Learn how to make these Easy Bunny Cakes! They’re perfect for Easter, birthdays, or just a good weather treat! I’ll show you how to make the big cake and the mini cupcake versions in this post.
***Scroll to the bottom for the FREE PRINTABLE recipes!***
Check out the video!
Easy Bunny Cakes – A Family Tradition
My mom first learned how to make the large bunny cake when she was in junior high.
She came up with the mini version using cupcakes when she had several little kids in school and needed to bring treats for their classes.
My mom is so creative and inventive! Not only are the mini bunny cakes adorable, but you can get so many of them from one box of cake because each bunny is only half a cupcake!
In my experience, elementary-age kids don’t usually eat the whole cupcake anyway.
Often it’s just a shiny cupcake with all the frosting licked off and the kids are off playing already 🙂
One year my mom made chocolate bunnies for my sister Laura’s birthday. They were so cute and I love how she used different colored ears for all the mini bunnies!
I’ve Done This Before
My first attempt to make these bunny cakes was many years ago when Mary turned 1.
I made many mistakes.
I didn’t modify the cake mix recipe so it was crumbling and falling apart.
The frosting and decorations went on when the cake was still warm.
I didn’t have coconut to cover my mistakes.
I used notebook paper for the ears so they flopped over and stuck to the frosting.
We had a good laugh and it still tasted good.
But Mary loved it then and she loved it this time too!
Let’s Grease That Pan, Baby!
My sister, Rebecca, is the one who created the recipes in this blog. She is amazing at everything she does and cakes were a thing she did several years ago.
As a result, she has a lot of amazing tips for cake making. So, look for a post about making beautiful mini cakes in future.
Make sure to go check out Rebecca’s Youtube channel. She sings beautifully and makes really fun music videos! Click HERE to go to her channel – Rebecca Tanner Music!
This recipe for Pan Grease is AMAZING! I’ve already used it a few more times since doing this post and just the smallest amount smeared on gives awesome results.
The cakes/muffins just don’t stick and the pans are easier to clean.
All you need is equal parts flour, oil, and shortening.
Mix 1 tablespoon of each and that’s more than enough for one cake recipe.
If it’s difficult to mix, just microwave it for 15-20 second to melt the shortening a little.
Completely coat whatever pan you’re using with this stuff and it can be just a thin layer.
If you need to use the same pan for more than one batch, just pull the cake out while it’s still a little warm and then wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
The crumbs come out so easily.
Then you can re-grease it, and re-fill it with you cake mix.
I tripled the batch and it was way more than I needed for a 9 inch cake, and like, 50 cupcakes.
So, I stuck the leftover in a bag in the freezer. Now all I have to do is microwave it 30 seconds and it’s ready to grease another pan.
So grease your pans and let’s talk about the cake recipe!
Cake Mix Hack
In order to make these bunny cakes, you need to have a cake that’s sturdy and dense so you can pick it up and move it around without it crumbling and falling apart.
But, you also want it to be moist and taste great.
Otherwise, what’s the point. You might as well make it out of clay if it’s not enjoyable to eat.
The solution to this is to make my sister’s cake recipe that uses an enhanced cake box mix.
You can use it with any flavor.
It’s tasty, moist, and holds together like a dream. It kicks the cake mix up to pro-level cake.
Start by picking out a cake mix (usually around 15 ounces) and a small box of complimentary flavored of pudding (usually around 3.4 ounces).
So chocolate with chocolate or vanilla with vanilla. For one of these I use a strawberry cake mix with a vanilla pudding mix. It was delicious!
DON’T make the pudding mix. Just leave it dry and put it in with the cake mix.
Throw the cake mix and pudding into the bowl along with 4 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of flour.
Next, look at the instructions on the cake mix box and put in the amount of oil and water the mix calls for.
You can add food coloring here also, if you want to.
Mix all the ingredients well.
Pour into a greased pan and bake at 325 degrees until a toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean.
The time depends on the size of cake you’re making. Start with 15 minutes and check it every couple minutes for cupcakes. For regular cake pans, start with 20 minutes and then check it even couple minutes after it’s not jiggly in the middle.
Large Easy Bunny Cake
For the large bunny cake, I used a 9 inch round pan.
Once the cake was cooled, I cut it down the middle and flipped it over so the bottom was facing up. Then I frosted one side and brought them up together.
You can add filling to this part if you want to be a little fancy.
This is the body of the bunny. One end will be the head and one end will be the tail.
Cut a notch out of one side of the cake for the ears to sit. Use the cake bits to form a tail on the opposite side.
Frost that all over.
The beauty of these easy bunny cakes, is you don’t need to be perfect with frosting it at all. The coconut covers everything and the cake is so sturdy. You can slap the frosting on as fast as you want.
Let’s Make the Big Bunny face
You can get really creative with the face a use any candy you like.
I used a black jelly bean for the nose and then cut out rounded, 90s cartoon eyes out of construction paper and a black marker. I stuck the blue to the yellow with a little frosting. Then I stuck them to the cake.
Easy peasy and so fast.
Put the paper on the same day you eat the cake.
You can make the cake a few days before but if you put the paper on and let it sit for more than a day, it’ll get darker and wet as it soaks in the moisture of the frosting.
I Never Liked Coconut Fur
It was “my thing” to not like coconut when I was a kid. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that it was more just me trying to stand out among 10 kids rather than me not actually liking coconut.
My Helena was going around asking if anyone else thinks it feels like eating shredded skin.
Not the most flattering thing to hear when you offer someone a cupcake but a 10 year old’s gotta check on these kinds of things.
She really reminds me of me at her age.
Although I do think the dry coconut texture it like eating thick grass, but it’s still really yummy.
Covering Your Easy Bunny Cakes
Mix your dried sweetened coconut with whatever coloring you like. Start with a fork to mix and then you can use your fingers to really smush it get the color even.
Use less food dye than you think you need at first.
Also, it’s fun to dye some of it green to put on the plate as grass around the bunnies.
You can make white bunnies and then you don’t have to dye the coconut. This is especially adorable if you make different, bright colored ears.
Take pinches of the coconut and cover the cake.
Just make sure you pressing it on top of the frosting but not mixing it with the frosting.
The outside of the cake should be dry to the touch when you’re done because the frosting is completely covered and isn’t squeezing out.
Finish the cake by cutting out construction paper ears and spreading some green coconut grass.
Mini Easy Bunny Cakes
Follow the recipe for the enhanced cake mix to make cupcakes.
It’ll be a lot easier and less frustrating to work with the cupcakes if you have the denser cake that holds together while frosting and moving between plates.
Make sure to use the pan grease recipe also because you don’t want to use cupcake liners.
Start by cutting the cupcake in half – top to bottom. Then place the halves cut side down.
These are your two bunny bodies.
Cut a notch out of one side for the ears.
Now frost the whole thing.
Because of the way it’s cut, one side is rounded and one side is sloped and flat. You can use the frosting to kind of even out the shape of the bunny.
Next, cover with coconut.
I found that it was easier to have two plates as I was making all the bunnies.
One plate was for frosting and I could be as messy as I wanted.
Then I would slide a knife under the cake and transfer it to the other plate to put on the coconut.
This made it easier to not get the coconut stuck in the frosting before I was ready to put it on.
Finally, I would transfer it to the pan and put on the ears.
I left them faceless because it’s faster, easier, and still adorable. Like little dust bunnies.
Another Option
If you also think coconut is like skin or grass, you can skip it and just use frosting.
It takes a little longer and a little more frosting to cover everything but it’s really cute too.
And it’s easier to add a little face with just frosting.
I cut tiny pieces off of some jelly beans to make this little bunny’s face.
How Make Easy Bunny Cakes Does it Make?
One cake mix box can make one of the following options:
-two big bunny cakes (using a 9 inch round pan)
-one big bunny cake and 24 mini bunnies
-48 mini bunnies
So, a lot of bunny cakes all around.
Don’t forget to pin it!
Print it for later!
Easy Bunny Cakes | Cake Mix Modifications
Use these cake mix modifications for a more moist, dense, and delicious cake. Perfect for these bunny cakes or any other shaped cakes!
Ingredients
Pan Grease
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons shortening
Modified Cake Mix
- Cake mix
- 1 small box pudding mix (dry)
- oil - amount called for on the cake box
- water - amount called for on the cake box
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
Cake Decorating
- 2 cans frosting
- jelly beans
- 14 oz bag shredded coconut
- food dye
- construction paper
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the pan grease and grease the pans you'll be using.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine all the ingredients for the cake mix.
- Pour batter into greased pans. Fill 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for about 17 minutes for cupcakes and about 25 minutes for the cake. Or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let cake completely cool.
- Mix shredded coconut with food coloring, cover and set aside.
For large bunny cakes:
- Turn over and cut a 9 inch round cake in half.
- Frost the bottom of the cake then press the two halves together with the frosting in the middle. Now you have a half circle standing on the cut side.
- Cut a notch out of one side of the curved edge for the ears to sit. Use the cake bits to form the tail.
- Cover in frosting.
- Cut eyes and ears out of construction paper and add a jelly bean for the nose.
- Cover the cake completely in coconut.
For Mini Bunny Cakes:
- Cut a cupcake in half.
- Place the halves cut side down.
- Cut a notch out of one of the sides for the ears.
- Cover in frosting and coconut.
- Add construction paper ears.
- You can also skip the coconut and add small pieces of jelly beans for the face.
Notes
-If any of this is confusing, check out the video on my blogpost.
- This recipe makes one of these options:
- 2 large bunny cakes (using 9 in circle pans)
- 1 large bunny cake and 24 mini cakes
- 48 mini bunny cakes
-Save the extra pan grease in an air-tight container in the freezer.
-Use stiff paper for the ears so they'll keep their shape. -Construction paper or card stock.
-You can make the cake ahead of time but put the paper features on the day you serve it.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 273Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 311mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 2gSugar: 26gProtein: 3g
I hope you have a great Easter!
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