Party Pinata Cake

Alexandria is turning 9 on Thursday but had her party early. Every year I let the birthday person choose the cake that they would like and Alex decided that she wanted a Party Pinata Birthday Cake. Infact Alex has been eyeing this cake off for several years but has always chosen a different cake so I had a feeling that it would be this one I was making this year before she told me.

The cake recipe is actually from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Birthday Cake Cookbook, which has so many cake recipes in there and trust me, a cookbook worth buying especially if you are the birthday cake maker for kids young and old!

Although you cannot see the cake itself, it is actually decorated in chocolate butter cream (chocolate frosting) topped with lollies and then enclosed in a chocolate shell which is also decorate. Sounds hard but the cake wasn't too much of a challenge to make and the decorating although looking simple was probably the most fiddly part of the process.

Needless to say Alex enjoyed cracking open the casing with a hammer to expose the bounty of lollies hidden. As she hit the casing lollies flew off landing all over the table and then it was a scramble with her and her friends to eat the lollies off the table - I am actually not sure how many of them ate the actual cake!!

Party Pinata Cake
(recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Birthday Cake Cookbook)

For the sponge:
3 eggs (at room temperature)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup cornflour
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup jam, your choice of flavour

For the chocolate butter cream icing:
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk

For chocolate shell:
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
450 grams milk chocolate melts

Pinata fillings/decorations:
2 bags (approximately 20) gold coins
100 grams various milk buds
100 grams fruit chew/jubes
50 grams milk chocolate
50 gram packet Smarties
200 gram packet giant Smarties
5 ladybirds
5 bumblebees
** note you can decorate with any lollies of your choice
toy hammer, for cracking pinata

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease and line 2 20cm round cake tins.

Beat eggs in a small bowl with electric mixer for about 8 minutes until thick and creamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until sugar dissolves. Transfew the mixture into a large bowl.

Sift dry ingredients together three times then sift evenly over egg mixture. Fold gently. Spread cake into prepared cake tins and cook for 10 - 12 minutes or until cake is cooked. Remove carefully from tins and cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible. Sift together the cocoa powder and half the icing sugar. Gradually beat icing sugar and cocoa mix into the butter along with the milk. Beat in the remaining icing sugar.

Grease a large pudding basin (make sure it's bigger than the cake) with vegetable oil and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. In a small glass bowl over a simmering saucepan of hot water, melt the milk chocolate melts, stirring continuously until all smooth. Ensure the bottom of the glass bowl does not come into contact with the hot water. Remove pudding basin from the freezer and working quickly, place the melted chocolate in the basin. Swirl melted chocolate around to coat the inside of the bowl completely and evenly. Continue swirling until chocolate begins to set and stops flowing. Return bowl to freezer and freeze until chocolate is set completely.

Once sponge is cooled place one sponge on the cake board, spread with jam and then sandwich together the other sponge. Cut a deep hollow circle in top cake. Cover completely with chocolate butter cream. Top with coins, chocolate buds and fruit lollies.

Carefully place the pudding basin with set chocolate shell over decorated cake. Using a hot cloth rub outside of the bowl until the chocolate shell slips out of the basin.

Melt the milk chocolate and working quickly secure smarties, ladybirds and bumblebees to the chocolate shell.

Allow the birthday person to break chocolate shell open with toy hammer.

Cake iced (frosted) and lollies scattered on top.

The plain casing.... lots of chocolate!! My kids were in heaven!

Before it got smashed with the hammer to find the cake and lollies.....

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)