Easter Bunny Cake
Easter Bunny Cake is the perfect Easter dessert! It is a super easy cake to make, using two round cakes made from cake mix are used to create a cake that looks like a bunny, and lots of candy for decoration!
Quick Look: Easter Bunny Cake
Ready In: 2 Hours
Serves: 10-12
Calories: 255 Calories
Main Ingredients: cake mix, frosting, shredded coconut, jelly beans
Why You'll Love It: Easter Bunny Cake is a super fun and festive Easter dessert that is fun to make with the kids and loved by all!
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This Easter Bunny Cake is very near and dear to my heart. My Grandma Esther made this cake for us every Easter when I was growing up and, while the tradition fizzled for a while after she passed away, I started making it again each year once I started having kids. Not only do my kids love seeing and eating my Easter bunny cakes, but they enjoy helping me decorate it, too!
This cake goes perfect after an Easter dinner of Cranberry Glazed Ham, Boursin Mashed Potatoes, Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots, and Garlic Parmesan Green Beans.
Key Ingredients
- Cake Mix - I used yellow cake this time around but a lemon cake, strawberry cake, or chocolate cake would all be delicious!
- Frosting - again, I took the easy way out with this Easter Bunny Cake and used canned frosting. If you prefer, you can make your own buttercream or whipped cream frosting.
- Coconut - sweetened shredded coconut gives this bunny a nice texture, along with the flavor of coconut. This is easily omitted if you don't prefer coconut.
- Jelly Beans - for decorating
- Decorating Frosting - again, for decorating
Substitutions and Variations
Homemade Cake - if you'd like to make a homemade cake instead of using a cake mix, you definitely can. My Yellow Cake recipe or Funfetti Cake recipe both work.
Homemade Frosting - you can also make your own frosting using the frosting recipe from my Homemade Funfetti Cake recipe.
How to Make Easter Bunny Cake
This recipe for a bunny cake is really simple and fun to make with the kids. To start, prep a boxed cake mix according to the package directions. Cake mixes are a great way to get kids involved because there's minimal measuring and they're hard to mess up! Bake the cakes in 9" round cake pans and let them cool.
Now is the really fun part - decorating! To start, cut the cakes into the appropriate shapes. One round cake will stay completely as is. The second cake will be cut into the ears and the bowtie. Basically, you will cut the ears off each side and the middle will become the bowtie. I like to use a knife to trace where I'm going to cut before cutting so I can make sure they are fairly even.
Once the ears and bowtie are cut, place the ears above the face and the bowtie under the face. The bowtie should fit pretty well up against the face. If it's not perfect, no worries. That's what frosting is for!
Next, frost the Easter bunny cake. Don't worry about it being perfect because the coconut will cover most of it up. Once you frost the cake, pipe in the ears with the pink frosting, and then sprinkle the rest of the ears and face with coconut. Next, make the eyes with jelly beans and the nose and mouth with piping frosting, and the bowtie with jelly beans and icing as you see in the photos.
Expert Tips
Chill before decorating - after baking, let your cake cool completely and then chill it for 30-60 minutes. A slightly firm cake is much easier to cut, frost, and assemble without crumbling.
Do a crumb coat first - apply a thin layer of frosting (a crumb coat) before your final decoration. This seals in loose crumbs and gives you a smooth, bakery-style finish which is especially important for white or pastel bunny designs.
Storage - Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Let slices come to room temperature before eating for the best flavor and texture. I have this cake carrier for safely storing and transporting cakes.
Easter Bunny Cake Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can bake the cake layers 1-2 days in advance. Wrap them tightly and store at room temperature or in the fridge. You can also fully assemble and frost the cake a day ahead - just keep it covered and refrigerated, then let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
You can use any flavor/variety of cake mix that you prefer! I think white, yellow, and lemon cake are perfect for the spring but really any flavor will work.
Make sure your cake is completely cooled (or slightly chilled) before cutting. Use a sharp knife and gentle, clean cuts. Chilling the cake first helps it hold its shape much better.
If you're not a fan of coconut, you can use piped frosting, white sprinkles, or even crushed vanilla cookies for a similar textured look.
Other Easter Recipes to Consider
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #greensnchocolate.
Easter Bunny Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix prepared according to package directions
- 2 cans white frosting
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- jelly beans
- decorating icing in pink, green, and black
Instructions
- Prepare the cake mix according to the box directions, in 9" cake pans.
- Let the cakes cool.
- One of the cakes will be the ears and bowtie, and the other will be the face.
- To cut the ears and bowtie, cut the sides of the round on each side to create the ears. What is leftover in the middle will be the bowtie.
- Arrange the cake pieces with the ears above the face and the bowtie under the face.
- Frost the cake.
- With the pink decorating icing, fill in the pink part of the ears.
- Sprinkle the coconut around the pink icing and over the face and bowtie
- With the green icing, pipe the outline of the bowtie and then fill in with the jelly beans.
- Use 2 black, blue, or green jelly beans for the eyes.
- Pipe a pink nose and black mouth.
- Serve and enjoy!
