Bunny Brownie Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting – no bunny cake pan needed!

This Bunny Brownie Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese frosting comes to life with just a few simple ingredients and your best knife! No special cake pan needed.

A few years ago, I found this genius hack for a heart shaped cake – you take a round and a square cake pan, cut the round cake pan in half, adhere it to the two sides of the square cake, and BOOM  you have a heart!

I’m so taken with this hack that I started brainstorming more cake hacks that could be executed without having to have a fancy pan to make it happen. And I thought how reminiscent of bunny ears the two halves of a round cake were and ladies and gents, THAT is how this adorable bunny came to be. You could do this with your favorite cake recipe (or boxes mix) or your favorite boxed brownie mix, such as I did. I have a serious thing for frosted brownies – and for some reason slathering this beauty in coconut cream cheese frosting just sounded like a dream to me. And what looks more like bunny fur than coconut????

So. Here’s how you do it:

Split your brownie mix into two 8″ (or 9″) round cake pans. Cook according to instructions on the box.  Let them cool for a good bit before starting to make the bunny cake. You’re going to leave one in tact and then split the other in half down the middle vertically (see below).

Take the two “ears” and line them up with the top of the other brownie. Then, take a small circular glass or jar to cut small half circles from the bottom of each ear (see top right photo). I used one of Murphy’s old baby food jars but you can use anything! You just want to create a half circle so that the “ears” will fit the “head” a little better.

Finally take a large knife and cut a triangle out of each ear to make it more “ear like” (see left hand photo). Continue to shape the ears as you think you need with the knife, and DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOSSING THOSE SCRAPS! Then, you’ll have ears and a head! Once your frosting is made, you just want to smear a little onto the ears to adhere them to the head.

There you have it folks. Peter Cottontail – hold the tail – add the coconut cream cheese frosting. And if you’re curious how to cut into that bunny, I’ll just leave this right here.

Bunny Brownie Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

2018-03-20 19:48:31

The cutest and most delish Bunny Brownie Cake, slathered with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting - and you don't even need a bunny shaped cake pan to make it!

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Pans you’ll need

1. 2 - 8” or 9” round cake pans
2. 2 boxes of your favorite brownie mix, prepared and baked according to instructions (I always use Ghiradelli and I follow the instructions for the ‘cake like’ version)

For the cream cheese frosting

1. 8oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2. 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3. 1 teaspoon vanilla
4. 2 cups powdered sugar
5. 2-4 tablespoons milk
6. 2 cups coconut plus more for sprinkling

For the bunny face

1. 2 large marshmallows
2. 2 chocolate baking discs (like the Wilton or Ghiradelli ones)
3. pink sprinkles
4. 7-8 red or pink cadbury mini eggs

To prepare your bunny cake

1. Prepare your two boxes of brownie mix according to instruction. Split the brownie mix into two 8" (or 9") round cake pans. Bake according to instructions on the box. Let them cool for a good bit before starting to make the bunny cake. You're going to leave one round brownie in tact and then split the other in half down the middle vertically to make the "ears" (see photo #1 above).
2. Take the two "ears" and line them up with the top of the other round brownie. Then, take a small circular glass or jar to cut small half circles from the bottom of each ear (see photo #2). You want to create a half circle so that the "ears" will fit onto the "head" a little better.
3. Finally take a large knife and cut a triangle out of each ear to make it more "ear like" (see photo #3). Feel free to shape the ears more with the knife if you think it's needed.

To prepare your frosting

1. Combine your softened cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until smooth. Add your vanilla and then your powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until fully combined with the butter and cream cheese. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the cream cheese reaches your desired consistency. The more milk, the thinner the frosting will be. Fold in your 2 cups of coconut. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the frosting for assembling the bunny's face.

To assemble your bunny cake

1. Take a tablespoon (or so) of the frosting and spread it onto the inside of the half circle of each of the ears. Then, adhere the ears to the bunny's head. Spread the remainder of the frosting out over the bunny to fully cover. Sprinkle with additional coconut.
2. To make his face, slice both marshmallows down the center, horizontally. Take two of the marshmallow halves and press them lightly into the frosting. Then, take a small dab of the reserved frosting and put it on the back of each of the chocolate baking discs - stick the chocolate disks on top of the two marshmallow halves to make the eyes.
3. Take another small bit of reserved frosting and spread a small dab of it onto another marshmallow half. Dip the marshmallow half (frosting side up) in the pink sprinkles, then press it lightly (sprinkle side up) into the frosting to create the bunny's nose.
4. Form the cadbury mini eggs into a mouth.
5. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and serve within three days.

Notes

1. There's a million ways you could give your bunny a face! This is just how I did it with what I had on hand.

By And They Cooked Happily Ever After

And They Cooked Happily Ever After https://www.andtheycookedhappilyeverafter.com/