Veggie Cake (Great Twist on the Typical Veggie Platter)

There’s just nothing better than a great cake on your birthday.

Yet, as crazy as it may sound to some of us chocolate lovers, there are times when celebrating without the sweets is a wonderful alternative for  special occasions, especially for friends who are trying to avoid them.

When my sweet friend, Kristie, shared her amazing Veggie Cake creative inspiration, I knew this was a perfect solution for so many of us that want to display and share veggies in a special, festive way.

For entertaining, I typically just put vegetables and dip in a pretty divided serving tray, but this Vegetable Cake is just so creative. With a few extra minutes of your time, you can create such a fun option for your guests, and make healthier food choices at the same time. What an amazing twist to the traditional veggie tray.

Veggie Cake

• 2/3 stalk of celery- cut in small 2 inch pieces (I cut them into 2 inch pieces and then in half)
• 6 or 7 whole carrots – cut in small 2 inch pieces
• 20-30 snap peas
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups of cauliflower cut in small pieces
• 1/2 – 1 cup of broccoli cut in small pieces
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 large English cucumber
• 1 container of ranch for dipping ( I used Greek Yogurt dip)
• Ribbon or some type of string to hold the veggies in place
• 10 inch cake round circle or something with which to present the “cake”

1. Stack the celery and carrots upright on a seven inch plastic bowl.
2. Assemble the celery on the outside, and the carrots on the inside of the bowl, then pack tightly.
3. Place the cake round on top of the bowl, and gently “dump” the bowl upside down only half way at first to tie the ribbon around the bottom of the veggies.
4. Once it is tied,  move the string up to the middle, and tie another ribbon on a little tighter.
5. Pile the cauliflower and broccoli in the middle of the celery/carrots, and then tuck the pea pods in some of the open spaces in the celery (the peas will hold in the cauliflower/broccoli.)
6. Add some tomatoes on the top, then tie more ribbon around the snap peas to hold them in place. I used sliced cucumbers to garnish the outside of the cake circle.