Adorable Bunny Cake That’s Beyond Perfect for Easter

Spring is a time for a fresh start, new sprouting flowers, bright colors, and cute baby animals. This spring, make this bunny cake, which is perfect for Easter Sunday! 

This Bunny cake is made with fluffy orange-scented almond cake layers and creamy vanilla buttercream. That is decorated with fondant to look like a cute little bunny.  

Easter can be a great time of celebration with family and friends. This bunny cake can be made for big gatherings or an intimate group. 

I’ll show you how to make simple almond cake layers that are scented with orange zest and colored with pastel colors for a fun surprise. Then you’ll make a super easy vanilla buttercream that anyone can make even kids. 

What I think you’ll love most about this cake is that you can do this with friends or even your kids. If you have children around who might be bored, then it’s a great activity to get them involved. 

For example, the kids will love playing with the fondant since it’s like edible playdough, and with this helpful tutorial, make the bunny decorations. 

Whether you are making this bunny cake for this easter or a random weekend, you’ll love making it! With this recipe and tutorial, you’ll get the tools and confidence to succeed with other cake designs in the future. 

Tips for Success:

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
• If you are in a rush for time or you would like to break up the decorating, then make the fondant decorations the day before, so the fondant has plenty of time to dry.  
• A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
• In this cake recipe, you need 1 cup buttermilk; if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily use 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to make your own. 
• To make cake flour at home, mix 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. Sift or whisk together to get rid of any lumps. 
• Be careful not to overmix this cake batter, or else the cake will come out dense. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 
• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.
• Serve cake at room temperature and enjoy! 

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl & paddle attachment
• 3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
• Offset spatula 
• 8-inch or 10-inch white cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Deep Pink Gel Food Coloring 
• Lemon Yellow Gel Food Coloring 
• Sky Blue Gel Food Coloring 
• Piping Bags (I use reusable silicone bags)
• Piping Tip Ateco #844 Star
• Cake Stand, optional
• Small fondant rolling pin 
• Silicone fondant mat
• Small rolling pin
• Fondant (white, pink, and black)
• Tylose powder, optional
• X-Acto knife
• 2, 20-gauge covered wires, skewers or toothpicks
• Wire cutters, needed if using wires
• Cornstarch and Vegetable Shortening

Here’s how to make this adorable Easter bunny cake! 

Let’s Get Decorating! 

Bunny Fondant Decorations 

1. On a silicone mat, roll the white fondant to 1/4 inch thick then use a sharp X-Acto knife to cut out two long ears. Insert a covered wire halfway into each fondant ear. Rub shortening on the edges of the ears to smooth them out. Then roll out a thin piece of pink fondant to make the inner ear. 
2. Roll white fondant into two 1 ½- inch balls. Then put the balls next to each other and press down slightly for the mouth of the bunny. Add a small piece of pink fondant and press into the space to create a little nose. Attach with water.   
3. Then, roll white fondant into a smooth ball for the bunny tail. Roll two more pieces into balls, then press slightly, use a molding tool to create the paws of the bunny. 
4. Next, roll black fondant into a 1/8 inch thick rope. Cut into two small pieces and form into whimsical eyes. Cut out two small pieces for eyelashes for the ends. Use water to attach the white fondant. Set aside to dry 1-2 hours or overnight. 

Made From Scratch Orange Almond Cake Layers

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
5. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. 
6. Pour in the buttermilk, almond extract, and orange zest. Mix on medium for another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
7. Divide cake batter into three bowls, color each bowl into pastel pink, yellow and blue. Dye one bowl with pink gel food color, then color another bowl with yellow food color and the third bowl with blue food color. 
8. Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
9. Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place them into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

How to Make Creamy Vanilla Buttercream 

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low and add the salt and vanilla. 
3. Next, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
4. Before using, turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles or use a rubber spatula to push out the air bubbles. (You may need to repeat this step when frosting the outside of the cake). 

Putting It All Together

1. Remove the cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even. 
2. Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board. Layer one cake layer, cut side up onto the cake board. Pipe ⅔ cup of buttercream and use an offset spatula to smooth the buttercream layer.  
3. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer — Crumb coat with white buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
4. Add a thicker layer of buttercream to the cold cake. Use an offset spatula and cake scraper to make the sides and the top as smooth as possible. 
5. Insert a toothpick into the mouth and insert mouth into the side of the cake. Add the fondant eyes as well as ears, paws, and tail on the back. 
6. Pipe the hair with small swirls of vanilla buttercream on top of the bunny. 
7. Serve the cake at room temperature and enjoy! 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• Lemon Blueberry Thyme Cake (recipe)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook) 
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)
• Cake Decorating Tool Kit (24-piece kit with free shipping)

With these skills, you develop making this Easter bunny cake, you can decorate any cake you’d like. I am so excited to see your cake creations! 

Feel free to reach out to me here at xokatierosario@gmail.com if you have any questions. I’m here to help!  

Happy Baking! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.

Watch The How-to Video Below: 

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