Aunt Mary's Delicious Bunny Cake

This cake is great to make in character pans such as a Santa Claus, train pan, or bunny mold. Buttercream frosting is great but you can use other frostings if desired. Color your frosting with desired shade of food coloring.

Original recipe makes 1 molded cake

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups milk at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 1/8 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk at room temperature
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

PREP

45 mins
COOK

30 mins
READY IN

4 hrs 30 mins

Directions

Place a rack into the lower third of oven.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Grease and flour a cake mold pan (such as a bunny cake or train cake mold) using vegetable shortening.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Mix 1 1/3 cup milk, lemon extract, 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, and orange extract in a separate bowl.
Beat unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until butter is creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in white sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 more minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating each egg in thoroughly before adding the next.
Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture in several additions, alternating with milk mixture; begin and end with flour mixture. Do not overbeat. Scrape bowl occasionally.
Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes.
Place cake in pan on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting pan to remove cake. Allow cake to completely cool on wire rack, 3 to 4 hours.
Beat vegetable shortening, 1/2 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract in a bowl until frosting is smooth and creamy.
Pack the frosting into a heavy resealable plastic bag; force the frosting into one corner of the bag. Clip a small corner off the plastic bag, seal the bag, and pipe the frosting onto the cooled cake in desired pattern.