Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper—this is the one step I never skip because it prevents sticking disasters. Let the pans sit ready while you mix your batter.

Cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl for about 2 minutes until it's light and fluffy. You'll notice the mixture changes color and gets all airy—that's exactly what you want. Add the 3 eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the vanilla bean paste and orange zest, mixing until everything's combined and you can smell that citrus hitting the air (seriously amazing). In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, alternating with the milk—dry, wet, dry, wet, dry—keeping the batter smooth.

Fold in the chocolate chips and shredded coconut gently so they're distributed throughout without overdoing it. Divide the batter evenly between your two prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Pop them into the preheated oven and bake for 32-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely. This step's crucial—don't skip it because a warm cake falls apart when you try to frost it. I learned that the hard way and ended up with bunny cake crumbs instead of a bunny cake.

Once cooled, place one cake layer flat on your serving plate and frost the top generously with buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Stack the second layer on top and frost the entire outside. The Easter bunny cake really comes together at this point—you've got your base ready for decorating.

Press the chopped pistachios all over the frosted sides and top to create the "fur" effect, then add two almond slivers for ears and chocolate chips for eyes. You can pipe a tiny buttercream nose or add a pink frosting dot. Step back and admire your creation—it actually looks like a bunny!