Easter Bunny Cake

This Easter Bunny Cake is an easy shaped cake, made using two layer cakes which are cut to form a bunny shaped strawberry and whipped cream cake.

When I was growing up, this was my Mom’s every year birthday cake for me. She used a boiled fluffy icing on top, sprinkled with desiccated coconut (to represent the fur) and a lemon filling in the middle.

Her recipe is still a nice variation of my Easter Bunny Cake, but spring is in the air when Easter arrives and to the south of us, strawberries are in season. Strawberry whipped cream Easter Bunny Cake seems preferable at this time of year.

Print recipe

Serves

Ingredients

1 "French Vanilla" cake mix
3/4 Liter whipping cream
2 Tbsp icing sugar (substitute white sugar or powdered sugar, if you do not have icing sugar)
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Lb or .454 gm strawberries
assorted decorations, such as sugar crystals, jelly beans, black liquorice string
1 12 in x 18 in cake board (usually found in Bulk Food or cake supply stores)

Directions


Prepare the 8 inch layer cake pans. Place the pans on a piece of wax paper and using scissors, trace the bottom of the pans and then cut out the circles. Place the circles of wax paper in the bottom of the layer cake pans. Using some of the cut off pieces of wax paper, butter the bottom (over the wax paper) and up the sides of the layer cake pans.

Bake the cakes according to the cake mix directions; use half milk and half water for the liquid addition.

Once the cake has been baked, let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of the pans and then turn the cakes out to wire cake racks to completely cool.

Each layer needs to be split in half. You can do this by gently slicing through the middle, but do not lift the layers apart at this time. The bunny's face is one of the layer cakes. Cut the other layer into a bow tie and ears.

Wash the strawberries and then pat dry using a clean linen tea towel or paper towels. Slice the berries into 1/4 inch slices, along the length of the berries.

Whip the cream until it is starting to get stiff. Then add the vanilla and icing sugar. Continue to whip the cream, just until stiff peaks form (too much and it will curdle!)

To assemble the Easter Bunny Cake, place the pieces on the cake board. Remove the top layer and with a spatula cover the bottom layers with whipped cream. Then carefully place the strawberry slices to completely cover the the bottom layers.

Then cover the cut cake side of the top layers with whipped cream and carefully place on the strawberries.

With a spatula "ice" the cake with the remainder of the whipped cream (top and sides). Decorate the bow tie and ears with crystal sugar. Use jelly beans for the eyes, nose and teeth and liquorice string for the whiskers.