Speckled Egg Chocolate Pinata Cake

Easter is coming! 🙌🏻

And I’m kicking off the Easter festivities with a gorgeous Speckled Egg Chocolate Piñata Cake, complete with three layers of chocolate cake and a stunning Speckled Egg buttercream.

But it doesn’t stop there. Cut one slice and watch in awe as an avalanche of Speckled Eggs come pouring out from the centre of the cake – the perfect Easter surprise!

I have been waiting a whole year to make this cake. Last year, I made these Speckled Egg Cupcakes and I couldn’t wait to make another special Speckled Egg treat. And what better way to use Easter eggs in a cake, then actually putting them INSIDE a cake.

It combines my love of chocolate, cake and candy! And making a piñata cake is so much easier than you’d think. All you have to do is cut a hole out of two of your cake layers, fill it with candy, and then place another layer of cake on top – no one will know!

To achieve that gorgeous Speckled Egg frosting, I used a teal-coloured food gel. It’s lovely and vibrant and almost matches the colour of the blue Speckled Eggs exactly.

As for the dots, these are made just using cocoa powder and water. All you do is make a paste, then dip a pastry brush or similar, and flick the bristles so it splashes spots of cocoa all over your cake. It’s actually a really fun way to decorate – but just remember that it kind of goes everywhere, so be prepared for a dotty bench and floor in the process.

If you choose to make this cake for a family do or special Easter celebration, you can make the chocolate cake one or two days in advance or even freeze them ahead of time.

But I do recommend actually frosting the cake on the day of serving, simply because the candy doesn’t keep for too long inside the cake, before getting too moist and soft. Just something to keep in mind when you’re planning your baking.

If you love the semi-naked cake look, as pictured above, can I suggest investing in a cake scraper? They are pretty cheap, maybe $10, and they make frosting a layer cake SO much easier.

Add a few more Speckled Eggs on top and voila, the perfect Easter cake! If you have never tried making a piñata cake before, there is no better time. Plus how can you go wrong with three layers of gorgeous chocolate cake?

How was your weekend? Can you believe it’s April already? The year is flying by. It was quite a wet and rainy weekend for us but we still got to catch up with friends, visit the beach and enjoy a few gourmet pastries at Andy Bowdy’s new cafe.

Apart from making this cake, I also made another Easter treat which I will be sharing with you on Thursday – so stayed tuned! I’ve already eaten way more than my fair share of Easter eggs this year, but I am having so much fun with the Easter-themed treats. If you do make this cake, don’t forget to tag me on instagram!

Let's Bake

Speckled Egg Chocolate Pinata Cake

Yield Makes one 3 layer 8-inch cake 1x

1x2x3x

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Prep: 90 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 2 hours

Speckled Egg Chocolate Pinata Cake complete with three layers of chocolate cake, a stunning Speckled Egg buttercream and lots of Easter eggs hidden inside!

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Ingredients

Chocolate cake

• 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour
• 80 grams (1 cup) cocoa powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 300 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) caster sugar
• 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 240 ml (1 cup) hot water
• 160 grams (1 cup) Speckled Easter Eggs , plus extra for decorating

Speckled buttercream frosting

• 345 grams (1 and 1/2 cups / 3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 875 grams (7 cups) powdered or icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• A few drops of teal coloured food gel
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Chocolate cake
   Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line three 8-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. In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, eggs and sour cream. Whisk together. Boil the kettle and pour out 1 cup of hot water.
3. 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. Divide the mixture evenly into three cake tins and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes before gently removing the cakes from their tins and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.
4. Speckled egg frosting
   To make the frosting, add the butter to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Gently sift in the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add a tablespoon or two of milk to help loosen up the mixture. Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat. Add a tablespoon or two of milk if needed. The icing should be nice and creamy but quite thick.
5. To frost the cake, you may want to level the chocolate cakes first. I use a cake leveler to do this. Then, use a large cookie cutter or similar, to cut a hole in the middle of two of your cake layers. Place one layer of cake with a hole in it, on a disposable board (to make it easier to move once frosted). Gently cover the top of cake with frosting, then add your second cake with a hole on top. Add frosting to the top of the next layer. Fill the middle of the cake with Easter eggs. Then place your final cake layer on top.
6. 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). To make the specks, mix the cocoa powder with a few tablespoons of water and stir together to form a paste. Dip a pastry brush in and gently squeeze out the excess, then flick the bristles over the cake for the dots. Top the cake with a few extra Easter eggs.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: American

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