A favourite Easter motif, especially in the sweets that fill the shelves of pastry shops, deli shops and supermarkets, at this time, is undoubtedly the rabbit. But apart from chocolate, the most common way for the rabbit to appear on our Easter festive table is as a cake.
Our recipe for the cake is exuberant, fluffy and spring-sweet, almost taken from the fairy-tale sweets of Alice in Wonderland, which, although easy to prepare, could easily decorate the windows of the most trendy pastry shops.
The recipe we use is for the classic vanilla cake (a good silicone mould—preferably—in the shape of a rabbit is definitely required). The buttercream is considered optional and could be used to cover it in case we want to give the cake an even more delicious look.
So, roll up your sleeves, head straight into the kitchen and get ready this year to sweeten - and surprise - our guests in a completely different way.
Ingredients (for the cake)
250 g. butter (unsalted, at room temperature)
270 g. granulated sugar
Four eggs
400 g. all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. tablespoons of baking powder
One vanilla
60 ml fresh milk (full)
Zest from an orange
One pinch of salt
(optional for the frosting)
2 cups of powdered sugar
200 g. cream cheese (at room temperature)
100 g. butter at room temperature
2 tsp. tablespoon lemon juice
Zest from 2 lemons
Procedure
Cake Process: Preheat the oven to 170°C fan. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of the mixer until fluffy. Then, add the eggs one by one. Finally, add the orange zest, milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl and beat everything together for about 2 minutes at low speed.
Flour and butter the silicone form (it's in the shape of a rabbit), then pour the mixture into it.
Bake for 50' -60' at 180 degrees. Before turning off the oven, check the cake with a toothpick. Remove it from the oven and leave it on the counter to cool.
Unmold only after ensuring that the cake has cooled and stabilised.
Optionally, proceed with the frosting process; otherwise, serve the cake as it is.
Frosting: Pour all the ingredients into the mixer bowl, beat them well until they are homogenised, and give a fluffy and uniform mixture. Fill the pastry bag with the buttercream and cover the surface of the cakes from end to end with small round rosettes (or however you like).
Loukia Chrysovitsanou is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
READ MORE: Greek Easter Cookies: Six tips for the most delicious koulourakia.