Easter Bunny Cake

Of course, the easiest thing to do for an Easter bunny cake is to find an Easter bunny pan and frost. There are many different kinds, from a 3-D version at www.freshfinds.com or www.williams-sonoma.com (search "bunny cake pan") to a flat kind to frost just the top (one can be found at www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/pans/pans.htm) For a different take on a cake, you can try a pull-apart mold from Pfaltzgraff: www.pfaltzgraff.com and search "pull apart." This creates an easy bunny-shaped cake, in pull-apart cupcakte sizes - no cutting involved!

For those who are more ambitious, a 3-D bunny cake can be created from round cake pans. There are many different ways to do this. I'm going to describe two of the more simple methods. For both methods, bake the cake according to the package. Yellow, funfetti, strawberry, and white cakes work well for a spring look.

The first involves two round cake layers. Cut the first layer as if you were creating an apple-core shape in the middle. You should have two football-shaped pieces and one apple-core piece. The football-shaped pieces will become ears, and the apple-core shape will become a bowtie. Frost the ears and the second layer white, and the bow tie a color of your choice. To create detail in the head, use candy pieces and sprinkles. It may help to create a cardboard stencil to add the pink inside the ears, if you want precise lines using sprinkles. The pink of the ears could also be made using pink M&M's or jelly beans. Chocolate chips, M&M's, licorice, and jelly beans can also be used well for creating the face. An added touch would be to make cupcakes with different colored sprinkles and frosting for eggs.

The second method uses only one cake layer. Cut the layer in half and place both halves together, cut-side down. Cut a wedge to create the neck, and place the wedge at the back for a tail. Frosting with coconut frosting creates a "fuzzy" appearance, but plain frosting works as well. Use paper or cardboard cutouts for the ears, and decorate the face with various candy pieces.

An optional addition to this would be using a smaller cake piece to create the haunches of the bunny. Cut the smaller layer in half, and frost the halves next to the back end of the Easter cake to create what looks like the thighs of the bunny as it's sitting on the tray.

For an added touch of presentation with either type of cake, surround the cake with green coconut or Easter basket grass and candy pieces.