Hippity Hop Bunny Cake

Directions

1. 1

   To prepare orange curd, in a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in orange juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; gently stir in butter and orange zest. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. 2

   Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three 6-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease pans.
3. 3

   Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and zest. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
4. 4

   Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in each center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely.
5. 5

   Meanwhile, prepare buttercream by microwaving chocolate and cream in a small microwave-safe bowl until melted, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In heatproof bowl of stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until blended. Place over simmering water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 5-7 minutes.
6. 6

   Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of stand mixer, beat on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth; beat in vanilla and white chocolate mixture.
7. 7

   Spread curd between layers. Spread buttercream over top and side of cake; sprinkle coarse sugar over top and side of cake.
8. 8

   Decorating tips: For ears and bow, pipe melted white candy coating over skewers onto parchment. Sprinkle with plain and pink coarse sugar; refrigerate until set. For eyes and mouth, pipe melted chocolate onto parchment; refrigerate until set. Place on cake. Use pink frosting for cheeks, pink jellybean for nose and sprinkles for freckles. Attach ears and bow, using skewers as picks into the cake.