How to Make a Bunny Cake

Disclosure: This post has affiliate links to the supplies I used to make this bunny cake. 

This Easter we ate our holiday meal at a friend's house.  She made the made the ham, my daughter made the extra cheesy au gratin potatoes, our boys made the deviled eggs, and I made the Easter Bunny cake   A bunny cake is not that hard to make, and might become a yearly tradition in our house from now on.   

To make an Easter Bunny cake, bake your favorite cake recipe or box mix  in two  8 inch or 9 inch pans,  I believe I used 9 inch pans so my bunny will be slightly longer and thinner than if you use 8 inch. 

Once the cake has cooled, cut it in half down the middle 

Add a little bit of frosting between the two halves and place them on their side like in the picture.  This will become the body of the bunny.  Cover the body with lots of frosting. My edges were a little uneven, so they got a little more frosting to even the edge out. 

The next step was to figure out  what size to make the bunny head. so I got out some of my cookie cutters. I was trying to decide between my Wilton 4 piece circle cutter set and my Wilton bunny head set. Either shape would work out well, but I decided to go with the circle head  because we were running late on time, and I thought it might be easier to frost.  

I used the 3 inch cutter , but it is your preference on how big or little you would like to make the bunny head.  

Using the cookie cutter, cut the head piece out of the second cake. Since you will not need the remainder  of the 2nd cake, you can then  crumble up the rest make Cake Pops, or cut out small bunny feet. I decided not to have feet on my cake

Frost the bunny head, and attach it to the body piece with some frosting.  I had my daughter help me choose what candy to use for the face, She went for a simple look with just jelly beans.  

The bunnies ears are made out of pink and white cardstock attached to toothpicks. 

We had to travel about 20 miles with our bunny on a cake plate.  She did get bumped a little bit so she looks crooked in this picture, but I wanted to show her tail.  I used a pink egg shaped marshmallow for a quick and easy tail. I thought the pink tail looked cute with her pink nose.  If you prefer you could use a small circle cutter and use cake, a cake ball, or Sno Ball Snack Cakes  for the tail instead.   You might have also noticed that our bunny cake does not have coconut on it. My kids and I do not like coconut at all, so I did not add any.  If you do like it, you can cover the frosting with a coating of coconut to give it a different look, We swirled the frosting a bit, to give it some texture  

The cake is now ready to eat and enjoy!   

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Dare to Share #206

It is Friday night, and you know what that means... 

It is time to Dare to Share!! 

Are you ready for Easter?  Now that the weekend is here, I am finally feeling like I am almost ready.  I have the menu planned, the eggs to color, and items for my kids' Easter baskets.  We have a plan on place on which service I am going to, and where we will be eating Easter dinner. A good friend of mine also has a small family, so we are eating dinner together, and making different items so we both don't have to make a full meal. It is half the work for both of us, and we wont have an excessive amount of leftovers.  

This week I shared a round of my past Easter posts in Last Minute Easter Ideas.  Most of this crafts, and recipes can be made quickly if you are still looking for inspiration.

I have a couple of Easter features this week, that would both be great for your special meal, and can be whipped together last minute. 

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I loved this Cheesecake with Chocolate Sprinkle Bunnies by As the Bunny Hops.  You can decorate a store bought cheesecake with a pop of color and fun. 

The kids will love these Easter Chicks Lemon Cookies by The Gold Lining Girl.  They are quick and easy to make using a box mix.  

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations also had a great idea that you can do at the last minute.  She has a printable for an Easter Candy Wrapper that is a coloring page.  Kids will love coloring the cute picture and then wrapping them around a candy bar to give to a special person. I know I would love getting one! 

Now it is time for this week's party.   You are welcome to link up anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, your post on the blog and my social media.   This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media.  

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Easy Chick Lemon Cookies - Dare to Share Feature of the Day

Oh my!  I just love the cuteness!  I adore these Easter Chick Lemon Cookies by The Gold Lining Girl. They are perfect for the Easter holiday and the start of spring. Another thing that I love is that they are quick and easy to make, and from a box mix.  They are perfect for throwing together at the last minute this holiday weekend.  Be sure to stop over to The Gold Lining Girl to get the full recipe/directions on how to make these sweet cookies.   

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Last Minute Easter Ideas

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links to the supplies I used making these Easter crafts 

Easter is now only a few days away.   I am so not ready!!  Yesterday I realized I still need to buy eggs, and I also still need to buy some of the food for our Easter dinner. Eek!   Does anyone else feel a bit rushed in their preparations  when Easter is in March?   Over the years I have posted several Easter posts that I thought I would share again, for anyone needing some last minute ideas like me.  

My first picture is of my Bunny Treat Boxes .  They are still one of my favorite Easter crafts. They are quick and simple to make, and kids love them.  The supplies you will need to make them are mini square containers , mini white pom poms, white chenille pipe cleaners, and google eyes.  I found my supplies at the dollar store and craft store.  The dollar store does not always have the mini containers in stock, and can be hard to find, so I linked to the same ones on Amazon.  You can see the full tutorial to the Bunny Treat Boxes here.

If you like other spring animals as well.  You might like my Chick and Lamb treat boxes.  They are made in a similar manner but you would need round mini containers.

These Spring Animal Boxes were a lot of fun to make. All you need is cardboard tubes, a little bit of paint, and some basic craft supplies.  You can fill them with a small bag of candy, or small toy. 

One year I decorated the table with Easter Egg Buddies make from dollar store plastic eggs. 

My daughter made this craft for Easter a few years ago.  She found an extra large chenille stem at the craft store and turned it into a Bunny Head that is cute on it's own, but can also be added to a wreath or decoration. 

One year  I made a water proof Easter Wreath using an item you normally would not use on a wreath.  

Over the years we have shared some Unique Egg Coloring Techniques

Last year we shared a few new techniques like this one in the picture above.  You can see how we made it and a few others here.

Need some food ideas.  We got  your covered there too.  My kids look forward to my Leftover Ham Casserole every year that is made with our leftover Easter ham. 

We also have an Easter morning tradition for breakfast.  Pretty much every holiday, on the night before I whip up a batch of Make Ahead Stuff French Toast.  The family loves it and it makes busier morning breakfasts for much easier.  All you need to do is take it out of fridge and put it in the oven. 

I also have dessert covered.  Several years ago I made Easter Cake Pops. This was when my blog was pretty new, so remember that when you see how bad the pictures are. ;) I really should make them again, because my kids loved them, and they did turn out pretty cute. 

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Chocolate Sprinkle Bunnies -Dare to Share Feature of the Day

Are you ready for Easter, or still in the planning stages?  It always kind to sneaks up on me quickly when Easter is in March.  I think today's Dare to Share Feature will help you prepare your Easter dinner dessert, if you still need some ideas like I do.  Amy from  As the Bunny Hops recently shared her post for Cheesecake with Chocolate Sprinkle Bunnies during our weekly party  Aren't they adorable. They are also  easier to make than you might think, and can quickly decorate a store bought dessert into something special.  So stop on over to As the Bunny Hops say hi to Amy, and see how to make some Chocolate Sprinkle Bunnies of your own.  

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Dare to Share #205

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

The week started out with promise, and then went a little crazy.  I had the chance to make my kids Spinach Rice Casserole with Bacon and Pineapple   on Monday.  I don't know about you, but spring forward daylight savings time, is HARD  to adjust to.  On top of that we have crazy weather were it is 60+ degrees one day, and 30 the next.  Every time we think Spring is finally here, nature shows us she is temperamental.  I had trouble sleeping for the first two days of the new time  change, which gave me a really bad headache. I was so tired, I ended up taking a 3.5 hour nap.  Tuesday I was busy with work and small group.   

  

We found out about 5:30 on Wednesday that  we had a fugitive on the lam.  This is Taffy. One of our cats sat on the top of her cage, and their weight ripped her screen lid some time Wednesday afternoon when no one was in the room. She saw the open hole and the opportunity to go on an adventure.  About 3 in the afternoon I heard a commotion with one or more of the cats by the slider door. I think that might after been when she made her escape.  As soon as we saw the hole in the cage, my daughter looked for her and saw that she was already  missing.   At that point we did not know how long she was missing, or where she could have gone.  We searched for her for HOURS.  We thought we heard her a few times, but did not have any visual sightings.  Being a small furry animal that lives with some feline siblings, we knew it was very important that we find her as soon as possible.  It got to be very late and a school night, so my daughter did go to sleep around midnight  I was pretty much up off and on all night and go very little sleep. The next morning she had a migraine and did not feel well.  While we did not lose hope, as the time went by we were beginning to worry that we might not find her..  Finally around 5:15 on Thursday.  I heard a noise in my room.  Milo our big boy cat went to go check it out. I went to go see what he was looking at.  It was then I saw a little face peeking at me from behind a box.  She was really tired and ready to go back to her cage..  She even walked right into my daughter's hands. We think she was relieved to have been found..  

Today I worked in a Special Ed classroom, and tonight went to a special class at my church.  Now it is Friday night and already time for the party.. Maybe this weekend, I will be able to get finish the posts and features  I had planned for this week.  

Lucky Charms is my favorite cereal and not just on St Patrick's Day.   Kim my co-host from Kandy Kreations shared a  Lucky Charms team treat printable tag this week. If you are even in charge of snacks for the team, you might want to print some.  

Now it is time for this week's party.  You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share feature  you post will be featured on the blog and on social media.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Spinach Rice Casserole with Bacon and Pineapple

My kids LOVE this salad and ask for it frequently.  Several years ago I was given the recipe at a Meijer sample the day. We have made a few changes to that original recipe  for our family, and occasionally use different ingredients.. Sometimes we use real onion, sometimes dried minced onion. Sometimes I make real bacon, but usually I don't always have some on hand, and use bacon bits. This salad can easily be adapted to your own tastes and preferences. 

For this batch of salad, I used real bacon.  I like to  make it using the perfect bacon method.  It is so easy, and a lot less messy than frying it on the stove.  

In a mixing bowl I added 

6-8 slices of bacon cut into small pieces  (or bacon bits if you prefer) 

a half of red onion sliced and cut into small pieces (you can also used dried,minced onion) 

a half can of crushed pineapple with a little bit of the pineapple juice 

While I was getting the ingredients ready, I was also making a pot of rice.. I used 2 cups of water and rice which makes 4 servings. 

Add the rice to the other ingredients, and mix well.  

If you prefer, add the spinach to the rice mixture in the mixing bowl  We used to do it that way, but it sometimes made the spinach wilty if there were any leftovers.  Now we prefer to add spinach to each individual bowl, that way you can have just the right amount of spinach per serving that the person eating it desires.  

Now there is another option you can chose with an ingredient.  You can add Italian dressing to the big bowl of rice, or to each individual bowl.  We used to add it to the big bowl, but have since started just adding it to each serving.  I like a lot of dressing, my son not as much. By adding to each serving,  each person has the salad dressing amount to their own personal preference.  

We never have leftovers anymore by doing individual servings.  The last several times I have gone back for a second serving the rest of the salad was gone.  My kids have been eating almost the entire bowl. 

Hopefully you like it as much as we do. 

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Dare to Share #204

It is Friday night, and you know what that means. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

I think the snow is finally over where we live.  We went to having from having a horrible snow storm last week, to many people wearing shorts this week.. This past Tuesday, exactly one week from when we got 6+ inches of snow and everything was canceled, it broke a record at 72 degrees. I almost put on my shorts and flip flops and took a picture next to a snow pile of left over snow.  The weather just felt very weird.   Also this week, I made up for last week when I did not work at all, to working the last several days in a row.  I am TIRED again tonight! 

This week I was part of a Potato Recipe Challenge.   I paired up with 49 other bloggers and we all came up with different potato recipes.    My entry was Potato Party Cups and Pockets. If you like carbs, this would be the post for you! 

With Easter right around the corner, I could not help but notice these adorable cupcakes by My Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings. 

Do you have a child that plays soccer?  My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations has this fun Roll Over the Competition Team Treat Printable for when you want to give the team a special treat. 

Now it is time for this week's party.  You are welcome to link up anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, your post will be featured on the blog and on my social media.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  Kim also chooses post to feature on her blog and social media. 

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Potato Party Cups and Pockets

I am very excited to be part of the Ultimate Recipe Challenge for potatoes.  My family loves potatoes.  We don't make them at home very often though, and usually have the kind that come from a drive thru. This recipe was a lot of fun to come up with because I got my kids involved and they had some wonderful ideas.  

It was my daughter's idea to serve the potatoes in a cup, which would make it perfect to serve at a party or get together.  To start the recipe she opened a package refrigerator dough. They had a big and flaky version on sale this week, which had a little more dough than the regular size.  

Instead of rolling to dough into a crescent, she rolled the dough into a ball. 

She pressed each ball into a muffin tin to form a cup.  Following the directions on the tube, she baked the cups for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. While she was working on the cups, I was working on the potatoes. 

I had peeled 4-5 medium potatoes and boiled them until tender.  When it was time to blend into mashed potatoes, I added 1/3 brick of cream cheese, and 1-2 cups of steamed broccoli. I really do not know exactly how much I added to the potatoes. I had steamed them in a ba in the microwave and then sight added it to the mix. It really is up to your preference, and you can even leave it out all together if you do not like broccoli. 

When the dough cups came out of the oven they had puffed up a bit, but we were able to push them back down with a spoon.  My daughter wanted to add some extra shredded cheddar cheese to the cups that would be on the bottom of the mashed potato mixture. 

I generously filled each of the cups with the mashed potatoes.  We garnished the tops with some more cheddar cheese and a piece of broccoli.   We had them for dinner that night, and we LOVED them.  The dough cups make them a great side dish for a party or pot luck. They would also make a great side dish for dinner.  

My son had another idea for a potato recipe. He also wanted to use some dough, but instead of forming it into a cup, he wanted me to make a potato filled pocket.  Just like above I separated the dough into sections, and then used the dough to form a rectangle shape.  If I wanted them to be more uniform, I think i would use dough that is not pre-cut into triangles, and cut it into rectangle shapes. 

I added a generous amount of the cream cheese broccoli mashed potatoes to the dough and folded it over.  I probably over stuffed it a bit, because there were a bit difficult to seal. Once folded over, I use a fork to seal the sides.   I then cut a small hole to each pocket and sprinkled with some seasoning.  I used a bit of garlic salt and minced onion to give it some extra flavor.

When I took them out of the oven, they were golden brown  

These pockets were very filling, and the family loved them as well. They would also be great to serve for a large group. You getting the yumminess of mashed potatoes without the mess and silverware. 

If you like these potato recipes, be sure to check out more in Ultimate Potato Challenge by 40+ other bloggers.  

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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