Bunny Cake

You can use a cake mix or the following simple yellow cake mix for 2 - 9" layers.  Mixes have a lot of chemical sounding ingredients and I like to keep it more natural.

2/3 cup of butter, softened to room temperature
1 and 1/3 cups of grandulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups of sifted self rising flour
2/3 cup of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Use an electric mixer to cream the butter until fluffy.  Add sugar and continue to cream for about 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each.  Alternate adding  flour and milk to cream mixture beginning and ending with flour.  Add vanilla and mix just enough to blend in.
Grease and flour 2 - 9" cake pans.  Divide batter equally into the pans.  Hold pans 3-4 inches above counter and drop several times onto counter to even the batter and release air bubbles.
Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

7 Minute Frosting
2 egg whites, unbeaten
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
5 tbsp water, cold
1 and 1/2 tsp of light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Put all ingredients except vanilla in top of a double boiler.
Mix well by beating with a rotary egg beater.
Cook 7 minutes over boiling water, beating constantly with egg beater.
Frosting is done when it stands in peaks.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and beat until it is thick enough to spread.

Use diagram to cut and arrange the two cake layers. (stack 2 ring pieces to form paw)
Cover bunny with 7 minute frosting.  Decorate ears, nose and bottom paws with coconut tinted pink with a few drops of red coloring.  Sprinkle rest of bunny with 2 and 1/3 cups of plain coconut.   Add a jelly bean nose, tongue  and eyes, a licorice smile and 3 licorice toes on the top two paws or any way you want to decorate it.  Also can add a bow at the neck.