Bunny Cake

What You Need:

• One round cake pan (or two, as you will have enough batter)
• Any flavor of cake mix you prefer (or ingredients for simple yellow cake; recipe below)
• One container of white frosting (or homemade frosting)
• Shredded coconut
• Construction paper
• Jellybeans, gumdrops, or other Easter candy
• Easter “grass”

What You Do:

1. Prepare the cake mix or the cake batter and bake according to directions. You will have enough batter to fill two cake pans, but you’ll only need one, so reserve the other cake for a second bunny or another time, or use the extra batter to make cupcakes.
2. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the pan, and cut the cake in half. Frost one half with plenty of frosting, and then press the two halves of the cake together and place upright on a plate or cake stand, so the frosting holds them together. It should look like a half-circle of standing up. This is the bunny’s body.
3. Then cut out a small, triangle-shaped notch of cake about one-third of the way up one end of the body to make the bunny’s head. Frost the bunny all over with white icing and sprinkle with coconut for bunny “fur.” (If you want a colorful, non-traditional white bunny, add a few drops of food coloring to your frosting!)
4. Cut your bunny’s ears from construction paper—pink and white looks best—and press the ears into the head. You can use jellybeans, gumdrops, M&Ms, or other candy for the bunny’s eyes and nose. If you like, add a construction paper bow tie.
5. To complete your Easter Bunny cake, lay the Easter grass on the plate around the cake and scatter jellybeans or chocolate Easter eggs on top of the grass. Serve with chocolate, vanilla, or your favorite ice cream.

Simple, Tasty Yellow Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening or margarine, softened
• 1/3 cup butter
• ¾ cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease and flour two round cake pans
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into large mixing bowl.
4. Add remaining ingredients to flour mixture.
5. Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
6. Turn mixer to high speed and beat for 3 minutes, scraping bowl often.
7. Pour batter into prepared pans or pan.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan on wire rack.