this pink rooster: Hippity-Hoppity

Easter means cake in our home...and each year I challenge myself to try a new recipe...or two!
Several years ago it was this cake...

and last year it was a lemon bundt cake...A.MA.ZING...enough to bake again a short time later for Mother's Day...and enough to share here:

Lemon Bundt Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon lemon OIL

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease bundt cake pan with butter.
Beat butter, sugar and salt until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well.
Add baking power.
Add flour, alternating with milk...beginning and ending with flour. Mix only until smooth.
Stir in lemon oil.
Bake 55-60 minutes.

In the meantime, make the glaze/syrup:
1/3 cup lemon JUICE
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Mix together in small sauce pan. Cook until boiling.

Remove from oven and cool in pan, on cooling rack for five minutes. Remove from pan, turning out onto cake plate or pedestal. Poke holes all over warm cake with skewer, and cover with glaze/syrup. Cool before slicing...if you can. Truly, I think the secret to the moist yummy-ness is the syrupy glaze.

Okay...fast forward to this year...and thought I wanted to try something in a mason jar. Then I decided I didn't want to actually bake something in a jar...but I wanted a carrot cake...and I wanted a to try a new recipe. Ahhhhh...the easy peasy answer... Sigrid's Carrot Cake in The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations.

This year's new (to me) Easter cake recipe was a winner! In all honesty I was questioning the recipe the entire time. I just couldn't believe that a carrot cake without raisins or pineapple or coconut or nuts could be good...but MY OH MY was I wrong!

I baked the cake in a sheet cake pan (directions in the book)...and while it was cooling I made the Cream Cheese Frosting. I grabbed a few half pint size jars...and my trusty Round Cookie Cutter Set ...and got to work. When all was said and done...this is what I had.

This Sweet Dreams Designer Series Paper reminded me of bunny tails...so I just had to use it...and I LOVE these wooden spoons. Buy 'em in bulk...and stamp 'em for any occasion!