Will your guests get a trick or a treat when they cut into this Halloween Piñata Cake? Get the recipe below.
Trick or treat?
A piñata cake looks like a normal layer cake on the outside, but when you cut into it, you find a centre stuffed full of sweets, sprinkles and other treats! (If you're lucky...)
As well as looking good this cake tastes good too! The sponge is a citrus orange Madeira cake which lends well to being carved up and hollowed out (a bit like a pumpkin!) Where there's orange there must be chocolate so I've then used my favourite chocolate buttercream recipe and added the juice of half an orange to make a silky smooth chocolate orange buttercream. The dark colour of the chocolate also makes it easier colouring it jet black as it doesn't require quite as much food colouring as normal buttercream!
Step by step
Making a pinata cake is a little bit more involved then your average layer cake. But if you follow these simple steps then you will realise it doesn't have to be time consuming or stressful.
Step 1 - bake 3 layer cakes using the recipe below.
Step 2 - take the cake layer you would like to sit on the bottom and push a circular cookie cutter halfway through the cake. Scoop out the cake. Repeat this with the layer you'd like to be the top of the cake.
Step 3 - using the same cookie or pastry cutter, cut out the middle of the final layer of the cake.
Step 4 - secure your bottom layer to your cake board with a little buttercream. Fill the hole with your trick or treats.
Step 5 - spread a little buttercream around the top edge of the bottom layer and place the middle layer on top. again fill the hole with your trick or treats.
Step 6 - spread a little more buttercream around the top edge of the middle layer. Stack the trick or treats high in the middle so they sit above the middle layer. Place the final layer cake on top making sure all of the trick or treats are hidden in the middle of the cake.
Step 7 - ice the outside of your cake!
Halloween costumes
As well as the trick or treat centre, I wanted this Halloween piñata cake to look like it had gotten all dressed up for the occasion. I covered the cake in a layer of chocolate orange buttercream I had coloured jet black, then piped buttercream roses around the base and on the top. I LOVE how gothic the finished cake looks. It's so chic and elegant. And so BLACK!
You'd have no idea that hidden inside are three bright layers of orange flavoured sponge and a whole host of goodies! This is one cake in full Halloween costume! Doesn't it look fab?
Top tip
My only top tip would be to make sure you have some really good food colourings before you start. Liquid food colouring just isn't going to cut it here. You will need Wilton or Sugarflair gels. Don't be afraid to use lots of them too. I know they aren't cheap but you won't regret it when you the faces of your friends and family as you cut into the cake!
Variations
This has to be one of my favourite cakes that I've made in a while. The design is just so simple yet so effective and it genuinely tastes as good as it looks!
It is the perfect cake for Halloween because you can decide whether or not you want to treat your guests or if you'd rather play a trick on them! Instead of filling with sweets you could fill it with plastic spiders instead, or why not have an oozing, bloody centre?!
If you're hosting a big Halloween party it might be fun to have two cakes both of which look identical on the outside but one filled with tricks and the other filled with treats!
If you want to make this a real treat (adults only), then why not swap out the orange juice in the buttercream for an orange liqueur like Gran Marnier? I won't tell if you don't!
The recipe
Halloween Piñata Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 300 grams caster sugar
- 300 grams butter
- 6 medium eggs
- 1 orange juice and zest
- 450 grams self raising flour
- 1 pinch salt
- gel food colouring purple, green and orange
For the icing
- 225 grams milk chocolate
- 50 grams cocoa powder
- 7 tablespoons milk
- 350 grams butter
- 450 gram icing sugar
- ½ orange juice
- gel food colouring black
For the hidden centre
- A trick or treat of your choice!
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (160 C), and line three 7 inch cake tins with grease proof paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and the sugar until soft.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until and beat well until the mix is creamy and pale.
- Add the zest and juice of the orange and mix until combined.
- Sift the flour and salt into the bowl and fold through until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Divide the cake mix across three bowls and colour each bowl of mix a separate colour.
- Pour the cake mix into three separate cake tins and bake for 35 mins until springy to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
- Once the cakes have cooled completely, melt the chocolate either slowly in the microwave or a bain marie.
- Place the chocolate to one side and allow to cool slightly but make sure it stays pourable.
- Heat the milk gently and stir in the cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, icing, cocoa powder and milk.
- Slowly add the melted chocolate beating well.
- Finally, beat in the orange juice and black food colouring.
- Spoon half the mix into a piping bag with a star tip nozzle and leave the rest in the bowl.
- Take the cake layer you would like to sit on the bottom and push a circular cookie or pastry cutter halfway through the cake. Scoop out the cake.
- Repeat this with the layer you'd like to be the top of the cake.
- Using the same cookie or pastry cutter, cut out the middle of the final layer of the cake.
- Secure your bottom layer to your cake board with a little buttercream from your bowl.
- Fill the hole with your trick or treats.
- Spread a little buttercream from your bowl around the top edge of the bottom layer and place the middle layer on top. again fill the hole with your trick or treats.
- Spread a little more buttercream around the top edge of the middle layer.
- Stack the trick or treats high in the middle so they sit above the middle layer.
- Place the final layer cake on top making sure all of the trick or treats are hidden in the middle of the cake.
- Using the remaining buttercream in your bowl, crumb coat the whole cake then finish with a smooth layer of buttercream.
- Pipe large roses around the base of the cake.
- Finish the cake by piping roses on the top of the cake, starting at the centre and working outwards.
- Finish any gaps or edges with piped stars.
Nutrition
More Halloween Inspiration!
The Halloween recipe collection
For the full range of Halloween recipes on the blog, check out the Halloween recipe collection.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
LOVE THIS!! So cool how it's plain black on the outside and then so colourful inside. Amazing!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Becca. For once one of my cakes turned out how I imagined it would hahaha super proud of this one 🙂
Kavey says
So beautiful, love the black "outfit" too! It's a black sequin dress with colourful knickers underneath, isn't it?!
Emma Walton says
Hahaha precisely Kavey :-p my usual Halloween costume 😉
Lucy says
Love it, so colourful and brilliant decorating!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Lucy 🙂
Diana says
This cake is absolutely amazing! Very creative and beautiful 🙂 Looking at the black you wouldn't expect it to be so colourful from the inside, such a lovely surprise. Thank you for linking to my chocolate orange cake!
Emma Walton says
Thank you so much Diana glad you like it and of course always happy to share the love!
Sarah says
Seriously! How fun does this look? And delicious too! And pretty. I'm kind of -absolutely- loving everything about this!!
Emma Walton says
Thank you so much Sarah 😀
Noor says
This cake looks and sounds AMAZING, I adore pinata anything but never yet thought to try it! I have some mnms and smarties in my pantry so I’ll have to make this soon! Thanks for sharing! Really beautiful pictures as well!
Emma Walton says
Well there you go Noor. Sound like this recipe was made for you 🙂 happy baking!
Justine says
This is adorable...so much fun!!
Emma Walton says
Thanks Justine
Platter Talk says
I love this idea! Black outside, bursting with color and candy within! Great photos!
Emma Walton says
Thanks guys 😀
janie says
OMG that is STUNNING!!! Good job lady, can I have a slice??!
Janie x
Claire @foodiequine says
This is absolutely STUNNING! I wish I had the patience to create something so amazing.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
This might just be the most stunning cake I have ever seen! An awesome combination of a pinata cake, a rainbow cake and a Halloween cake! It's ALMOST too pretty to eat.
Liz says
That's such a fun cake idea!! I've never seen a pinata cake!
Julia says
This Halloween cake looks amazing! Loove it! And those colors hidden inside - wouldn't have expected it!
Jacque says
I love this idea! What I really love is the black frosting then opening for a colorful surprise 🙂
Kristina says
what a SUPER FUN cake! I love the black icing and all the bright inside! 🙂
Jen says
I am adoring the vibrant colours you have used with this cake. Very funky. Love the idea of having spiders in the middle of a cake for Halloween, just how evil is that? Hah!