Rainbow Piñata Cake (vanilla cake)
Bring a burst of color and joy to your celebrations with a rainbow-shaped piñata cake! This delightful treat not only dazzles with its vibrant, layered exterior but also surprises with a hidden stash of candy inside, making every slice an exciting adventure. Perfect for birthdays, parties, or any festive occasion, this cake combines the whimsy of a piñata with the sweetness of a homemade dessert. The soft, fluffy vanilla layers and the cascading candies create a magical moment that will enchant guests of all ages, ensuring your event is both memorable and delicious.
Ingredients:
Vanilla Cake:
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 170 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 300 g granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla paste
- 240 g buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
Vanilla Buttercream:
560g unsalted butter, room temperature
1150g powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
90-120ml heavy cream or milk
1 tsp salt
Rainbow gel colours: purple, pink, blue, green and yellow
Candy of your choice
Floral sugar decorations
Instructions:
For the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour two 8″ cake pans and line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, starting and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of flour, 2 of milk). Mix until just combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the wire rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
Beat the butter until smooth.
Gradually add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add vanilla extract, 4-5 tablespoons of heavy cream, and salt. Mix until smooth.
Add the remaining powdered sugar gradually and mix until smooth. Add more heavy cream as needed to achieve the desired frosting consistency.
Divide the batter and colour up the rainbow palette. Fill up 6 piping bags including uncoloured frosting to fill the layers.
Assemble and Decorate:
Cut the cake in halves. (You will only need 3 semicircles for the rainbow)
Trace the semicircle and draw a rainbow as a template on parchment paper.
Pipe thick lines of frosting on top of the template to create the rainbow and then place the cake ontop and gently press onto the frosting. Now chill in the freezer for 30minutes. Repeat this process for another piece of the cake. This is for the 2 sides of the rainbow.
Prepare the piñata middle layer by cutting it into equal 3 pieces, the middle section trim off 2.5cm for the lid and eat the rest :)
Take out the chilled rainbow frosted cakes and peel off the parchment to reveal the beautiful rainbow and smooth off with the palette knife and place the cake vertically on the cake board. Now start layering the middle of the cake by sandwiching the 2 pieces with frosting. Finally add the final side of the rainbow. See video for reference.
Fill the centre of the hole with candy of your choice and close with the lid. Crumb coat the top to seal the lid.
Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then, apply a final coat of blue frosting over the top of the cake.
Add the white fluffy clouds with a large round tip and pipe blobs of frosting at both ends of the rainbow.
Finally add floral fondant decorations as desired.
