The bunny cake was baked in a mold and kept upright by a line of potato nails pushed through some cardboard and disguised with green tinted coconut and Easter candy. The whole presentation took a big step over being way too cute but it was an awful lot of fun and you should have heard the groans when I decided it was just too much trouble to do that year.
The following recipe makes four cups of batter. Measure the volume of the bottom of your mold by filling it with a measured amount of water and adjust the recipe accordingly. To stabilize the baked cake and keep it upright, cut a circle of heavy cardboard or 1/4 inch plywood to the size of the platter. Push non-corrosive 3-inch nails up through the cardboard and then cut a second round to act as the bottom tier and keep the nail heads from allowing the cardboard to wobble. Cover this base with aluminum foil and tape this contraption firmly to the platter.
Set oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and mace and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, lemon peel and extracts until soft and thoroughly mixed. Gradually add the sugar to the butter mixture and cream until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the beaten eggs and continue to cream. Add flour mixture in fourths and after every addition, scrape down the bowl and mix only until the flour is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Prepare both sides of the cake form by liberally spraying with no-stick spray or coat with shortening. Dust liberally with flour and turn pans over and tap out the excess flour.
Fill the bottom form as full as possible and top with the top form. Set the pans on a baking sheet and either weight the top down with a metal weight (like the head of a meat mallet) or use small metal binder clips at intervals around the edge of the form so that when the batter rises it will take the shape of the top form. I suggest the binder clips. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes at 375.
Test for doneness by sticking a bamboo skewer into the vent hole. If the stick comes out clean, the cake is done. Let the cake cool for ten minutes and lift the top form off. Cool for an additional 20 minutes and turn the cake out of the form. When the cake is completely cool, place the cake over the upright nails and gently press down until the cake is skewered in place.
The Frosting
1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup Crisco (the butter tastes better but the Crisco makes a whiter frosting)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
4 cups (one pound) sifted confectioners sugar
milk or half and half
Cream the butter and the extracts together. Add the sugar and 1 TB milk and beat until creamy. Add additional milk or cream until of spreading consistency. Frost the cake using extra frosting to disguise any imperfections. If you want to get very fancy, take _ cup of the white frosting and tint it pink and use it for the inside of the bunny’s ears.
Cover the cake as completely as possible with a 14 oz. bag of flaked coconut. Brush off the extra coconut with a pastry brush. Tie a length of ribbon around the neck and secure it with a straight pin. Use two brown M & M’s for the eyes and a red M & M or a piece of maraschino cherry for the nose. Use black licorice whips for the whiskers. Put a 14 oz. bag of shredded coconut into a large bowl and tint with a mixture of green food coloring and water to ease even blending. Cover the stabilizing base of the cake with the grass green coconut and decorate with jellybeans or other Easter candy. Serve the cake with ice cream or fresh strawberry sauce.