Looking for a scene-stealing, super-sweet Easter centerpiece — but don’t want to work harder than the Easter Bunny? This recipe will have you hopping for joy!
Plus, thanks to these super-simple instructions from Southern Living, your kids can help out too, creating a fun, family friendly activity before the big day!
Ingredients
- 2 (8”) round cake layers, baked and chilled until cold
- 1 (16 oz.) container buttercream icing (or 2 cups homemade frosting)
- 1 (14 oz.) package shredded coconut
- 2 Tbsp. rainbow sprinkles
- Black, pink, yellow and white jelly beans (for eyes, nose, and bow tie)
- Red or pink liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients. You’ll need your pre-baked cake layers and all of the items for decorating. Be sure to have a decorative tray or baking sheet, offset spatula, and piping bag ready.
- Cut the bunny ears. Using one of the prepared cake rounds, measure from the edge to the center of the cake about 3” and make a mark. Use the 8” cake pan as a guide to cut a curved angle on each side of the cake; with these cuts, the cake will resemble a baseball. The two larger side pieces will become the bunny ears. Set the ears aside temporarily.
- Cut bow tie. Take the center piece and cut the rounded pieces off each side. The two smaller round pieces will help to give dimension to the bunny cake face, and the main center piece will become the bunny’s bow tie.
- Begin building the bunny cake. Assemble the cake pieces on your baking sheet or decorative board. Place the bow tie at the bottom, followed by the whole 8” round cake, then add the two ear pieces to the top.
- Build the bunny face. Next, place the two small rounded pieces (cut-side down) on top of the 8” round cake, centered on the lower half to form the bunny nose.
- Make pink frosting for the bunny face. Measure out about ¼ cup of the buttercream icing and add a small amount of red or pink food coloring to create a pink color. Place the pink buttercream in a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner cut off and set it aside.
- Frost the bunny cake. Spread the remaining white icing over the entire cake in a thin layer. Don’t be too concerned about making the icing completely smooth on the cake since it will be covered with coconut.
- Cover with coconut. Sprinkle coconut over face and ears, covering top and sides of cake completely.
- Decorate the bow tie. Add sprinkles to the bow tie portion of the cake, covering the top and sides completely.
- Add details. Use the jelly beans to create eyes and a nose for the bunny face and the center of the bow tie.
- Pipe frosting for final details. Use the pink icing to pipe a rounded smile, some whiskers, and to fill the center of the ears. Outline the bow tie or add accents to the cake with extra pink icing, if desired.
Whatever your main course or side dishes, your guests will definitely want to save plenty of room for dessert this Easter!