Marzipan Easter Bunny

Sawade Marzipan Easter Bunny inspired by Dürer’s Hare with cocoa dust

Sawade Marzipan Easter Bunny is a hand-molded bunny made of premium marzipan, covered only by a cloud of cocoa powder. It is solid rather than hollow, weighs 95 grams, and is modeled after Albrecht Dürer’s "Young Hare".

Marzipan Easter Bunny is the marzipan bunny from Sawade in Berlin-Reinickendorf, individually molded from raw paste and dusted by hand. Sawade places it in a clear box, with the name of the house on a linden-green strip, making it crouch inside like a small display case.

It starts bitter and ends with almonds

This bunny does not have a chocolate coating, which is why the first impression is dry and bitter, with the cocoa standing alone for a moment. Then comes the almond, cool and dense and direct.

Good half of the mass consists of almonds, and because bitter and sweet almonds grow side by side in the Mediterranean region, the raw paste carries a fine bitterness. It is this portion that gives it the aroma that goes beyond simple sweetness.

The texture is firmer than that of a coated piece because it firms up a little when exposed to air, yet it yields immediately when bitten. Sweetness, bitterness, almond oil – here, the entire marzipan is laid bare.

Those who take it apart usually start with the ears, as they stand out and snap with a short jerk. On a set table, it draws everyone's attention before anyone has even counted the eggs.

Cocoa dust turns smooth marzipan into fur

Each bunny is molded individually and subsequently dusted by hand, and it is precisely this dust that gives the surface its texture. A smoothly molded animal never achieves this, as it lacks the irregularity.

Where the cocoa lies thicker, the fur becomes dark; on the chest and inside the ears, the light-colored paste shimmers through, creating the variation that Albrecht Dürer captured in his nature study in 1502. This study hangs in Vienna today and is considered the most famous animal portrait of the German Renaissance.

No two bunnies are the same, because a hand never applies the dust in exactly the same way twice. At Sawade, the detailing is therefore only created at the very end, once the animal has already been fully molded.

Ethyl alcohol is included in the recipe, which is why the label carries an alcohol warning—something worth mentioning at the children’s table. Milk and butter, however, are not included; the bunny is vegan.

A light tea and a dry place

A light tea pairs well with this bunny, because without a chocolate shell, nothing buffers the almond sweetness, and a strong infusion brings too much tannin. A glass of water nearby serves the same purpose.

Keep it dry and cool, and it will retain its velvety dust, as the cocoa develops dark spots in humid air. In the closed box, the paste remains soft; if left in the open, it dries out faster than any coated piece.

Sawade decorates each piece by hand and consciously avoids artificial flavors or preservatives as well as palm oil. You notice this much faster in a marzipan without a shell than in a filled praline.

Dark-coated and ready for slicing, the Marzipan Egg is available, while the Premium Marzipan Crunch Eggs come double-chocolate coated. The same craftsmanship awaits in the Marzipan Loaf, available all year round, and the rest of the spring basket can be found at Sawade Berlin Easter.