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Easter chocolate bunny rabbit sitting in a muddy hole made of chocolate cake and chocolate frosting with mini eggs decorating it
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5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Bunny Cake

A deliciously soft chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting and topped with a chocolate bunny rabbit burrowing into a hole! Perfect for Easter!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Chill Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Fusion
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 568kcal
Author: Kachina

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

  • 135 ml vegetable oil or other neutral oil e.g. sunflower
  • 2 eggs
  • 325 g caster sugar golden or white
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 200 ml milk semi-skimmed or whole
  • 85 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 200 g plain / all-purpose flour ** see notes for self-raising flour swap
  • 3 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 100 ml hot coffee or 2 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved into 100ml / ½ cup hot water

Chocolate Buttercream:

Instructions

Chocolate Cake:

  • Preheat oven: 180°C / 160°C (fan) / Gas Mark 4 / 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch cake tins.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together until fully combined.
  • In a separate bowl, sieve in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder and whisk them together.
  • Gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring together as you pour until just combined. There may be a few small lumps left, but that’s ok.
  • Slowly add the hot coffee into the cake batter, mixing as you pour until the liquid has only just combined.
  • Divide the mixture evenly between the two greased and lined cake pans and bake for 25-30mins until risen, springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15mins before moving to a wire rack to cool further.

Chocolate Buttercream:

  • Beat the butter (either by hand, using an electric mixer or stand mixer) until pale, light and fluffy. This could take several minutes.
  • Sieve half of the icing sugar into the butter and beat until combined, then repeat this with the remaining half of icing sugar and all of the cocoa powder.
  • Add in the milk, salt and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.

Assembly and Decoration:

  • Once the cake sponges have cooled, place one onto a flat plate or cake board and spread roughly ⅓ of the frosting on top.
  • Place the second sponge on top and cover the cake in the rest of the frosting (top and sides), smoothing lightly with a spatula.
  • Using a spoon or fork, dig a hole in the centre of the top of the cake, scattering the crumbs around the edges of the hole and the base of the cake.
  • Place the chocolate bunny inside the hole and decorate the cake with chocolate mini eggs, then enjoy!

Notes

* You can swap the two 8-inch cake tins for 6-inch cake tins and bake for an extra 5-10mins.
** You can swap the plain flour in this recipe for self-raising flour and reduce the baking powder by 2 tsp.

Nutrition

Calories: 568kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 75g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 3mg