This sweet little cake brings with it so many wonderful memories! My grandmother would make a bunny cake every Easter for many years and involved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the tradition. It’s the perfect baking project for little hands, but young and old have had fun decorating their own cake giving their bunny their creative stamp! This cake is a super simple treat!
Today I took the easy way out with a cake mix and ready-made frosting, but I’ve also made the cake and frosting from scratch. I will include those recipes. Oh, and either way, the two layers will make two bunny cakes!
So, here’s how to get started! Gather your ingredients and supplies. There is no limit to items you can use to make your bunny’s face, but I’ll tell you what I used today.
I baked a yellow cake mix in 2 – 9” cake pans, removed the layers from the pans, and cooled on racks. Next, cut right down the center of one of the layers.
Frost the bottom side of one of the halves. With the frosting acting as your glue, put the two layers together (matching the bottoms) and stand them on a cake plate. This is your bunny’s body.
Now frost the entire bunny. Then lightly press coconut all over the body, gathering up coconut that falls onto the plate and reapplying it to the cake.
It’s time to make your bunny’s face! I used chocolate chips for eyes, pink frosting for the nose, uncooked spaghetti for the whiskers, and white card stock for the ears. I can remember my grandmother cutting ears from an empty gallon milk jug! A pink jelly bean makes a perfect nose, too. I’ve also used red licorice string for whiskers and a big marshmallow for a tail! Use your imagination!
Finally, put some coconut in a glass jar with a lid, add 2 or 3 drops of green food coloring, put on the lid, and shake vigorously for a minute or two. Now you have green grass to place around your little bunny! Add a few colorful jelly beans or candy eggs for fun, and you’ve got an adorable bunny cake! Simple!
You can make a second cake to share with someone special, or wrap the remaining layer and freeze for a future dessert.
Here are the recipes I mentioned earlier in the post.
Vanilla Cake
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk
Preheat oven to 350degrees. Grease and flour 2 – 9” round cake pans.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Beat eggs in a separate bowl just till combined and stir into the creamed mixture; add vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine flour, and baking powder. Then add to creamed mixture slowly, mixing well by hand. Stir in milk until batter is no longer lumpy.
Divide batter evenly into pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. When cake is done toothpick will come out clean.
Buttercream Frosting
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Cream sugar and butter using a mixer on low for 1 minute and then medium for 2 more minutes.
Add vanilla and milk mixing 1 – 2 minutes longer to get your desired spreading consistency. If icing is too thin, simply add confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at time. If too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
