Pumpkin Pinata Cake

More About This Recipe

• This cake looks majorly impressive but it’s easier to make than you think! With just a couple of Bundt cakes stacked together and some clever decoration, you can make your own cute pumpkin piñata cake! 
  
  All you need to make this cake are two Bundt cakes, which are simple to make with Betty Crocker Cake Mix. Bundt cakes already have holes in them, which makes the perfect hiding place for candy. You can either frost and decorate the cakes or just color the cake mix orange, then put the two baked cakes together, fill with candy, add a stem, and it's ready to serve. Either way, kids and adults are sure to get a kick out of this cake for Halloween!
  
  To get started, spray your Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  
  Combine Betty Crocker Lemon Cake mix with orange juice, water, eggs, melted butter, orange zest and orange food coloring (optional).
  
  Beat for 30 seconds on low speed. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
  
  Pour cake batter into Bundt pan. Tap pan on counter to remove excess air bubbles in batter.
  
  Bake cake for 36 to 42 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes. Hold your hand over the cake, turn the pan upside down and allow the cake to drop gently onto a cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely, for about an hour.
  
  Wash the Bundt pan and repeat, making a second Bundt cake.
  
  Meanwhile, tint two tubs of Betty Crocker Vanilla Frosting using Betty Crocker Neon Orange gel food coloring. Add a few drops of Betty Crocker red gel food coloring for a deeper shade of pumpkin orange.
  
  Scoop out about 1/3 cup of the orange frosting and stir in the cocoa powder, making brown frosting. Frost the outside of the ice cream cone. Allow the frosting to dry. 
  
  When the first cake is cool, make the cake level by cutting off the puffed part of the cake. Snack on the scraps or use them later for cake pops.
  
  Place this Bundt cake, top side down, on a small cardboard cake round. Set the cake up on one of your empty frosting tubs and frost around the outside of the cake with the orange frosting, being sure to cover some of the underside of the cake (the part that will show once the cake is on the plate.)
  
  Frost the top part of this Bundt cake, leaving about 1/2 inch of space around the center hole.
  
  Carefully set the cake on a cake stand or plate. Fill the center of the cake with a variety of candy like Betty Crocker Halloween Fruit Snacks, candy corn, and gummy worms.
  
  Once the second cake is cooled, cut off the excess and set it on top of the bottom cake. Fill the hole with a bit more candy. Fill the frosted ice cream cone with candy and place it into the hole in the top Bundt cake.
  
  Frost the top portion of the cake. Use a metal spatula to draw the frosting up from the bottom of the cake to the top near the stem, creating the lines in the pumpkin.
  
  If desired, you can decorate your pumpkin using fondant. Roll the fondant out on a corn starch dusted cutting board and cut out some eyes, a nose, and mouth using cookie cutters or a knife.
  
  Tint some fondant green and roll it out, then cut out leaves using a plunger cutter or a cookie cutter. Roll some fondant into thin ropes for the vines.
  
  Add fondant decorations to the pumpkin cake.
  
  There you have it! A fun surprise cake that’s perfect for Halloween!