Easter Bunny Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 Eggs
• 130 g sugar
• 20 g vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 80 ml sunflower oil
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 200 g Flour
• 100 g Ground Almonds
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp butter
• 100 g marzipan dough
• 70 ml milk (1.5% fat)
• 50 g dark chocolate
• 75 g powdered sugar
• 24 sugar pearls
• 24 almond sticks

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash half a lemon hot, pat dry and grate ½ tsp zest.

2. 2.

   Whisk one egg in a bowl and stir in 90 g sugar, 10 g vanilla sugar, pinch of salt, oil and buttermilk. Mix 150 g flour with ground almonds, lemon zest and baking powder and fold into the wet mixture.

3. 3.

   Line muffin tin cups with paper liners and fill with batter. Bake in preheated oven at 180 °C (fan 160 °C; gas 2–3) for 20–25 minutes. Remove muffins from oven, lift out of cups and cool on a rack.

4. 4.

   While muffins bake, melt butter and let it cool slightly. For bunny ears whisk marzipan, remaining sugar, remaining vanilla sugar, remaining egg, 60 ml milk and butter; gradually fold in remaining flour. Sift dough through a fine sieve and let rest for one hour.

5. 5.

   Shape ear dough into bunny ears, spread on parchment paper and bake in preheated oven at 190 °C (fan 170 °C; gas 3) for 4–6 minutes until golden yellow. Carefully lift ears from sheet and cool.

6. 6.

   Melt chocolate, decorate ears with it and let cool.

7. 7.

   For the face whisk powdered sugar with remaining milk into a thick glaze, fill a freezer bag, cut a small corner and draw eyes and nose on the muffins. Insert bunny ears, adorn eyes with pearls, stick almond sticks as teeth and allow to dry.