The First Day of Spring!

March 20th was the first day of Spring, it was also JP's birthday (Mike's older brother). Happy Birthday JP, we're looking forward to seeing you soon! Hope it starts feeling like Spring in Idaho. I love spring and it's certainly feeling like spring here in Vegas! To celebrate, here's a delicious recipe I came up with a couple of years ago; it's a coconut cake made into a cute bunny and it's very yummy (makes 2 bunnies - eat them both or give one to a friend).

Coconut Bunny Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) pkg white cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup cream of coconut
1-8oz container sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8" inch round baking pans. Combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, cream of coconut and sour cream; mix well for 4 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool. Make the frosting (I use my Grandma’s sugar saving frosting which tastes like marshmallow frosting). In a double broiler combine the following, and beat over boiling water until thick, 5-7 minutes: 2 egg whites unbeaten, 4 Tbl sugar, 1 C corn syrup, ½ t cream tartar, dash salt, and 1 Tbl vanilla. (Cream cheese frosting would probably be good too).

To assemble the bunny cake: Cut one 8-inch cake layer in half. Sandwich the layers together with frosting and then position the cake on its flat edge to frost the body.Cut a notch into the cake behind the "head" to help define the body. Decorate with shredded coconut for the fur. Use toasted coconut for a brown bunny. To make ears, flatten a large marshmallow and use scissors to cut it in half diagonally. Cut another marshmallow in half and press the rounds into the frosting to create cheeks. Miniature marshmallows make cute little bunny teeth. Use jelly beans for the eyes and noses. Enjoy!