Easter bunny cake

We chose to make two Easter bunny cakes this year. One for our home and one for my daughter to take with her to a birthday party. I decorated the first one and she decorated the other.

I used a recipe from the Cake mix doctor bakes gluten free cookbook by Anne Byrne. This recipe uses the Betty Crocker GF cake mix and it always comes out moist. I like it because it’s fast and easy. Sometimes I need recipes that are quick and don’t require a lot of ingredients or measuring.

For the piping I used a Wilton flower tip, 2 fruit snacks for the eyes and used Betty Crocker fluffy white frosting which is gluten free. I like the taste and texture of the fluffy white since it’s very creamy and tastes almost like whipped cream. If you wanted to make a layered cake, you can mix this frosting with whipped cream for the layers,just make sure to refrigerate the cake.

Here is the recipe that I used but instead of the layered cake mentioned below, I made it in a bunny pan which makes just one layer and then used the rest of the batter to make mini flower cakes.  I didn’t know how long to bake it so I just kept checking on them.

Gluten free yellow cake recipe:

• vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans
• 2 teaspoons rice flour, for dusting the pans
• 1 package(15ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix
• 1/4 cup (half of a 3.4 ounce package) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 3/4 cup milk(see notes)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (to quickly soften butter-put wrapped butter on paper plate and microwave for 10 seconds)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract(see notes)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350degrees. Lightly mist two 9 inch cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then dust them with rice flour. Shake out the excess rice flour and set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are just incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter until smooth, 1 to 1 1/2 min. longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.
3. Bake the cake layers until they are golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 19-23 minutes. Transfer the cake pans to wire racks and let the cake layers cool for 5 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake layer and give the pans a good  shake to loosen the cakes. Invert each layer onto a wire rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that the layers are right side up. Let the layers cool completely about 20 minutes longer.
4. Meanwhile make your homemade frosting or mix your store bought frosting with whipped cream.
5. To assemble the cake, transfer on layer, right side up, to a serving plate. Spread the top with about 1 cup of the frosting. Place the second cake later, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and side of the cake, working with smooth, clean strokes.

Notes: Use whatever milk you have on hand, but just so you know, whole and 2 percent mil will make a richer cake. To help keep the butter smooth, warm the milk lightly in a microwave on hight power for 20 seconds before adding it to the mixing bowl.

Vanilla paste is sold in specialty food shops and natural food stores and has little flecks of the vanilla bean and a more pronounced vanilla flavor than vanilla extract. It is especially nice in the is cake but don’t go out and buy it just for this recipe; use regular vanilla extract. Most pure vanilla extract is gluten -free. Look for the gluten-free symbol or the words gluten-free on the vanilla you buy.

Store the cake, lightly wrapped with aluminum foil or in a cake saver, on the kitchen counter or in the fridge(if using whipped topping) for three days.

Freeze only the cake layers, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to one month. Let the layers thaw overnight on the counter before assembling and frosting the cake.

Dairy free: Substitute water or orange juice for the milk in the cake. Use margarine or a half cup of vegetable oil instead of the butter.

My tip:

Have fun with this recipe, this cake works well to make it an ice cream cake as well. instead of using frosting; you can use ice cream for the layers and decorate with frosting.

Happy Baking!