Kids will roar with delight at the sight of this purple, prehistoric cake. They'll love gobbling it up even more! For a fun twist on traditional party cakes, we use a heavenly carrot cake recipe. If your kids won't go for carrot cake, you can substitute a store-bought mix and vanilla or buttercream frosting. The following recipe makes enough for a two-layer cake.

Ingredients

• 6 carrots, grated (about 2 cups)
• Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup light oil
• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup white mixed with 1 cup whole wheat)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• CREAM CHEESE ICING
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 tbsp. sweet butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.

2. Grease and lightly flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

3. Sprinkle the grated carrots with the lemon juice and stir in the lemon zest -- add raisins and walnuts and set aside.

4. In a mixer or food processor, cream together the sugar and all wet ingredients. Sift together the remaining dry ingredients and gradually add to the creamed mixture, processing or stirring just until smooth. Stir in the carrot mixture until the batter is smooth; pour into prepared pans.

5. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch. Wait for the cake rounds to cool before removing them from the pans.

6. For Frosting:
   In a processor, mixer, or by hand, beat all of the ingredients together until smooth and the shade of purple you desire. Before icing, cut both cooled cake rounds into the appropriate dinosaur shapes as shown in the diagram. Referring to the finished cake above, angle the small pieces to form the dinosaur's mouth and the long slivers to make the tail. Candy corn is ideal for creating the effect of a dinosaur's ridged back, but all sorts of cookies and candies will do the job, too. Enjoy!
   
   Party Idea! This Dinosaur Party will provide a smashing good time for your pint-sized prehistorian.

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Find more about:

• Birthday |
• Buttermilk |
• Carrots |
• Cream Cheese |
• Dinosaurs |
• Lemon Juice |
• Lemon Zest |
• Party Food |
• Raisins |
• Theme Cakes |
• Walnuts |
• Whole Eggs

Related Categories:

• Themed Cakes |
• Animal Cakes