Kawaii Easter Bunny Cake Recipe
ingredients
For The One Layer Chocolate Cake
- 1/2 cup whole milk, 125 ml
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 185 grams
- 1 cup granulated white sugar, 200 grams
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, 60 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 63 ml
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strong hot coffee, 125 ml
For The Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temp, 454 grams
- 4 cups icing sugar, 520 grams
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp whole milk, as needed
For The Decorations
- White fondant
- 2 wooden BBQ skewers
- Pink fondant
- Black fondant
- Candy chocolate eggs
instructions
Bake The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C. Prepare a 9x2-inch round cake pan by spritzing with vegetable oil and lining with parchment paper cut to size.
- In a cup, mix together the whole milk and apple cider vinegar until curdled, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, egg, vanilla extract and prepared milk until combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, whisking a few times to combine. Add the hot coffee and whisk until batter is incorporated and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-28 minutes, until gently domed and springy, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs.
- Let cool completely in the pan on wire rack before frosting.
Make The Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla, pinch of salt and milk on low speed to incorporate, about one minute. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy and doubled in volume, about two minutes.
Decorate The Cake
- Remove cooled cake from its pan onto a cake board or serving plate.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the cake in half to form two semi-circles. Generously frost one semi-circle. Stack the second semi-circle on top. Flip the cake upright to form the bunny head.
- Frost the entire cake with a generous amount of buttercream. Clean up the cake board if needed!
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a multi-opening tip with the buttercream. Pipe the entire cake with short strands of buttercream "fur."
- Using clean, dry hands, form two cylindrical bunny ears using the white fondant. Use the pink fondant to make pink "inner ears." Apply the inner ears with a tiny amount of water to adhere. Insert a wooden BBQ skewer into the bottom of each ear to anchor the ears into the cake.
- Roll out a small amount of pink fondant and punch out two pink circle cheeks using the large round end of a metal piping tip. Make a tiny pink nose.
- Roll out a small amount of black fondant. Punch out two large kawaii eyes using the large round end of a metal piping tip. Add two tiny dots of eye highlights, using a tiny dab of water to adhere. Make a thin bunny mouth by rolling out a small amount of black fondant. Make whiskers in the same manner.
- Insert the ears into the top of the cake. Place the fondant facial features onto the front of the cake by pressing in gently. If you don't like the position, carefully remove and try again. Tuck the whiskers into the bunny cheeks, pressing in to adhere.
- Divide 1/2 cup of vanilla buttercream into two separate bowls. Colour one bowl using leaf green gel food colouring; colour the second bowl with pink gel food colouring. Place the green buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a leaf tip. Place the pink buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small open circle tip to make rosettes.
- Pipe pink rosettes, green leaves and place candy eggs on the top of the bunny cake head, going around the ears, to create a cute floral candy crown effect. Add flowers and candies to the bottom sides of the cake too, if desired.
- Using the plain vanilla buttercream, pipe around the ears and the backs of the ears, if desired.
- Make a bunny pom pom tail! Pipe a ball-shape on the back bottom of the cake. Then, pipe short strands of buttercream all around the ball to create a pom-pom bunny tail. CUTE!
- Serve and enjoy! Cake is best served within 24 hours of making. Leftover cake can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
notes
This cake an be easily made vegan - use this chocolate cake recipe for the cake. For the vanilla buttercream, simply swap the butter for your favourite plant-based unsalted butter in brick form for the vanilla buttercream. I use Satin Ice brand fondant, which is vegan friendly!
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