Easter Marbled Bunny Cake with Brown Butter and Strawberries
·Making the nutty brown butter
Put the butter into a saucepan. Let it sizzle and foam over medium heat. As soon as you catch a hazelnut-like aroma and see browned bits forming on the bottom, pour it into a bowl right away. Chill it in the fridge until it firms up to a slightly softened consistency (about 1 hour).
Making a smooth strawberry purée
Roast the frozen strawberries with the sugar at 200 °C (top and bottom heat) for about 30 minutes. Then blend them in a bowl until smooth and pass through a fine sieve so no seeds end up in the batter. Let the purée cool completely before you continue working with it.
Preparing the mold thoroughly
Take a piece of butter and use a brush to carefully grease every little groove of the bunny mold. Then dust the mold evenly with flour and tap out the excess. This is the only way to make sure the bunny releases cleanly, ears and all, once baked.
Whipping the base batter and weighing the butter
From the prepared, softened brown butter, weigh out exactly 255 g. Put it in a stand mixer with the sugar and vanilla and whip for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time. Divide the mixture into two equal halves.
Making the vanilla batter
Into the first bowl with the egg base, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the buttermilk and grated lemon zest. Gently fold everything together with a spatula, or mix on low speed in the stand mixer, just until combined.
Making the strawberry batter
Into the second bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in the prepared strawberry purée and freeze-dried strawberry powder for a vibrant color. Again, fold gently so the batter stays light and airy after baking.
Marbling and baking the bunny
Alternate spoonfuls of both batters into the mold, then draw a figure-eight through them with a skewer to create the marbled effect. Tap the mold on the counter to release any air bubbles trapped in the ears. Bake at 170 °C for about 50-60 minutes. Once out of the oven, wait exactly 10 minutes, then carefully turn the bunny out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
Ruby chocolate
Melt 110 g of the chocolate to 45 °C. Add the remaining 40 g and stir until melted and cooled to 26 °C. Then briefly warm it back up to 29 °C for 3 seconds. This gives you the shine and the perfect snap. Coat the whole bunny in chocolate, or just highlight certain details. Let it set.
Assembling and serving
Once the chocolate has set nicely, arrange the bunny on a plate and decorate around it with things like paper grass, colorful eggs and flowers.