Desserts to Die for:
Bunny Cakes + Hostess Snoball
By Sydney Hill
Easter is just around the corner, so you might as well impress with this cake. It tastes good as it is topped with coconut, but it also is festively stylish. In other words, it's adorable! (Or it looks awesome! If adorable is too cute a word for you.)
And as a bonus, the much-beloved, dearly missed, hostess snowball substitute recipe has been included. I can't say how close it is or not, but it's worth a try. (Much better than buying them for 100 dollars a box on ebay at least)
People will be hopping about as they see the cake, and then grinning as they nibble it.
Bunny Cake
Ingredients:
1 cake mix (plus ingredients box calls for)
jelly bean
1 package Hostess snowball snack cake (use recipe below or try Little Debbie Snow puffs)
1 cup coconut
Toothpicks
Frosting
food coloring (optional)
Construction paper
Directions:
Frost entire cake. Add coconut (but reserve some for grass) to bunny before frosting dries. If desired, you can add a few drops of food coloring to the coconut to give the bunny a springy color. You can do blue, purple, pink, etc. Cut a jelly-bean in half and use as eyes. Use toothpicks to add the snowball for the tail. Cut out ears from paper and add to bunny head. (the head and body are all in one on this cake). Mix some coconut with a drop or two of green food coloring and add around the bunny to look like grass.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Homemade Hostess Sno Balls
Ingredients:
For the chocolate cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk
For the filling/frosting:
6 room temperature egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon liquid coconut flavor
2 cups shredded coconut
3 drops red food coloring
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. In another bowl whisk the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking, soda. Add about half the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, pour in the milk, and then the rest of the flour mixture, until just combined. Ladle batter into greased muffin/cupcake tins and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 2 dozen. Let cool completely before beginning the next step, which is to cut a cone out of the bottom of each cake. Trim (and discard, if you wish) the pointy end, leaving only a small circle to cap the cake once filled.
For the filling/frosting:
In the bowl of a standing mixer beat egg whites until soft peaks form. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water and cream of tartar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool until the syrup reaches 242 Farenheit. Slowly pour syrup into the egg whites, followed by the vanilla and coconut extracts. Whip for another ten minutes, until the mixture is thickened and room temperature. Meanwhile, process coconut until fine in a food processor, adding the food coloring, if desired. This goes in a shallow bowl for rolling/sprinkling the almost-finished product. Use a pastry bag (or Ziplock with the corner cut out) to fill each cupcake, and replace cake cap, leaving upside down for frosting. With a small spatula coat the sides and bottom with a light layer of frosting, then add the coconut sprinkles.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Warning: the lady who posted this recipe warned that the frosting is not as fluffy as a hostess snoball, but the flavor is wonderful. Or she said you could try this recipe:
Homemade Marshmallow Fluff
(Adapted from a recipe found on WhatsCookingAmerica.net)
Ingredients:3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Read more: https://www.fromaway.com/cooking/homemade-marshmallow-fluff#ixzz2Oi2GBy53
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
References
Hostess Snoball recipe:
https://www.fromaway.com/cooking/homemade-hostess-snoballs
Marshmallow recipe:
https://www.fromaway.com/cooking/homemade-marshmallow-fluff
Bunny image:
https://javacupcake.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Bunny-Cake-3.jpg
Cake not frosted image:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X5Uar_fcVzI/S7fvzFPh_YI/AAAAAAAAAS8/htEM6g6RaBQ/s400/easter+bunny+cake+003.jpg
Snoball image:
https://fromaway-com.zippykid.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/snoballs-3.jpg
Snoball half-finished image:
https://fromaway-com.zippykid.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/snoballs-2.jpg
Marshmallow image:
https://fromaway-com.zippykid.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/homemade-marshmallow-fluff.jpg
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