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| Photo: Chocolate Bunny Cake-William Sonoma |
This
Chocolate Bunny Cake is the ultimate
Easter Bunny Centerpiece.
I've mentioned before that there are so many great places to find
recipes. This
Chocolate Easter Bunny Cake recipe is from the
Williams Sonoma Kitchen. They no longer sell this specific pan that accompanied the recipe, but you can find it or the one I use on eBay and other sites.
Williams Sonoma does sell the Nordic Ware Standing bunny with basket that is available most places. It is a great alternative (see below). You can add
PEEPS in the basket!
Just bake the two halves of the cake and press together with icing. Chocolate, of course!
Any of these 3-D Bunny Cakes would make a great Easter Centerpiece!
I actually have a totally different
Easter Bunny 3-D cake pan for this
cake, and there are lots of other bunny cake pans you can find.
Double
sided cakes aren't very difficult, and they're fun to make. The
Wilton Cake Pan with
the Eggs is the one in the recipe (
first cake pan photo). You don't need to make the cake egg. You can make
your own chocolate eggs or decorate with Jellybeans or Cadbury chocolate
eggs. And, then there's the standup Bunny with basket. So many choices!
Other alternatives: Bake a chocolate cake, cut into shapes, and cover with a buttercream 'fur' frosting and coconut! See the recipe and directions below to shape your
Bunny Cake. Recipe and directions from
Betty Crocker's Party Book (1960).
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| Wilton Cake Pan used in Recipe |
CHOCOLATE BUNNY CAKE
Ingredients:
For the cake:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
20 Tbsp sweet butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp Madagascar vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk
For the chocolate ganache:
1 lb dark chocolate (65-70%), chopped into small pieces
6 Tbsp sweet butter, at room temperature
2 cups heavy cream
1 jelly bean
Directions:
Have all ingredients at room temperature.
To
make cake, position rack in lower third of oven and
preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour bunny cake pan; tap out excess
flour.
Over sheet of waxed paper, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
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| Williams Sonoma Bunny Cake Pan |
In bowl of electric mixer fitted with flat
beater, beat butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about
30 seconds. Add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy,
about 5 minutes, stopping mixer occasionally to scrape down sides of the bowl. Add eggs a little at time, beating well after
each addition. Beat in vanilla just until incorporated, about 1
minute.
Reduce speed to low and add flour
mixture in three additions, alternating with milk and beginning and
ending with flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated,
stopping mixer occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.
Spoon
batter into prepared bunny pan, spreading batter so
sides are higher than center. Bake until cake begins to pull
away from sides of pan and toothpick inserted into center
comes out clean, 35 to 38 minutes.
Transfer pan to wire rack and let cake cool upright in pan for 15 minutes.
Invert pan onto rack and lift off pan. Let cake cool
completely, at least 2 hours, before serving or decorating.
To make chocolate ganache: In metal bowl, combine chocolate and butter. In
small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream just to boil.
Immediately pour cream over chocolate and butter. Whisk until melted and mixture is smooth.
Transfer 2/3 cup
of ganache to small bowl and let cool to room temperature. Keep
remaining ganache warm and fluid by placing the bowl over but not
touching barely simmering water in small saucepan.
To
assemble and decorate cake: wash and thoroughly dry pan, then
return both halves of cooled bunny cake to pan. Level cake
by using serrated knife to gently saw off part of each cake half
that rose above the edge of pan.
Line baking
sheet with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, making sure it covers edges of pan, and set wire cooling rack on sheet. Place both
cake halves, cut side down, on rack. Remove any crumbs that fall off
cake onto baking sheet. Slowly pour warm ganache over
halves, coating completely. Tap baking sheet to allow excess ganache to drip off. Place rack on another baking sheet or piece of parchment paper. Using rubber spatula, scrape excess
ganache from lined baking sheet back into bowl. Reheat over
simmering water if not fluid. Set rack on lined baking
sheet again and place egg cake halves on rack alongside
bunny (If you made these). Pour warm ganache over eggs.
Cut jelly
bean in half and attach halves to bunny to create eyes.
Place baking sheet, with rack still on top, in refrigerator
until ganache has set and cake halves are firm enough to handle,
at least 30 minutes.
Place one Bunny cake half, cut side
up, in center of large piece of aluminum foil. Ganache on
this side of bunny may smudge a little. Using small offset
spatula, spread 1/2 to 2/3 cup of room-temperature ganache over
cut side. Slide metal spatula under other cake half and carefully
place cake half on top of other one. Press down on jelly
bean eye to help secure halves. Use foil to help turn bunny
upright, then squeeze bunny on jelly bean eyes, feet and tail to
secure the halves. If there are any gaps in seam, place some
warm ganache on small offset spatula and fill in gaps. Dab warm
ganache on areas where you squeezed the cake and on any other
exposed areas. Soften any smudged areas by heating gently with culinary torch.
Carefully slide large metal spatula
under base of bunny and transfer to platter. Using spatula, transfer the egg halves to platter (if using)
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This recipe and directions for a
3-D Bunny Cake from the Betty Crocker Party Cookbook (1960). This was before all the very creative cake pans out there! Although the recipe says to use a yellow or white cake mix, you can make your own Chocolate Cake (recipe above) or use a Chocolate Cake Mix. Love chocolate and coconut.. This is a simple and great cake.. and will make a lovely centerpiece!
CHOCOLATE BUNNY CAKE!
