This chocolate funfetti hidden bunny cake is deceptively simple to make and is the perfect addition to an Easter brunch!
Here we go again, another Easter recipe coming at you! It’s pretty much my favorite holiday because it’s in the SPRING, when we get to shake off the sleepiness of winter and finally stay up past eight.
Tell me I’m not the only one who goes to bed super-early when the days are short!
And not only is Easter in such a glorious time of year, but it’s a food holiday. Food holidays are the best holidays of all, because no one can complain when you bake three different cakes for brunch even though there will be only four of you in attendance.
True story.
I saw this loaf cake from Food 52 on pinterest months ago that was pretty much exactly this. Let me tell you: that cake haunted my dreams. All I could think was I MUST MAKE THAT! Because how cute is it? How ingenious? How perfect an ending to Easter brunch?
And I was pleased beyond words to discover that this is a cake that not only looks adorable but also tastes really, really good. I mean, a chocolate and vanilla cake is probably going to be good but you never really know. It’s light and moist and not super-rich, which means you can have two pieces if you want. I fully support you in that.
This cake looks pretty complicated but it couldn’t be more simple. It takes a few steps but it’s way easier to put together than a layer cake. And it’s customizable! Change up the holiday—maybe a star with red, white, and blue jimmies. Or a tree for Christmas. The possibilities are endless.
Just be sure to find a cookie cutter that fits inside your loaf pan. The first three cookie cutters I wanted to use were all a little taller than the pan. A bunny isn’t a bunny if its ears are chopped off :(.
As always, I’m not in love with the photos I’m sharing in this post. They don’t do justice to this little hidden bunny cake. I hope that my words are enough to encourage you to bake this, because I can’t imagine the pictures have you running to the kitchen. Someday my photography will improve. . .I’m hopeful it will happen before I reach retirement age.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep baking cakes. Chocolate funfetti hidden bunny cakes.
Because, adorable :). Happy Easter (season)!
This chocolate funfetti hidden bunny cake is a sure crowd-pleaser!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons jimmies I used an Easter mix
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder optional
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper, leaving an inch of paper hanging over the sides. Spray paper with cooking spray then dust with flour. Tap out excess flour and set pan aside.
- Sift the flour and salt together in a small bowl. Place butter, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after each egg is incorporated.
- Turn mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture until it’s just incorporated. Gently fold in jimmies.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 75 to 85 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use parchment paper to remove the cake from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cool, slice into 1-inch slices. Use your cookie cutter to cut out desired shapes. Set cut-outs on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them for 1 hour. Leave them in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate loaf.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper, allowing a couple inches of excess to hang over the sides. Spray paper with cooking spray, then dust with flour. Tap out excess flour; set pan aside.
- Combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, espresso powder, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
- Turn the mixer to low and add half of the flour and mix until just incorporated. Add all of the milk, mixing until just incorporated, then add remaining flour. Mix on low until just incorporated.
- Pour just enough batter into the prepared pan to cover the bottom evenly. Remove funfetti bunnies from the freezer and line them up to form a bunny log that is a little shorter than your pan—you’ll probably have an extra bunny or two. Set log carefully on top of batter, then carefully pour remaining batter over them, to just under the rim of the pan. You’ll have excess batter; I recommend pouring it into a ramekin and baking yourself a cupcake. Bake bunny cake for 44 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use parchment paper to remove the cake from the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Serve, enjoy, and watch your friends’ faces light up when they see that little bunny hiding in their cake.
Funfetti loaf adapted from Myrecipes.com
Chocolate loaf adapted from King Arthur Flour
Method adapted from Food 52
thebakingskillet says
This is such a fun idea Kelsie! I am forever wondering (while on Instagram) how people get those shapes inside of their cakes. Thanks for demystifying it 🙂 Hope you had a good Easter.
Kelsie says
Thank you Jenny! I was surprised by how simple it was once I tried it :). Hope you had a good Easter too!