RAINBOW RUFFLE POLKA DOT CONFETTI CAKE

How's that for  title?  I thought if one idea from Pinterest was good, three put together would be better!  Seriously, when planning my daughter's cake for this year, I showed her all of the fun cakes I had been pinning...the rainbow layer cake, the tie-dye rainbow cake, the polka dot cake...and we decided to put all of that inspiration together into one cheerful creation!

Last year I shared a round-up of the birthday cakes I've made for her in the past, which have always been decorated with some sort of design on the top.  This time I switched gears and brought the party to the inside of the cake as well.  I wanted to try one of these great ideas I'd seen, but she was adamant about wanting FUNFETTI cake!  So, that nixed the rainbow or tie dye layers.  But, I thought I could incorporate the funfetti with the polka dots, and maybe do something fun with a rainbow of colors for the icing.  

Yesterday you got a little peek of the cake,

and I hinted at the surprise inside!

I came across a pin and tutorial from Deborah at Once Upon a Pedestal and it was invaluable for making the polka dots on the inside.  One thing, I didn't have a cake pop pan, so I thought I could just use a mini-muffin pan and trim them a little into spheres if needed.  However, the day I was shopping for the cake ingredients before going home to start on it, at my favorite little bitty grocery store there was a section of CAKE POP pans, marked down to $6.49!  I love it when the Lord drops little blessings in my lap like that.  That's how I see it...do you?

I'm glad that I bought the pan, because the recipe needs to be altered for the cake pops so they are a little heavier and more dense.  If I would have made a regular recipe in the mini muffin pan I'm not sure it would have worked as well.  Just in case you want to try it, and I think the mini muffins would work just fine if you don't have a cake pop pan, here's the recipe for that part:

1 standard cake mix of choice

add 1 extra egg in addition to what's called for 

replace water with milk, but 1/2 the amount

1 package pudding mix (vanilla for a white cake, chocolate for chocolate, etc.)

I referred to Deborah's tutorial to make the cake balls using a white cake mix, then divided it into 5 bowls to make different colors.

The batter will be very thick and goopy-for lack of a better word, but you get my drift, right?  Also, I only cooked them for about 1/2 as long as the instructions stated, since they would be cooked more later on when inside the batter for the layers. 

For my 3 layer cake, I used most of 3 funfetti cake mixes.   First I mixed 2 of the boxes, spread a little in the bottom of (2) 9 inch layer pans, put 6 cake balls randomly on the batter, and then covered with more batter.  I cooked those 2 layers, and when the pans had cooled I followed that procedure to re-use a pan and made one more layer with the remaining box of cake mix. I did however make 8-10 cupcakes with that batch as well.

When all of the layers were baked, I wrapped each layer in plastic wrap and froze them overnight.  I've discovered this is key to making cakes easier to frost!  The next morning I made several batches of this frosting recipe from Julie of At the Picket Fence.  It was easy and delicious, and click over to check out the awesome surprise filled Science Cake that she made!  I frosted the entire cake and in between the layers with the white frosting and then let it chill again for a few hours.  

Meanwhile, I divided some frosting into 5 bowls and colored it with the same colors that I used earlier.  

I love the ruffle cakes that I've seen floating around Pinterest, but thought I would switch it up a little bit and vary the colors.  This tutorial from Quick Brown Fox Bakery was very helpful in creating the ruffle design, although I need more practice because my ruffles didn't turn out quite fluffy enough.  It helped to "measure" (I used a scrap piece of paper marked with with width I wanted) and mark sections out around the cake before I started, then I used those boundaries to go back and forth with each color.  

I chose her favorite color, green, and kept the top a solid color, then added some colored sprinkles and a pennant banner made from paper scraps and rubber stamps.

The best part was cutting the cake and sharing the surprise with all of the party guests!

Linking up with

Classy Clutter Spotlight Saturday

Thrifty Decor Chick Before & After Party

Sew a Fine Seam
The Shabby Nest