Aunt Mary's Delicious Bunny Cake

This cake is great to make in character pans such as a Santa Claus, train pan, or bunny mold. Buttercream frosting is great but you can use other frostings if desired. Color your frosting with desired shade of food coloring.

• Preparation Time: 45 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 894 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter at room temperature
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 ⅓ cups milk at room temperature
• ¾ teaspoon orange extract
• 1 ⅛ cups unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons milk at room temperature

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Step 2

Place a rack into the lower third of oven.

Step 3

Grease and flour a cake mold pan (such as a bunny cake or train cake mold) using vegetable shortening.

Step 4

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Step 5

Mix 1 1/3 cup milk, lemon extract, 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, and orange extract in a separate bowl.

Step 6

Beat unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until butter is creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in white sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Step 7

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating each egg in thoroughly before adding the next.

Step 8

Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture in several additions, alternating with milk mixture; begin and end with flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Scrape bowl occasionally.

Step 9

Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pan.

Step 10

Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes.

Step 11

Place cake in pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting pan to remove cake. Allow cake to completely cool on wire rack, 3 to 4 hours.

Step 12

Beat vegetable shortening, 1/2 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract in a bowl until frosting is smooth and creamy.

Step 13

Pack the frosting into a heavy resealable plastic bag; force the frosting into one corner of the bag. Clip a small corner off the plastic bag, seal the bag, and pipe the frosting onto the cooled cake in desired pattern.