What better fun could you have during this festive time of year than by adding to your Easter Celebration the joy of making the Maximum Living Easter Bunny Box cake with your family and friends.

So today I am giving you the recipe for not only making the Easter Bunny box cake but we're going to add a twist this season, were adding baby bunny cupcakes! Your friends and family won't believe how cute this culinary centerpiece will be.

 

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist carrot cake mix
1/2 cupWater
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
4 Eggs
1 can 8oz crushed pineapple juice, undrained
1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Directions: refer to diagram
Heat oven to 350F (325F for dark or nonstick pans), make and cool cake as directed on box for two 8 inch or 9 inch round pans. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and pineapple on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in coconut and raisins, pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch rounds 36-40 minutes, 9-inch rounds 29-36 minutes. Run knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour

Reserve 1 layer for another use or to make a second bunny. Cut 1 layer in half, put halves together with frosting to form body. Place cake upright on cut edge on tray.

Cut out a notch about one third of the way up one end of body to form head. Attach half of cutout piece from tail with toothpicks; frost with remaining frosting, rounding body on sides. Sprinkle with 1 cup coconut. Cut ears from construction paper; press into notch on top. Use jelly beans fro eyes and nose.

Shake 1 cup coconut and 3 drops food color in tightly covered jar until evenly tinted. Surround bunny with tinted coconut. Add additional jelly beans or chocolate foil covered eggs if desired. Store loosely covered.

Heavenly Coconut Frosting:
3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cups canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sweetened cream of coconut is available in the liquor section of most supermarkets.

Baby Bunny box cake cupcakes:
Ingredients:
•  Cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe)
•  Icing
•  Shredded coconut
•  Pink decorators' sugar
•  Jelly bean nose
•  Chewable Sweet Tart eyes
•  Large white marshmallows
•  Mini marshmallows 

Directions:
Frost a cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with icing and sprinkle on shredded coconut fur. Cut a large marshmallow in half widthwise. Squeeze each half slightly to give it an oval shape, then decorate the sticky side of each one with pink decorators' sugar and set them in place for ears. Add a jelly bean nose and either jelly bean or Sweet Tart eyes, and mini marshmallows for cheeks. For a finishing touch, draw on decorators' gel pupils or whiskers if you like.

Once you are all done, let these little ones hip hop over to join the Maximum Living Easter Bunny Box cake in the center of your Easter table.

Happy Easter!
Randy