and I.

Wishing you guys the happiest Easter! I hope you have an Easter egg hunt. It’s my dream to go on one even though I’m quite a bit older than most Easter egg hunters. One year, Mike very sweetly hid treats all over our home when I told him that Easter egg hunting was one of my unfulfilled childhood dreams. I’m pretty sure my mom and dad did take me to an Easter egg hunt or two, but for the life of me I cannot remember them so I’m pretty convinced I missed out on Easter as a kid.

Although, now that I think about it, my very favorite stuffed animal as a child was an bunny that my dad bought me for Easter…so maybe I did do an Easter egg hunt or two? I still have my Bunny, oh-so-creatively named “Bunny.” She’s missing her tail and she’s rather grey now but I still love her. Ah, childhood nostalgia!

Carrot-Coconut Bunny Loaf Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Carrot Cake and Coconut Loaf
makes 2 mini loaves (5.5 x 2.5 inches) with carrot cake scrap leftovers
prep time: 30 minutes
bake time: 1.5 hours
total time: 2 hours

Carrot Cake

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled carrots

Coconut Cake

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for baking pan

Make the carrot cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. In another bowl, whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until just blended. Stir in carrots and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a tester comes out completely clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, the turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill until slightly firm, then use a bunny cookie cutter to cut out as many bunnies as possible. Tightly wrap the bunnies and keep frozen while making the coconut batter.

Make the coconut loaf: Whisk the egg, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl.

Sift the flour, salt, baking power, and cinnamon into a medium bowl and mix with the sugar and coconut. Make a well in the center and add the egg mixture. Stir until just combined then add the melted butter and stir until smooth – do not overmix!

Parchment line or oil/butter 2 small loaf pans – I used a 5.5 x 2.5 loaf pan.

Place a bit of batter in the bottom of the pan and line up the frozen carrot bunnies into a bunny log. Place the bunnies snuggly in the pan and pour batter around and on top of the bunnies. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the coconut part comes out clean.

Let cool completely before slicing and enjoying!

carrotcoconuteasterloaf