Individual Easter Bunny Cakes

By Christy Rost

Ingredients:

½		cup softened unsalted butter
¾		cup sugar
1		egg
½		teaspoon vanilla
1		cup sifted cake flour
¼		cup cocoa
½		teaspoon baking soda
¼		teaspoon salt
¼		cup sour cream
¼		cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until creamy. Stir in sour cream.

In a small bowl, stir flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with flour mixture. Batter will be thick.

Grease and flour 3-inch Easter Egg minicake pans. Fill each egg mold half full with batter. Bake in preheated oven 18 to 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into middle of minicakes. Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes, and turn cakes out onto a rack to cool. Frost with Seven-Minute Frosting, and garnish with coconut and meringue bunny ears and tails.

Seven-Minute Frosting:

2		egg whites, at room temperature
1/3		cup water
¼		teaspoon cream of tartar
1 ¼		cups sugar
½		teaspoon vanilla

Place egg whites and water in a large heat-proof bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until mixture begins to foam; add cream of tartar.

Place bowl over simmering water, but do not allow bowl to touch water. Continue beating until egg mixture is doubled in volume. Gradually add in sugar, beating until frosting is thick and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Frost minicakes with a generous amount of frosting and garnish with coconut. Decorate bunnies with eyes formed from slices of pink sour candy neon gummy worms. Shortly before serving, decorate bunnies with meringue bunny ears and tails.

Meringue Bunny Ears and Tails:

2		egg whites, at room temperature
¼		teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3		cup sugar
¼		teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. In large bowl of an electric mixer, whip egg whites until foamy; add cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, whipping constantly, until meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks. Stir in vanilla.

Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with a large plain tube. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, anchored by dabs of meringue. Pipe ears and tails.

Bake meringues in preheated oven 1 hour. Turn oven off and allow meringues to dry 3 to 4 hours with oven door closed. Shortly before serving, peel ears and tails off parchment paper. Poke a hole in icing with fingertip and insert ears and tails into icing.

Recipe makes 16 bunny cakes.