Heat the oven to 110/225/gas 1/4.
Line a baking tray with silicone or non stick parchment paper (don't use foil or greaseproof paper as these meringues are delicate & may stick).
Using an electric whisk, beat the egg white until stiff peaks are formed.
Add in the sugar, one spoon at a time, letting it get mixed through for 2 or 3 seconds between each spoonful.
When the mixture is stiff and glossy, scoop into a piping bag with a large spoon.
Pipe one ball of meringue, about an inch in diameter. Add a second, smaller ball on the side for the head, then stop squeezing the bag and drag the nozzle back to form one ear. Without squeezing, touch the tip at the front of the head where the second ear would start, and drag back to create the second ear.
Bake the bunnies for 1-1.5 hours, or until the bunnies com away easily from the sheet. Pop on a wire rack to cool fully before storing in an air tight tin. These can be made weeks ahead of time and will last well.
Preheat the oven to 180/350/gas 4. Lightly grease a 20cm cake tin and add a disk of baking paper to the base of the tin.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and salt into a bowl.
In a second bowl beat the butter and orange zest together. Add in the sugar and continue until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Drop in one egg at a time, along with one tablespoon of the dry mix, and mix well before adding the next.
Fold through the rest of the dry mix, then fold in the carrots, ground almonds, dates and walnuts.
Scoop the batter into the cake tin and smooth out. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed with your finger.
Run a knife around the sides of the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to fully cool. I let mine then sit in the fridge for an hour to make the icing easier.
When your cake is cold, mix up your frosting to use straight away.
Beat the cream cheese until lovely and soft then add in the icing sugar carefully (this always makes such a mess if you try to rush it!)
Add the green food colouring until you have the colour 'grass' you like and scrape the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 'grass' nozzle.
Pipe the grass all over the top of the cake, or double the recipe if you'd like to cover the sides too.
Finally, top the cake with your delicate meringue bunnies, marzipan or sugarcraft carrots and enjoy!
Please enjoy my recipe! Jane | hedgecombers.com