Holiday Present Piñata Cake

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This delicious Holiday Present Piñata Cake not only looks beautiful, but it has a tasty M&M surprise in the middle, too!

Disclosure: This shop, featuring a fun Holiday Present Piñata Cake recipe, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeInTheFun #CollectiveBias

Holiday Present Piñata Cake Recipe and Tutorial

Holiday baking is a big deal in our house. Every year, starting around the last week of November and lasting until the first of the year, you can pretty much count on the oven being on and the warm, sweet smell of baking treats permeating the air. And this year is no different! I’ve decided to start off the holiday baking with a fun Holiday Present Piñata Cake that has an M&M’s® surprise in the middle!

Ready to see how to make this fun-filled Holiday Present Piñata Cake?

Keep in mind this is going to be a BIG cake, but that makes it perfect for those holiday gatherings! And don’t think you can’t do it, because you can! This was the first time I’d ever made a piñata cake, but I think it came out pretty darn good! It was actually a lot easier than I thought, too. It’s not much different from making a regular layered cake, except you cut out a square in the two middle layers to make room for the candy.

Before getting started you’ll need to head to the store to pick up a few ingredients. I was able to find everything I needed at Walmart including Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix, Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting, M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate, M&M’s® White Peppermint, and Great Value Milk – after all, cake always tastes better with a tall glass of cold milk! I found the candy in the seasonal aisle, the cake mix and icing on a holiday baking display on the main middle aisle, and the milk in the refrigerated dairy section. 

Here’s What You’ll Need to Make the Holiday Present Piñata Cake 

• 4 boxes Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix
• 2.5 Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix boxes
• 1 bag M&M’s® White Peppermint candies
• 2 bags M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate
• Green fondant for the ribbon
• Square cake board or other flat serving tray.

Here’s What To Do to Make the Holiday Present Piñata Cake 

Begin by baking your four cakes in 9″ square cake pans following the instructions on the box.

Allow them to cool completely, then flatten each of the cake layers by trimming off rounded tops. Do not worry about trimming the rest of the cake in order to get sharper corners right now.

Next, cut a square out from the very center of two of the cake layers. You don’t need any special tool to do this. Do you know what I used? A metal spatula. The holes do not have to be perfect either, just make sure both layers have the same size hole. These two cakes will be the two middle layers of the piñata cake.

Place one layer on a square cake board and frost it lightly. This will be the bottom of the cake. Don’t make the frosting too thick or the layers could slip and slide.

Now place one of the cake layers with a hole on top of that bottom frosted layer. 

Lightly frost the top of it…

and then add the next layer with the hole in it (this is the third layer of the piñata cake).

Once you have that third layer on, and before you frost it, grab the M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate candies…

and fill the hole up to the very top. Like this.

Once you fill the hole, lightly frost the top of that layer, then add the final layer as the top. Make sure you flip this layer upside down so you have a smooth surface to frost!

Now, carefully place the entire cake in the fridge for a couple of hours. This helps a lot when it comes time to cut the cake into a more square-like shape, the cake won’t rip as badly so you will get a nice clean-cut. Once the cake is thoroughly chilled, trim it into shape, using a bread knife.

Next, apply a crumb layer (a thin layer of frosting that helps give a nice smooth surface to frost) to the top of the cake and all sides.

Be very careful when icing, especially around the corners! As you can see in the pictures I had some trouble with mine, but once I added the final layer of icing, and all of the decorations, you really could not tell.

Place the cake back in the fridge to chill until the frosting is firm to the touch (about 30 to 45 minutes). Once it is thoroughly chilled, the cake is ready to be iced with a thick second layer of frosting. Try to get the frosting as smooth as you can, but don’t worry about making it perfect.

Don’t forget to add those festive sprinkles from the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting!

Make a simple ribbon from green fondant.

Grab the package of M&M’s® White Peppermint candies.

Use some for the bow…

…and then add a line of the candies around the bottom edge of the cake.

And now…you’re done! Doesn’t it look fun, festive and delicious! 

And just wait until you see their faces when you take a sharp knife and cut out a slice to show everyone what’s inside the present!

Now all that’s left to do now is to enjoy! And of course, don’t forget your tall glass of ice-cold milk! 

Ready to start baking for the holidays in your home? #BakeInTheFun!

Do you have a special recipe you like to make to kick off the holiday baking season in your home? Share with us below!

Alaina