Is it Easter without a freaky-looking homemade cake? Can you have a celebratory post-church brunch and not include a mutant lamb on a bed of green-dyed coconut grass? In my family, we observe a bunny cake tradition. Kids love decorating bunny cake. Easy to make and so cute, right? (Lowers voice: But if you mess up the angle of jelly bean eyes, as happens with kids involved, they also can look a little, I don’t know, devious? Even better, I say. It’s tradition!)
Anyway, the classic bunny cake made with box mix was, the internet says, popularized by a collaborative 1970s ad campaign from Pillsbury and Baker’s Coconut. It involves cutting one of the round layers of a two-layer cake into two fat canoe-shaped ears, leaving the remaining part, which is shaped like a bow tie. Then you arrange the bunny head, frost it, and make it look fluffy with coconut. It’s more about looks than flavor. And maybe that’s all you want to do. If so, bunny-hop to the part of the recipe that shows you how to assemble one. But, if you want your bunny cake to be delicious, read on.
Some years ago, I came across a mysterious recipe in mom’s box titled, “Carrot Cake Julia’s Favorite.” The recipe has all the fiber: chopped walnuts, applesauce, golden raisins, shredded coconut and canned pineapple tidbits. Plus cream cheese frosting. It’s also easy to make gluten-free by subbing in one cup almond flour and one cup gluten-free flour mix. I discovered after making it that it is still my favorite, lighter than most carrot cakes and full of great, textured sweet-crunchy bites. Baking it into a freaky bunny cake makes the best kind of magic: It turns a kid-pleasing thing into a kid- AND adult-pleasing thing. Anyway, maybe you just want carrot cake. You can, in that situation, skip the bunny part of this recipe altogether. If you’d like to make the bunny carrot cake, my only decorating advice is less is more. But your kids will never agree to that. I just scrape the pastel M&Ms off the next morning when I have a piece with my coffee.
Bunny carrot cake
Serves about 12
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup olive or avocado oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Frosting:
1 stick or 1/2 cup salted butter at room temperature
1 8 ounce brick regular — not whipped or low fat — cream cheese, softened
Four cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration ideas: Shredded coconut, pastel M&Ms, jelly beans, licorice whips, store-bought pink decorator frosting for the mouth and ears
Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans by tracing the bottom of the pans on parchment paper and cutting out the circles to make liners for the bottom of the pans. Spray the pans well with kitchen spray and place the liners in each. Alternatively, grease and flour the pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl, combine carrots, walnuts, pineapple, raisins, applesauce and coconut. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using a hand mixer in a large bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs on medium speed. With the mixer running, gently shake in the dry ingredients. When the dry ingredients are well incorporated, turn the mixer to low and shake in the carrot mixture. When that mixture is incorporated, divide the batter into the two prepared pans. To make sure you are dividing the batter equally, you can set the pans on a kitchen scale as you fill them and adjust the amounts accordingly. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when you touch them. Overturn the cakes gently on cooling racks and allow to cook completely.
For the frosting: In the bowl of a standing mixer or with a hand mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Shake in the sugar a cup at a time. Add milk and vanilla. Whip for 2 minutes.
To build the cake: Once the cake is completely cool, carefully cut one of the circles into ears and bow tie. (See picture) Compose the cake on a serving platter, using a spoonful of frosting under each piece to hold them in place. Frost and decorate.