Easy Bunny Cake Tutorial: How to make an adorable, woodland-themed bunny cake in 10 easy steps. Includes gluten-free options.
A Modern Take on an Old School Cake
As I brainstormed Easter themed desserts to make with G this year, an adorable bunny cake my mom used to make came to mind. It had coconut “fur”, jelly bean eyes, licorice whiskers and a big bow tie. I’m pretty sure red hots were even incorporated somehow. My six-year-old self thought it was the best . thing . ever. The cake tutorial I’m sharing today is based on that cake from the 1980’s, but with a simplified, woodland theme inspired look.
Why This Bunny Cake is the Best
You don’t need any special molds or bunny shaped pans to make this cake! I like specialty molds, but I don’t have room in my kitchen to store something I’ll only use once a year. As cute as this cake is, I really only plan to make it for Easter. So, I love that I can use two 9-Inch round cake pans, which I already own.
Another plus: You can use any kind of cake you want! Whip up a quick cake from a boxed mix, or make a cake from scratch. Use whatever kind of cake appeals to you! I was in a hurry, so I used a box of gluten-free cake mix. Next time, I plan to use homemade carrot cake and cream cheese frosting.
Easy Bunny Cake Tutorial
What you need:
- Two 9-inch cake pans (I love these nonstick pans
)
- Cake batter (from a box or from scratch)
- 1 can of icing (or icing from scratch)
- 1 (7 oz) bag sweetened coconut flakes
- red food coloring
- 2 chocolate chips or berries
- 1 mason jar lid or empty, clean, tin can
- 1 zip top plastic bag
Steps:
- Fill two 9-inch cake pans with batter and bake until done. Allow to cool.
- Carefully cut one layer of cake as pictured:
- Remove outer edges of cut layer and place at the top of the remaining layer of cake to make “ears”. Reserve the center to make a bow (optional), or discard.
- Trim away about two inches from bottom of each ear, cutting on a curve.
- Place the cake on a serving tray (we used our Pioneer Woman Acacia Wood Cutting Board
) and then ice with white frosting.
- Place 1 cup coconut in a zip top bag. Then, add two to three drops red food coloring and shake until coconut is pink.
- Use a mason jar lid or tin can to make cheeks. To use a mason jar lid: Remove the center disk, leaving the rim. Lay on cake and sprinkle pink coconut into center, patting lightly in place before removing lid. Repeat on opposite side of cake. To use a can: Clean an empty tin can and remove the bottom of the can using a can opener. Place on cake and sprinkle coconut into the can. Use the back of a spoon to lightly pat coconut into place.
- Add nose, the pink center to the ears, and eyes. Nose: Place a pinch of pink coconut on the cake and shape it into an upside down triangle. Ears: Place pink coconut in center of ear and spread until about two inches of white remain around the edge. Eyes: Turn two chocolate chips upside down and press into the cake.
- Add white coconut. Sprinkle it over the remaining frosting, being careful not to cover the pink. Lightly pat into place as needed.
- Optional: Add a bow. The original cake I based this on used the center piece of the layer that the ears were cut from to make a large bow tie like this:
I decided to skip the bow-tie, but added on an optional mini bow.
I cut a small bow shape out of the excess cake, covered it with icing and then added some blue food coloring to the leftover pink coconut to make purple. I covered the bow in purple and popped it on the bunny’s head to make a girl bunny. For a boy bunny, it makes a cute little bow tie below the face.
And that’s it, an adorable bunny cake, perfect for Easter or woodland animal themed parties!
Please Pin and Share!
Oh, and if you happen to have something against coconut (like my husband), you can substitute white and pink sprinkles for the coconut!
Planning to make this cake? I’d love to see! Upload a picture to instagram or Facebook and tag @mypennywiselife.
That is just as cute as can be! I love cute Easter treats!
Thanks Carlee!
Such a cute cake and looks very simple to make! Thank you for the tutorial!
Sarah
Trendy & Tidy
You’re welcome!
This is adorable. One thing I really want to do with Johnny is teach him to cook. He has been in cooking class at school for three weeks and still has not even made a milkshake or worked a can opener.
Love this recipe. So cute.
Thanks! Wow, 3 weeks and no I application! My husband and I both learned our best cooking tips at home. My 23 month old had fun making this with me. I’m hoping to do a lot of cooking with her in the future!
This is truly adorable! I’m not much of a cake decorator, but I think I could pull this off. 🙂
It really is so easy! You can definitely pull it off.
I have one of those old antique molds and they are great, but if I did not, this would be on my list especially looks like I could get some help from little ones to decorate! Thanks for sharing at TADA! Thursdays
If you make one using your mold I’d love to see a picture! Our local library actually has cake molds you can check out. I just checked out an Elmo mold for my daughter’s birthday next week. It will be my first time using a mold!