Bunny Cakes: Carrot Pancakes with a Cream Cheese Glaze

I adore carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and when I was brainstorming some ideas for pancake flavors, this one became my next challenge. I got up a little extra early to make these pancakes. My kids are very picky eaters. If they knew carrots and pineapple made an appearance in their pancakes, I know they wouldn't have even tried a bite. So, I snuck downstairs in the early hours of the morning and started pancake assembly. The carrots were grated a few days before to keep down on any unnecessary noise.

When the kids came down stairs for breakfast, the cakes were done and waiting for their critique. The verdict, they ate them all up with no complaint! When I told them they just ate carrot pancakes, they gave me a quizzical look and kept eating. WIN!

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:

4 ounces of Cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1/2-3/4 cup of milk, depends on how viscous you want your glaze

Beat the cream cheese, butter and salt together until smooth. Add the powder sugar and beat for about 1 minute. Pour in the milk a little at a time until you get a glaze consistency.

PREPARATION TIP:Make your glaze up to three days in advance. Just remember to bring the glaze to room temperature. You may have to give it a good stir before use.

CARROT CAKE PANCAKES (BUNNY CAKES):

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Mix all the dry ingredients together in large bowl.

PREPARATION TIP: Bag the dry ingredients several days in advance. Heck, prepare two or three of the bagged dry ingredients to keep on hand whenever you are feeling like bunny cakes.  You can omit the cinnamon from the dry ingredients and have plain pancakes too. Store the bagged ingredients in a dry place.

Wet ingredients:

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1 cup grated carrots

4 ounces crushed pineapple.

Whisk the first four ingredients together in a small bowl.

PREPARATION TIP: Grate the carrots up to three days in advance.

Grab the large bowl of dry ingredients and create a well in the center. Pour in the wet ingredients and whisk them together. Fold in the pineapple and carrots.

Heat up your favorite pancake baking pan over medium heat, I like a cast iron pan myself. Add your favorite grease to the pan; butter, non stick cooking spray, or crisco. Begin pancake baking!

Stack your pancakes as tall your little heart desires and drizzle that cream cheese glaze over top. Garnish your plate with fresh berries and dive in to food heaven. My husband likes to compliment the cream cheese glaze with a touch of maple syrup. Go ahead, give it a try!