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How to make an Easter bunny cake that’ll be the star of the party

Want to make an Easter dessert that really hops? How about a cake celebrating the chief bunny himself? Sure, you can order an Easter Bunny cake from the bakery, but it’s much more fun to bake one yourself. Now, don’t worry. You don’t need to be Martha Stewart to whip up a deliciously delightful Easter Bunny cake. Baking and decorating a bunny cake isn’t as hard as you think. So, let’s hop to it!

mom and kids in the kitchen baking a bunny cake for Easter
Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock

How do you make a rabbit cake?

Would you believe all you need to create an adorable Easter Bunny cake is two nine-inch round cakes? Well, it’s true. That’s all you need to make an Easter Bunny face cake complete with ears and a bow tie. If you’re short on time, boxed cake mix and ready-made icing work just fine. Chocolate, vanilla, or yellow cake work well. Stick with what the kiddos like.

For a delicious cake from scratch, Preppy Kitchen has the perfect yellow cake recipe that makes three nine-inch cakes. If it’s your first time making a rabbit cake, it’s a good idea to have an extra nine-inch cake on hand just in case the ear cutting goes awry, and it certainly won’t go to waste. Once the cakes have cooled completely, you’re ready to create a little bunny cake magic.

  • Remove one cake from its pan and place it in the center of a large cookie sheet. Put parchment paper down first if you want to dress up the cookie sheet.
  • Remove the other cake from its pan and place it on a cutting board.
  • Cut the second cake into three pieces, cutting the rabbit ears from the outside of the circle. What’s left in the middle makes a rather cute bow.
  • Place the rabbit ears and bow on the cookie sheet, positioning them to make a bunny head with a bow tie under the cake.
  • Take a tub of vanilla icing and connect the pieces using icing as the adhesive.
  • Then, apply icing on the remainder of the rabbit’s face.
  • Add food coloring to the remaining vanilla icing to make colored icing for the Easter Bunny’s bow. Yellow, pink, or green are ideal colors.
  • Use red M&Ms to create the inside of the bunny’s ears.
  • For his face, use brown M&Ms for the eyes and nose. Thin black licorice works well for whiskers and a mouth.
  • If you’re a whiz with an icing bag and cake decorating kit, you can make the face along with the ear and bow highlights with icing.

For a quick and easy rabbit cake without cutting the pieces, use a bunny cake pan and the above decorating suggestions.

rabbit topper cake decorated for Easter
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How do you make a rabbit topper cake?

Another way to bring a bunny to the dessert table this Easter is with a rabbit topper cake. All you need for this stylish Easter dessert is a bunny cake topper, your favorite cake recipe, and vanilla icing. Three layers are ideal. Boxed cake mix works well, especially if you’re pressed for time. If you want to bake a cake from scratch, Preppy Kitchen’s recipe makes three layers. When all the layers have cooled completely, it’s time to get hopping.

  • Place the bottom layer on a cake plate or cake stand.
  • Using vanilla icing, ice the bottom layer.
  • Place the second layer on top and continue to apply the icing. The icing is the glue holding the layers together.
  • Put the final layer on top and spread the icing.
  • Place the ears in the top layer of the cake.
  • Apply a thin layer of icing to the back of the topper piece containing the eyes, nose, and whisker piece. Place them on the side of the cake which is in front of the ears and your rabbit topper cake is ready to take center stage.

If you prefer icing from scratch to store-bought icing containers, Recipe Girl has a classic white frosting recipe that will make your bunny topper cake look and taste fabulous.

three-dimensional rabbit cake for Easter
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How do you make a 3D rabbit cake?

Feeling like you could be a Great British Bake Off contestant? Then, you might want to make a three-dimensional rabbit cake this Easter. You’ll need to bake a four-inch round cake and two six-inch round cakes. The cake pans should be three inches deep. You’ll be slicing thinner layers and stacking them using icing as glue before you shape the cake into a bunny that just might look way too cute to eat. Laura Loukaides has a yummy cake recipe and a YouTube video to help guide you through the molding and decorating part. A three-dimensional rabbit cake will garner lots of wows at Easter dinner, but it’s more involved than making an Easter Bunny face cake or rabbit topper cake.

Let the Easter Bunny grab the spotlight once again by making a special dessert in his honor. You don’t have to be a professional cake decorator to create a rabbit cake. All you need is two nine-inch cakes. Decorating is pretty low stress too. Icing and M&Ms dress up any rabbit cake for the holiday. Using a rabbit topper is another easy way to create a fabulous Easter Bunny cake. 3D rabbit cakes are certainly doable if you aren’t pressed for time. The result will look and taste amazing.

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Dawn Miller
Dawn Miller began her professional life as an elementary school teacher before returning to her first love, writing. In…
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