Chocolate Piñata Party Cake

I know I’m a bit late to the piñata cake party. But better late than never right? Especially when we are talking chocolate, cake and candy. I’m calling this the ultimate three-layer party cake.

Three layers of soft chocolate cake covered in sweet Nutella buttercream and filled with ALL THE CANDY. I loaded my cake with M&M’s and malt balls but you could use whatever candy you like!

I didn’t completely miss the piñata cake trend though. Remember these Piñata Chocolate Cupcakes from a year ago? They are super cute and still one of my favourite cupcake recipes. I mean secret candy? It doesn’t get any better.

This Chocolate Piñata Party Cake was just as fun to make as it was to eat. There was candy everywhere but really it is such a simple idea. All you have to do is cut a hole out of the centre of the middle cake layer and that’s where all the candy hides.

Then when you cut her open, an avalanche of candy appears. My only recommendation is to use small pieces of candy to ensure they actually fall out of the cake. Bigger pieces will sort of get stuck in there. Mini M&M’s are great or you could even use chocolate chips.

I was going to frost this cake with chocolate buttercream but then I spied a jar of Nutella in my cupboard. I have no self control when it comes to Nutella so in it went to make  a lovely Nutella buttercream frosting.

How was your weekend? We had our end of year party for work on Friday night. Every year there is a big do for our department and this year was a lovely black tie dinner – very fancy.

It was actually quite funny because unlike other corporate workplaces we wear a uniform to work. It’s pretty great despite the fact its cheap, itchy and unflattering. We don’t have to pay for it and it makes getting ready for work in the morning SO much quicker.

However when you see people every day in the same navy uniform, it is super strange to then see them, not just out of uniform, but dressed to the nines. The men in suits and ties and the women in beautiful gowns. Some people didn’t even recognise each other!

It was a fun night with beautiful food and a cool photo booth but there was no dessert. I know right? So the next day I made this cake and ate a big piece. And at once, all was right in the world. I hope you love this cake as much as I did!

Let’s Bake

Chocolate Piñata Party Cake

Yield Makes one 3 layer 6 inch cake 1x

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5 from 1 review

Prep: 60 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 1 hour 30 minutes

Three layers of soft chocolate cake covered in Nutella buttercream and filled with loads of candy!

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Ingredients

Chocolate cake

• 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 80 grams (1 cup) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 300 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
• 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 240 m (1 cup) buttermilk
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 240 ml (1 cup) hot water

Nutella frosting

• 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 375 grams (3 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 150 grams (1/2 cup) Nutella
• 1 cup assorted candy (M&M’s, malt balls, chocolate chips etc)

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Instructions

1. Chocolate cake
   Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line three 6 inch round cake tins with baking or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Then add the sugars. Whisk together.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk together. Boil the kettle and pour out one cup of hot water.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Start to fold together, slowly pour in the hot water, and continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
5. Divide the mixture into three cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Leave for 10 minutes before gently removing the cakes from their tins and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Nutella frosting
   To make the Nutella frosting, add the butter to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
8. Gently sift in the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add a tablespoon or two of milk to help loosen up the mixture.
9. Add Nutella and beat until completely combined. The icing should be nice and creamy but quite thick. Add another tablespoon of milk if it’s too thick.
10. To frost the cake, you may want to level the chocolate cakes first. I use a cake leveler to do this. Then place your first cake on a cake turntable on a disposable board (to make it easier to move once frosted). Gently cover the top of cake in frosting.
11. Cut a large hole out of the centre of your second cake layer. I used a large cookie cutter but you could just do it freehand with a knife. You don’t have to worry about being too accurate.
12. Place your second cake on top of the first one. Fill the hole with your candy. Then gently frost around the hole before adding your third layer on top.
13. Frost the entire cake, top and sides. Use a cake scraper to remove excess frosting from the sides (if you want the naked cake look like I did). Add any extra candy on top to decorate.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: DessertCuisine: American

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Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.