Fluffy Bunny Cake

This bunny will have your kids hopping over carrot cake!

Celebrate the Easter holiday with this great cake! The bunny fluffiness is created with coconut – try freshly grating your own for a particularly fluffy effect. You won’t know the real Easter bunny from the cake version!

Recipe

Heat oven to 350º

Carrot Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup orange juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated orange peel
3 cups shredded carrots (about 1 ten-ounce bag)
1 cup dark raisins
¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Decorations

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tube refrigerated sugar-cookie dough
2 10” wooden skewers
2 cans whipped vanilla frosting (12 oz. each)
5 cups sweetened coconut, divided
Light pink crystal sugar
1 Large marshmallow
2 Junior Mints
1 pink heart-shaped candy
¼ cup chocolate frosting
Black licorice laces cut into 6” pieces
2 pieces white gum
Green food coloring
Jelly beans

For cake:

  1. Grease and line the bottoms of 2 round cake pans (one 8” and one 9”) with wax paper; set aside
  2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat sugars and eggs on medium until thick and light in color, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the oil, orange juice, vanilla and orange peel to egg mixture and beat until smooth.
  5. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
  6. Fold in carrots, raisins and walnuts (if using).
  7. Spoon 2 ½ cups batter into the 8” pan and the remaining batter in the 9” pan. Smooth tops and bake until golden (35-40 minutes for 8” pan and 50-55 minutes for 9” pan). Let cool for 15 minutes, remove from pans and let cool completely.

For cookies:

  1. Knead 1/3 cup of flour into the sugar-cookie dough until smooth.
  2. Roll to 10” x 8” rectangle about ¼” thick and cut out ear shapes.
  3. Place on large foil-lined baking sheet, insert skewer halfway into the bottom of each cookie, patting dough over skewer to secure.
  4. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.

To decorate cake:

  1. Cut the 8” cake in half and place on serving platter cut side down. Cut a 2” wedge off one side of the 9” cake and place remaining piece, cut side down, between the other cake halves (they will help to support it).
  2. Trim the front 8” piece ¾” on both sides and use the wedges at the back to form a tail. Ice the cake with vanilla frosting, holding back 2/3 cup.
  3. Sprinkle all but 2 cups of coconut over the cake, pressing into frosting with the back of a large wooden spoon.
  4. Spread 2/3 cup of coconut onto a piece of waxed paper, spread both sides of each cookie ear with frosting and press one side of each ear into the coconut to coat. Sprinkle some coconut around the edge of the ear on the opposite side, and sprinkle pink sugar into the centers.
  5. Insert into cake with pink side facing forward.
  6. Cut marshmallow in half. Attach Junior Mints to the cut, sticky sides of the marshmallow and press onto cake for eyes. Add pink candy to cake surface as nose.
  7. Spoon chocolate frosting into a resealable plastic bag and snip a small corner from the bag to pipe the mouth. Insert licorice for whiskers and gum for teeth.
  8. Place remaining coconut in a medium bowl and add a few drops of green food coloring to tint the fruit for grass. Sprinkle tinted coconut around the base of the cake and hide jelly-bean “eggs” in the grass.

Makes 16 servings