Bunny Butt Cake for Easter

Ingredients

• 1 (15.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (such as Duncan Hines®)
• 1 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 1 pound flaked coconut, or more as needed, divided
• 3 drops red food coloring, or as needed
• 3 drops green food coloring, or as needed
• 2 marshmallows, halved lengthwise
• 1 (16 ounce) container ready-to-use pink frosting, or more as needed
• 3 tablespoons ready-to-use white frosting, or as needed
• 1 pink fruit rolls (such as General Mills® Fruit Roll-Ups)
• pink paper bunny ears

Step 1

Gently heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three muffin cups and also an oven-safe glass or ceramic bowl. In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs. Use an electric mixer on low speed just until everything is moistened, then crank it up to medium and beat for about two minutes until the batter is nice and smooth.

Step 2

Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, then pour the rest into your prepared bowl. Pop the muffins in the oven and bake for around 18 to 21 minutes, or until they’re golden and spring back when you gently press the tops. Let them cool a bit in the tin before moving them to a wire rack. The cake in the bowl will take longer—about 33 to 45 minutes. It's done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it sit in the bowl for 10 to 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 3

While everything’s cooling, color your coconut! Put about two-thirds of it in a plastic bag, add some red food coloring, seal it up, and shake until it turns a pretty shade of pink. Keep adding color and shaking until you’re happy with the pink. Set aside about half a cup of plain coconut in a bowl, then put the rest in another bag with green food coloring and shake it up until it looks like fresh grass.

Step 4

To assemble, attach two cupcakes on one end of the cake with toothpicks, placing their tops against the cake to look like bunny feet. Cut marshmallows in half and press the flat side down on each cupcake to finish the feet. Then, secure the last cupcake on top of the cake for the tail.

Step 5

Spread pink frosting over the cake and feet (but not the tail) and cover that with the pink coconut. Slather the tail with white frosting and sprinkle the reserved plain coconut on top. Cut fruit roll-ups into two small ovals and six tiny circles, then use frosting as glue to stick one oval and three circles onto each foot to mimic paw pads. Finally, stick paper bunny ears to the front of the serving plate with frosting, and sprinkle the green coconut around the cake to look like grass. Enjoy your adorable bunny creation!