Moulds and Equipment: Bunny Moulds @museum.de

Oh, sugar! I know I shouldn't swear, but these bunny moulds... they’re the absolute pits! They just refuse to hold together!

Yes, the sugar bunnies, they’re not so easy to deal with....

You can say that again, Heinrich!

You just need a little practice. More recently, we bought bunny moulds made of aluminium and tinplate, and… they’re okay. But the heavy old cast-iron moulds, they are the best.

Here, let me show you how it's done. First, you have to oil the insides of the moulds, because otherwise, everything will stick to them later. We use only the best olive oil, and you need to apply it with a brush.

Like this?

Yes, exactly. Nicely done. And then you hold the pieces loosely and slot them together. First the sides and then... give them a little shake... gently now... then at some point, the pieces click together. And to make sure your bunny doesn’t come apart again, you take one of these clamps made of aluminium wire.... and … there you go – a nice, firm hold.

Do you mind if I take the one you did, and practice putting it together later?

By all means go ahead. After all, you want to become proficient.

Because now, everything has to go like clockwork. We take the bright red sugar syrup... which has to be at between 130 and 150 degrees Celsius.

Wow! That's very hot!

Yes, it is. Don't scald yourself! Then we turn the mould upside down, take the hot sugar syrup and pour it in. Fill the bunny right to the top, because it’s the only way to be sure the syrup gets into every nook and cranny. Then we quickly empty the bunny’s contents back into the copper kettle. A layer of sugar syrup will already have cooled and solidified on the inside. Now, we leave the bunny to cool, here on the rack. As to any sugar icicles that have formed at the bottom – simply tap them with a knife to remove them.

And sample them maybe?

Go ahead, I don't mind. When the bunnies are cool enough to touch, you’ll need to open the mould – gently...

Oh, no, you do it!

... very carefully turn the cast figures inside the mould, and then snap the mould shut again. Now we wait until everything has cooled down. And there’s your Easter bunny.

And this sweet... hmm... it tastes like marshmallow.

Yes, that's the taste of mallow. It's good for coughs and hoarseness, and it has a pleasant flavour, too. Ribwort and mallow – those are the special flavours we use for our sweets... and for our Easter bunnies too, of course.

Oh! There’s the phone.

Hello? Frau Hauser. Yes, she's here. Of course. I'll let her know.

That was your aunt. She says you're not to hang around here, but to go upstairs and work on your accounting lesson.

Oh no!