Take-out Tuesday, 3 Spring Sweets Made with Carrot Cake Mix

Hippity Hop, Easter’s on it’s way!

How about whipping up a last minute sweet treat

with Carrot Cake mix

Carrot Cake Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese

These tasty rolls are made by mixing Carrot Cake mix

with flour and a yeast mixture

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They aren’t hard to make,

just plan on putting them together

when you’re going to be home for a while 

because they rise twice

carrot cake rolls 4 thepaintedapron.com

Once they are in the pan, you can refrigerate them overnight

and bake them in the morning

The maple cream is cream cheese,

maple syrup, butter and confectioner’s sugar 😋

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Spread a thick layer of maple cream cheese on the rolls

when they come out of the oven

carrot cake rolls thepaintedapron.com 4
carrot cake roll thepaintedapron.com

Baby Carrot Cakes with Brown Sugar Icing

and White Chocolate Glaze with coconut & jelly bean topping

These cakes are filled with a brown sugar icing

and a white chocolate glaze is poured over the top

An extra egg is added to the Carrot Cake mix

and I substituted coconut oil for vegetable oil

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The cake is baked in a jelly roll pan and

then cut into small circles with a biscuit cutter,

iced and topped with another cake circle

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White chocolate glaze is poured over them

then topped with coconut shreds and coconut jelly beans

carrot cake minis thepaintedapron.com

Cotton Tail Cake

This cake got it’s name because the icing is formed into balls

like cottontails and placed in a ring on top

I added some fresh carrot and chopped walnuts,

reconstituted the packet of dehydrated carrots and raisins

that came with the mix

I used orange juice instead of water,

substituted melted butter for the oil

and added an extra egg and 1 tsp of vanilla

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“Cottontails” were fashioned out of buttercream icing

using a cookie scoop and rolled in coconut

cotton tail icing thepaintedapron.com

Surround it with jelly beans just for fun!

Cottontail Cake

Carrot Cake Bundt Cake with Cotton Tail Icing!
Course Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 1 box carrot cake mix {I recommend Duncan Hines Decadent Classic Carrot}
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup shredded fresh carrot
  • 1 extra egg 4 eggs total
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Cotton Tail Icing

  • 1 stick (8T) unsalted butter
  • 4 cups Confectioner's Sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 Tbsp milk or half and half
  • coconut shreds

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Prepare cake mix according to package directions except reconstitute dehyrated carrot and raisin packet with orange juice instead of water. Substitute melted butter for the oil, and add an extra egg. .
  • Add 1/2-1 cup each of shredded fresh carrot and chopped walnuts. This makes a texture filled cake so if you don’t like that just leave out these extra carrots and walnuts.
  • Bake according to directions, checking often near the end of cooking time so you don’t over bake

Cotton Tail Icing

  • Beat butter with sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth and creamy.  
  • Adjust milk to control the consistency of the icing.  Keep it firm enough to form into balls.
  • With a cookie dough scoop or spoon, make 12 bunny tails, flattened slightly on one side.
  • Sprinkle with coconut and gently press into icing balls.  Arrange balls on top of cake, placing the flattened side down.
Keyword brunch, bundt cake, carrot cake, cotton tail icing, Easter, spring rolls

Baby Carrot Cakes with Brown Sugar Icing and White Chocolate Glaze

Cupcake sized layer cakes made with Carrot Cake cake mix
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24

Ingredients
  

  • 1 box Carrot cake mix Duncan Hines Deluxe with carrots and raisins
  • 4 eggs room temperature [run hot water on them to warm up if necessary]
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 stick 4 T butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 oz. cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 8 oz. white chocolate baking squares

Instructions
 

  • Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and use a baking spray to spray the sides. Preheat oven to 325
  • Remove carrot and raisin packet from cake mix and pour it into a measuring cup with 1 1/2 hot water. Let sit 5 minutes. Put dry cake mix in a mixing bowl. Beat eggs and add to cake mix. Melt coconut oil in microwave and add to cake mix and eggs. Add carrots and raisins, water and all. Stir with a spoon, about 50 strokes to combine ingredients. Spread out evenly on top of parchment and bake for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • Make icing by beating cream cheese until fluffy. Beat butter until fluffy [you can use the same beaters]. Beat brown sugar into butter then add vanilla and cream cheese and beat until icing is smooth.
  • Cut cake into rounds or squares and ice half of the cut outs with icing and combine to form baby cakes.
  • Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir stir stir to melt. Let glaze sit for 15-30 to set up a little. Pour glaze liberally over cakes and garnish with coconut and jelly beans if desired. Store in a covered container. Refrigerate to keep them fresh longer.
Keyword brown sugar icing, carrot cake, Easter, mini cakes, white chocolate glaze

Carrot Cake Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese

Sweet rolls made with Carrot Cake mix
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Rising Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 16

Ingredients
  

Carrot Cake Rolls

  • 1/2 box Carrot Cake Mix
  • 1 pkg active dry yeast
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  • 2 1/2 cups flour plus additional 1/4 cup for flouring board and adding to dough if necessary
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup vanilla sugar*
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 3 T unsalted butter

Maple Cream Cheese

  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 4 Tbsp real maple syrup
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions
 

Carrot Cake Rolls

  • Sprinkle yeast on top of warm water and let proof 5-10 minutes. Combine flour, cake mix, and salt. Mix in the water with yeast and combine to form dough. Add flour until dough is no longer sticky. Form into a ball, cover with saran, and put in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
  • Punch dough down, re-cover and let rise 30 more minutes.
  • Roll dough out on a floured board into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick. Spread with softened butter.
  • Sprinkle all over with brown sugar and vanilla sugar. Top with chopped pecans.
  • Starting from the long side, slowly roll dough into a log, trying to keep it in an even roll. Cut the log into 16 slices, starting in the middle. Cut log in half, then the halves in half again, and so forth until you have 16 even slices.
  • Grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish and fill with the roll slices. Refrigerate overnight or bake.
  • Bake at 350 15-20 minutes or until done. Rolls are done when you start to smell them and the dough is set on top. Frost immediately with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

Maple Cream Cheese

  • Blend everything together to form a smooth frosting, adding more sugar if necessary

Notes

*I bought my vanilla sugar at Whole Foods. You can make your own by scraping the inside of a vanilla bean and mixing it with 1 cup of sugar and letting it sit tightly covered for a week or two. You can also keep a vanilla bean in your sugar canister.
Keyword carrot cake, Easter, maple cream cheese, sweet rolls

Even if you don’t celebrate Easter,

these are delicious treats!

I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:

 Sundays on Silverado/  Love Your Creativity 

What’s for Dinner/ Between Naps on the Porch 

All About Home/ Common GroundFollow the Yellow Brick Home

Turn About Tuesday / Our Tiny Nest

Karin’s Cottage Linky Party 

Creative Crafts / Crafty Creators / Full Plate Thursday

Creatively Crafty/ Thursday Favorite Things   

Happiness is Homemade/ Home Matters

Comments
35 Responses to “Take-out Tuesday, 3 Spring Sweets Made with Carrot Cake Mix”
  1. Mary says:

    Yum Jenna! I wish I had a Carrot Cake Roll with Maple Cream Cheese this morning to enjoy with my coffee. Happy (Hoppy) Tuesday! 🐇

  2. Maple cream cheese – yummy!

  3. Great ideas, especially the cinnamon rolls!

  4. BERNADETTE says:

    Jenna, you had me at cake mix. Saving all these fabulous ideas.

  5. Pam says:

    Jenna, I need one of those carrot cake rolls this morning. These all look so yummy and I love carrot cake! Thank you for these great recipes…Happy Tuesday! 🥕🥕🥕

  6. I am drooling…so many delicious treats. I need to make that carrot cake with icing! Really cool.

  7. Prior... says:

    Wow / so many ideas here and good idea to use coconut oil and not the damaging vegetable oil

  8. Shelia says:

    Wow–can’t wait to make these rolls, they sound delicious. And your subs for the carrot cake mix sound spot on, but that’s no surprise from our friend the baker. Jenna, these all sound wonderful! Hope the bunny is good to you and you have a wonderful Easter with your family. Bunny hugs to all! Georgia Gal

  9. yum, yum and yum! I especially like the mini carrot cakes!

  10. Nancy says:

    The carrot cake roll could roll right over here to me on the other side of this computer! THanks for all the Carrot Cake Mix ideas! YUM!

  11. Oh Jenna, it’s hard to choose one to bake first! The rolls, the baby carrot cakes and that cotton tail cake, oh my! They all look so delicious and has me wanting one of these treats with a cup of coffee, yum! Thanks for the recipes……Hope you are having a blessed week…..

  12. These all look wonderful but boy — those little ones are capturing my heart. Whether for Easter (probably not this year!) or for a tea (possibly soon!), they’re the perfect size and so darned cute! And they look easy! Happy Easter week!

  13. lghiggins says:

    All of these ideas sound and look so good! The carrot cake rolls take me back to my childhood with homemade cinnamon rolls. Happy Easter!

    • Thank you Linda, I used to get so excited for Easter when I was little, but we always had to have breakfast and go to church before we could hunt eggs, it was so hard to wait!

  14. Kitty says:

    All three recipes sound amazing, Jenna!! Thanks for sharing them. Happy Easter to you and your family.

  15. EsmeSalon says:

    What an awesome selection. WOW, love it, Found your link at Sundays on Silverado #140. Come over Monday to Saturday and join us and share your wonderful links with us at Senior Salon Pit Stop. Hope to see youitomorrow.

  16. Yum. My daughter would love all of these carrot cake flavored desserts. Thank you for sharing.

  17. EsmeSalon says:

    Absolutely amazing, so many awesome and super delicious treats.
    Visited you via What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link up #414
    If interested, please hop over and come and share your posts with us at Senior Salon Pit Stop. See my entries: #43+44.. and navigate to the bottom of my page for SSPS linkup, we hope to virtually meet you there.

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