This bunny cake came about while discussing what birthday cake we were going to make to celebrate my daughter’s 6th birthday with family.
My husband suggested we make a Maulwurfkuchen.
Say what???
Maulwurf is German for mole, Kuchen is cake.
So, a Maulwurfkuchen literally translates to mole cake. Sounds disgusting, right?
But it is not, it is usually a chocolate cake, hollowed out and traditionally filled with bananas, covered in a mound of whipped cream and cake crumbs. A mole is then sitting on top.
Quite cute, actually.
But my daughter is neither a fan of moles nor chocolate cake.
So, we settled on bunnies with vanilla cake.
There are 3 major components to be made for this bunny cake.
.
SPONGE CAKE
I wanted an easy sponge cake that was a bit on the dry side. My go-to vanilla cake recipe is too moist for this.
I saw a recipe for Italian Sponge cake which is quite simple to do, and even if you screw it up a bit, like if the middle collapses, it is no big deal as you will be digging out the middle anyway.
Just make sure to whip your eggs and sugar until they are light, fluffy, and doubled in volume. You need to develop the air bubbles properly so that the cake will rise properly in the oven.
To test if they are ready, when you lift the whisk, the batter should run off, produce ribbons, and will sit on top of each other.
STRAWBERRY COULIS
Making strawberry coulis involves a bit of cooking, but it is essentially pureed strawberry, a bit of sugar, and a bit of lemon juice. Cook for about 10 minutes until it coats the back of the spoon, then set aside to cool. I purposely made extra to pour over the cake slices.
MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM
This is similar to the mascarpone whipped cream in my strawberry tiramisu, except that I increased the amount of cream a bit to make it a tad lighter.
I use Sahnesteif to help stabilize the mascarpone whipped cream even more. If this is not available where you are, you may omit it. The powdered sugar helps a lot already.
And one minor, but very important one:
THE BUNNY!!
I am not skilled in making fondant pieces, but I found this tutorial online easy enough that Becca made one with me. So, our bunny cake got 2 bunnies!
Without further ado, here is the recipe for the bunny cake.
BECCA’S BUNNY HILL CAKE
Equipment
- 26 cm spring form pan
- Mixer
- oven
- Spatula
- Food processor
Ingredients
SPONGE CAKE:
- 5 large eggs 63 g, with shell
- 150 g granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 g cake flour
STRAWBERRY COULIS
- 300 g strawberries hulled and pureed
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
MASCARPONE WHIPPED CREAM
- 350 g full-fat cream cold
- 250 g mascarpone cold
- 1 pack Sahnesteif optional
- 75 g powdered sugar
TO FINISH ASSEMBLY
- 200 g strawberries
- Fondant bunnies
- Marzipan carrots
Instructions
To make the sponge cake:
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F.
- Line and butter a 26cm spring form pan.
- In the bowl of your mixer, break the eggs, add the sugar and salt.
- On high speed and with the whisk attachment beat the mixture until light and fluffy and the batter falls on top of each other when you lift the whisk and does not disappear. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Do not rush this step, you want to aerate the eggs fully.
- Sift the flour in 3 additions into the batter and fold carefully.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and do not smooth the top. It will level itself in the oven.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Just do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes as you do not want the cake to sink.
- When it is done, turn the oven off and let it cool for 10 minutes in the oven with the door ajar, then take it out and cool completely. If it sunk a bit, you may invert the cake pan onto a wire rack.
- You may make the cake one day ahead. Wrap well in cling film and store in the refrigerator. May also be frozen up to 1 month.
To make the strawberry coulis:
- Pour the pureed strawberries into a pan with the sugar and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium low heat for approximately 10 minutes or until the coulis coats the back of your spoon/spatula and when you make a line with your finger, it stays.
- Cool completely.
- Can be made ahead.
To make the mascarpone whipped cream.
- Place the cream, sugar and Sahnesteif, if using, in the bowl of your mixer.
- Whip until stiff peaks form.
- Add in the mascarpone and whisk until combined and stiff.
To assemble the cake:
- Get your cooled sponge cake and carve a hole around 2 cm deep in the middle, leaving a 2 cm wall.
- Place the crumbs in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until as fine as you want. Set that aside.
- Spread a few tablespoons of coulis in the middle of the cake.
- Arrange strawberries and cover with the mascarpone whipped cream, ensuring that you make a mound/hill.
- Carefully press the crumbs on the cream.
- Decorate with fondant bunnies and marzipan carrots.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.
- The cake is best eaten within 3 to 4 days.
- Enjoy!
