Easter Bunny Cake Recipe (Cut-Up Cake)
An adorable Bunny Cake that is an easy dessert for Easter dinner. Learn step-by-step instructions to make this cut-up cake plus inspiring decorating tips. After all the eggs and chocolate bunnies are collected into Easter baskets, serve this sweet treat for Easter Sunday. Bunny-shaped cakes are so much fun, everyone gets a kick out of them. This little cutie pie is made from two round cakes, vanilla frosting, and decorated with coconut and candy.
Servings: 24
Calories: 253kcal
Ingredients
Two 9" Round Cakes
- 1 vanilla cake mix (15.25 oz/432 gram box) makes two 9” round cakes or homemade recipe
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
Buttercream Vanilla Frosting
- 4 cups powder sugar
- 1 cup butter softened, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons milk add more milk if necessary until smooth, spreadable, and fluffy
Decorating
- 14 ounces sweetened coconut
- pink food coloring
- colored jelly beans 1 pink, 2 black, 1 red, 2 white
- black licorice thin or thick-just slice it (or use black gel pens or pipe on black buttercream frosting)
Instructions
Bake and Cut Two 9" Round Cakes
- Lightly spray two 9” round cake pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper rounds.
- Mix the cake mix according to the box directions or make homemade cake batter, and pour the batter into prepared pans.
- PRO TIP: Tap the pans on the table to bring the bubbles up in the batter, this bakes flatter cakes.
- Bake 350 degrees for 24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn over and rest on a rack till completely cool before decorating.
Prepare To Decorate
- Wrap a cutting board, tray, or firm cardboard measuring 13x20 minimum, wrap with safe sturdy colorful paper to use as your cake board. Tie bright color ribbon or bow set aside.
- Place 1 cup coconut in a bowl, add pink food coloring ( a drop gives you light pink), toss with a fork until coconut is evenly tinted to the color you want, set aside. I mixed a couple shades for fun.
- Mix the buttercream vanilla frosting if making homemade: Cream room temperature butter with a hand mixer, the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon until smooth and fluffy. Next, slowly add the powder sugar until fully incorporated. Add milk and the vanilla extract, then beat for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable and smooth.
- On a cutting board, use a small knife to slice the licorice thin, for all the pieces you will need to decorate the bunny. See below for more details.
- Organize all your decorating items; butter cream frosting, pink coconut, bow, jelly beans and licorice pieces. Now you are ready to build your bunny cake!
Cut Cake Pieces
- Place the two cake rounds on a cutting board. Cut four sides off first cake 9" round cake, leaving a 6 ½” square, this will be the bunnys body. The 4 side pieces will be the bunny’s ears.
- On the second 9” cake round, measure 1 ½” from edge, slice evenly around the cake in a circle. The center circle will be the bunny's head. Then cut the outer ring into 8 equal pieces. Start at top, bottom, then each side, then slice those in half so you have 8 even slices from the outer edge, those will be the paws.
Assemble The Bunny
- On your wrapped cake board, spread a small amount of frosting and place the large square as the body toward bottom of the tray. Place more frosting on the board, and place the head on top of the square. TIP: The frosting helps to hold the cake pieces in place!
- Next, put frosting in between two side edge pieces with flat sides together forming the ears on top of round head and secure with more frosting to the board.
- Put frosting in between 2 of 8 ring pieces on top of each other for each paw on each side of the square, again put some frosting on board to secure. Now your bunny is ready to decorate!
Decorate The Bunny
- Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, frost all the bunny pieces including sides of cake, ears, and stacked paws with white buttercream frosting. Sprinkle white coconut all over the entire cake, covering all the sides. Use a small brush and paper plate to clean up the coconut pieces.
- Ears - sprinkle pink coconut inside ears.
- Eyes - trim thin licorice pieces, and curve them, place on top of each black jelly bean turned sideways.
- Mouth - sprinkle some pink coconut, use a red jelly bean turned sideways for the tongue and place two white jelly beans side by side for the bunny's front teeth.
- Nose - use a sideways pink jelly bean on top of pink coconut.
- Whiskers - use 3 thin slices of black licorice on each side about 3-4 inches.
- Upper Paws - use 3 snips of black licorice for upper paws about 1" each. Bottom paws - use pink coconut.
- Add bright colored bow and serve!
Video
Notes
cake mix:
One standard box of cake mix will make two 9" layers.baking:
Tap the pans on the table to bring the bubbles up in the batter, this bakes flatter cakes.coconut:
I used sweetened coconut for this bunny cake, you could just frost the entire cake and skip the coconut, and use just a bit of pink coconut for decoration or color frosting pink.frosting:
You can buy a storebought brand, ask for it in your grocery bakery, or make homemade buttercream frosting.decorating tips:
- You can use either the thin black licorice or the thicker sticks of the licorice. Just carefully slice the thick licorice pieces into the shapes you need to decorate your bunny cake.
- Another option to get the black decorations on the bunny is to use a black frosting pen or tube of black buttercream from the store or make your own black frosting at home.
- I made a couple of shades of pink coconut, totally optional.
- Use a small pastry brush and a paper plate to "sweep up" the pieces of coconut that don't stick.
- Keep stirring your buttercream as you decorate, as it will crack on the surface a bit. Also, if your buttercream frosting is too thick, you can add more milk, too thin you can add more powder sugar.
- Alternative decoration ideas: Use gumballs for eyes and mouth, or red licorice will work great as well! If coconut is not your thing, you can simply ice the whole cake, and use a little pink coconut or some pink jelly beans or candies on the ears and paws, or color some buttercream pink.
Nutrition
Serving: 24g | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 225mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 271IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg