It just makes you smile, doesn’t it? I don’t think I can adequately express how happy this cake makes me.
I made this cake for my friend Nikki’s birthday and it made her happy too…
I simply can’t take credit for the idea behind this cake, that credit goes to an adorable blog called “Once Upon a Pedestal”. I can’t even take credit for finding the idea… that goes to my wonderful Pinterest addicted friend Laura. I can tell you this: it is NOT hard to make. It does take some time, but it is very easy to put together, and the “wow” factor? Incredible!
The 1st question everyone asks is “How did you get the polka dots INSIDE the cake?” They are cake balls. To make this recipe, you will need one piece of special equipment: a cake pop/ doughnut hole maker. I feel like I walked by those like 100 times over the holidays in various stores and every time I thought, “I wonder why you would ever buy one of those?” Now I know! Here’s the one I got: Bella Sensio Cake Pop Maker
There are several brands and varieties- I’m sure they all work great- I would look for one that does 12 at once, just as a time saver! The good news? Once you make this cake, your friends will all want to borrow your cake pop maker and you won’t have to store it anywhere!
Are you ready to see how this is done? Here we go:
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 boxed white cake mixes (plus the oil, water and eggs to make them according to the package)
- You favorite frosting (I used my buttercream recipe, doubled, which you can get by clicking here)
- Sprinkles or candy to decorate the cake.
DIRECTIONS:
- Plug in/turn on your cake pop maker to warm it up.
- Make one of the cakes according to package directions.
- Divide batter evenly into smaller bowls based on the number of colors you want to use (I did 4)
- Color the batter using color gels (I love the Wilton
brand in particular because it gives such a vivid color)
- Following the directions for your particular cake pop maker, make cake balls using each of the colors.
(with mine I sprayed it with Pam, used a small (2 tsp) cookie scoop
- While cake balls are cooling, preheat oven to 350F, and make the second cake mix according to package.
- Spray 3 – 6″ round pans with non-stick spray and set a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each one (to keep your layers pretty!)
- Spread a thin layer of batter in the bottom of each pan, place cake balls on top in any pattern you choose and divide remaining batter over the top of the balls so they are completely covered.
- Bake layers at 350F degrees for about 30 minutes. You can use the toothpick test (I recommend it!) but be careful to hit cake and not cake balls….you can kind of tell where they are- they bump up just a bit.
- When cooked all the way through, tip over on a cake rack to cool completely.
- Trim, if needed, to flatten layers and use frosting to stack all three layers and cover the entire cake with frosting.
- Decorate as desired.
My thoughts: I’m not a cake decorator, and my buttercream is a whipped frosting that is OH so yummy, but not very good for a smooth cake surface….it still makes me smile…bumps and all. You can decorate your cake however you like. I used Wilton Jumbo Confetti Sprinkles
Other Easybaked cake recipes you might enjoy: (click on the photo to see the recipe)
What an adorable cake– I love it!
Thank you– glad you stopped by– now I’ve found YOUR adorable blog!
Thanks!! And I’ve been following your blog for a while now… love it!
Pretty pretty cake!!
Thank you!!
i think using red white and blue would be good for july 4th.. im sure im not the only one that thought that.
You might not be the 1st with that great idea, but you’re the 1st to post it here! Thanks for sharing!!! I might have to do that myself!!!
This is incredible! Thanks for the great tutorial.
Thank you!
What a beautiful cake, so creative and very well done!! This cake is a real show stopper.
Thanks so much!!
This is SO cute!! Question though….did the cake balls dry out at all from being baked twice?
I wondered if that would happen too! I also wondered if the balls would separate from the surrounding cake when you cut into it. Neither happened- the colors and the surrounding white cake are the same consistency and cut beautifully.
This cake looks AMAZING. I love the bright colors – perfect for a special occassion! Great job.
Thank you Leah! Love your blog as well:)
love it!! it’s so cute and i would have be excited too!!
Thanks so much!
Such a cute cake! I’ve just given it a test bake for my daughters 1st birthday and ran into a problem! My layers have a big mound in the middle where it has risen. I’m worried if I trim it to make it flat I’ll cut some of the cake balls in half. Any suggestions?? Cheers!
Trim it flat
I’ve made this cake several times now and I always end up trimming off the top and hitting a couple of dots. Trim sparingly- I flattened just the worst of the risen top- and filled in with frosting on the edges when I layered the cake.
Brilliant! So clever and pretty! xxxxx
I thought it was a brilliant idea when I saw it for the 1st time too- I was excited it wasn’t too hard to make– I’m already planning a second one!
I don’t have room for a cake pop maker, oh well, I’ll have to be creative in different ways
Goodness- you are SO creative with your blog! Much more than I am
Storage is always an issue for me with kitchen gadgets too…theres just so many fun things!
Love this cake! What a great idea
Well, I can’t take credit for the idea, but thank you
It’s not about the idea, it’s about the execution and it turned out awesome that’s all that matters
Oh wow!!! This is so awesome! Gorgeous photos too!
Thank you!!!!!
That is just cake perfection!!
That is exactly what I thought when I 1st saw a picture of it on pinterest– I knew I had to try making it ASAP!
SUCH a cute cake. Kudos to you for trying out this polka dot cake. I see it all over Pinterest and I’m all like “ONE DAY” but that day has yet to come. Your friend is very lucky to get such a fancy cake
Thanks! You should try it!!!
Sorry but that cake looks AWESOME!! I love polka dots, colorful especially!
I’m a little addicted to polka dots too…they are just so happy!
Jp they are
I absolutely LOVE this! Now I need a cake pop maker!
Lol! I actually had a hard time finding one in a store…seems they mainly stock them around Christmas-time…? I got mine on a Christmas clearance table, in fact!
beyond cute! love it
!
Thank you!!!
May I ask, are these three 6″x2″ or 6″x3″ pans. I already have two 6″x3″ pans. And i just ordered the cake pop maker. Thank you! Looking right now for the sprinkles and food coloring. LOVE THIS!!! and I loved Once Upon a Pedestal’s as well!
Sure! Mine are 6″ round pans that are 2″ deep. Have SO much fun making this! I want to see pictures!
Once again this is something I’d never make. (No kids in the house, not much of a sweet tooth.) But I just have to share. It’s such a cool concept and comes out so neat. Maybe I will make one to show off!
I just love that we are fans of each others blogs Greg– we cook such different things and some of the things you make I am just in awe of. You are so creative! You should make a crazy dessert sometime just to freak your blog followers out- and I should make pecan crusted salmon or something – lol!
Crazy fun!
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WOW to infinity and beyond! That is one fun cake! I see it in my kitchen’s future.
That was exactly how I felt when I saw this cake for the 1st time online…I just had to do it!
That takes the cake!
lol!!
omgash you just got me so excited to find a cake pop maker! now I have an awesome excuse to buy one
Look on eBay. I just purchased this same one for $18. Brand new in box. (Sold out in stores, and I didn’t want the one that made 6)
GREAT idea Terry!!! I love ebay! I had a hard time finding one in stores too- I got mine at Macy’s on a Christmas clearance table for $14. I heard they have them still at Target too.
The target by me doesn’t. Or Walmart x 2. Then I gave up! And went online.
Isn’t it crazy that EVERYONE had them before Christmas and now there’s none to be had? At least they are still available online…its just that you have to wait for shipping…
I always like to make things right away when I get excited about a recipe/idea…
Well. The birthday I want to make it for is at the end of February so I have a little time. Then another in April. My niece’s “golden” birthday (ok. I never heard of such a thing. But she insists that the golden birthday is when you turn the age of the date you were born. I missed out… Being born on the 8th. I was 8 years old a long time ago! LOL)
I’ve never heard of that either…hmm…mine was at age 2, so I guess I missed out too! lol! What a good aunt you are!!!!!
Haha! I thought that too…even though I felt like they were totally impractical, they are just so cute…! It was nice to have an excuse to get one! Now I’m thinking of all other sort of uses!! Fun!
Fabulous job! Thanks so much for the mention. Happy Caking!
Really– thank you for the wonderful idea- I love so many of your creations…I think the butterfly cake is just amazing! Wonderful wonderful blog!!! {hug}
This is so super cute! I, too, wondered why I would ever buy the cake pop maker (I usually make mine by hand), but this seems reason enough! Now I just need someone to make this for…
I think finding someone to make it for is the very best part…who do you want to make smile??
Love this so much!! Very creative and hip!! Polka dots forever
Thanks!!!!
Ok so u can use different colors but what about different cake flavors?
You could certainly give that a try…I think Jello flavors would be fun to try!
You are just so tricky, you know that right? I stared at that first pic for ages trying to decide how you got the dots in their. I didn’t want to be told the answer! And I had no idea that you could get machines to make cake balls – that’s awesome!
Haha! I love that you tried to figure it out without looking– I do NOT have that kind of willpower!
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This cake is AMAZING!! I am having a tea party for my daughter’s friends in a couple of weeks and I am going to attempt to make it, I can’t wait to see their little faces – I just hope it turns out vaguely as amazing as yours! xx
Ah- I’m so excited for you! I think yours will turn out beautifully and you will have lots of smiles at your tea party! Let me know how it goes for you!!!! Good luck!!!
I made it and everybody LOVED it! Seeing the kids faces when they saw the polka dots inside was fantastic, thank you so much for sharing this amazing cake with us. xx
When I first posted this idea, it was that very scenario I was hoping for. I just LOVE surprising people- especially kids- with fun desserts. I’m so glad you tried it and had such fantastic results!!!! {hug}
Happy Weekend
this cake is AMAZING- thankyou so much for sharing. i’m such a fan of your blog. i would love to share this over to my blog linking everything back to you of course.
enjoy your afternoon.
i have been making your raspberry confetti kisses for awhile now and always get so many complements. thankyou for another wonderful recipie.
cyber smiles
Taneith
xxxxxx
Hi Taneith- happy weekend to you as well! Your blog is adorable…I’m a big fan of glitter too- lol! Of course you can share this recipe! I’m so glad you like the confetti kisses- they are a favorite of mine too- I love doing them in all kinds of crazy flavors of jello. Nice to meet you! {hug}
awwww thankyou so much for visiting my little blog, that means so much to me. i’m going to add this cake and your confetti kissesto my blog this week because lets face it – the world needs to know about your creative talents….
it’s lovely to meet you too, i’m sure we’ll meet in cyberspace again.
have a wonderful evening. i know it’s a big day in The States today, superbowl day, my husband just got home and had a great day and a few beers….
thankyou again for checking out my little bit of cyberspace.
take care
Taneith
xxxx
Your blog is adorable- and you are very sweet. Thank you!!!!
Amazing cake! I just attempted to make it and the only thing I would do differently would be to use half of the first cake for the cake balls and save the excess for the actual cake…I ran out of the plain cake to cover the cake balls!
Thanks for the tips Carly– great idea!!!!
I have been in search for an awesome cake frosting. I try recipes I find on the internet & their not great. I’m hoping to find someone who can help me. My daughters b-day is this month & we have family coming over. I want to make a big hit with the cake I want to make & the frosting.
I can guarantee you will make a big hit with this cake! The frosting is a bit tricky…my buttercream recipe is my favorite frosting ever- but it really isn’t made for decorating. You might want to try a frosting more geared toward decorating if you really want to do up the outside of the cake as well…?
Is their a website to get a good butter cream frosting? I’ve tried a couple different ones, they were not that great.
Well….I have to say that I tried a lot of buttercream frosting before I finally fell in love with this one…I generally don’t like the thick, pasty buttercream that’s so easy to decorate with. It hard for me to advise you because frosting cakes is just not my thing. I have a really good friend, Megan, who is an amazing cake decorator. She has a blog at Happily Ever After Cakes and she might be able to advise you better– leave her a comment and tell her I sent you. She actually gave me the recipe I use and she might have some helpful hints about using it to frost a cake well. (Maybe I should ask her to give me helpful hints too!! lol!) I really hope she can help you!!!! (You’ll love looking at all of her cakes!)
My cake pop maker came today… I was wondering. Do you think the batter can be squeezed in to thru a squeeze bottle. I don’t think I have that size scoop. Maybe I do… LOL.
I bought “Duff’s” neon color gels. Thy came in the colors I wanted. I read reviews that they were intense.
I’m so excited for you!!!! I think you could try a squeeze bottle…? Who knows, it might work better than the scoops? Have fun experimenting!!!!! Let us know how it goes!
Do you think it would work to use two 8 inch pans in place of the three 6inch? I don’t bake many cakes and I don’t have either a pop maker or 6inch pans.
I think it would work fine using 2- 8 inch pans. But you are going to need a cake pop maker of some sort I think. Make fewer cake balls and save some of the 1st cake mix aside, uncolored. That way you’ll have enough to fill both pans. You’ll just have 2 layers of polka dots instead of 3.
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Would other cake recipes work? For instance chocolate or coconut cake?
I’m sure they would- I bet the bright colors in a chocolate cake would be really fun!!! You’d just have to experiment a little- let us know how it works!!
A friend of mine showed me this cake and i fell in love!!! I have made 2 so far one with colored cake pops and today with chocolate cake pops in vanilla cake. Can’t wait to slice into it tonight!
Ahh….chocolate dots in white cake…I love it so much! I want to see pictures! I’m so glad you are having fun with this idea– I have another post using this idea all set to publish. Its just so fun!!!
Gorgeous! Now to convince them to make it for my birthday next week
Happy Birthday!!! I usually just make my own birthday treats– that way you get to eat EXACTLY what you want
Happy Birthday!! I usually just make my own treats so I get EXACTLY what I want to gobble down!
Just made this cake for my bff for her birthday. It’s in the oven now. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Aww– what a good friend!!! Hope you loved it!!!
I made this kind of cake using mini muffin pans for the dots instead. It worked great ..just don’t overfill them.
Thats a great idea– were they still round dots?
adorable cake– so excited to attempt it for my daughter’s birthday this weekend!
two questions: did you have any problems with the balls rising to the top of the cake instead of staying in the middle? and how do you get the cakes to bake flat, instead of a domed top which would require trimming and cutting off part of the cake balls?
thanks so much!!
Hi! I’m excited for you to try it as well! The cake balls stayed exactly where I placed them, and the cake did dome up a bit but I just went ahead and trimmed. I ended up hitting a few tops of the cake balls but it didn’t seem to ruin the effect. I didn’t trim it perfectly flat- but trimmed it down a bit so that it would stack well. Good luck! Excited for you!
Hi. I love this cake. Attempted it and the pops all rose with the cake and came to the surface… Any tips?
I’m not sure…if you are making three layers the white cake batter barely covers the colored balls- so they really don’t have anywhere to rise to? I’d say if they are rising, you are covering them with too much cake batter. They should be *just* covered- I think my photo shows that. Hope this helps! Sorry I don’t have any other ideas for you!
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did this last night for a b/day……all the balls ‘rose’ with the batter in the oven, so all were at the very top edge and sticking out the top by the time it was done cooking in oven……any suggestions?
Oh goodness, I just don’t know. I’ve used the cake balls in cakes and cupcakes now and mine have never risen. I’ve had 3 friends borrow my cake pop maker for this cake and I asked if they had this problem and they didn’t…? But you are the second person to comment on this. I wish I could help you– the only thing I can think is that my layers were really about the depth of the ball. If you look at my pictures, (particularly the last one with the fork) there’s not a lot of cake on the top or bottom of the balls. You can even see where I trimmed the top off and the balls are actually touching frosting. There wasn’t anywhere for them to rise to since the cake batter barely covered them before cooking. My only guess is that you are baking them with too much white cake batter…? I don’t know if this is helpful– I hope so! Sorry I don’t have any definitive answers for you!
The first time I tried it, the pops in the middle rose a bit. On my second attempt, I put more pops in and less batter. They only rose slightly that time and I flattened them down a bit by turning the cake out on a cooling rack and putting my cutting board on top!
Thanks so much for the suggestions!!!! I’m glad you figured out a way that worked for you- hopefully your comment will help others who have the same problem!!! Thank you!!!
someone suggested using pound cake for the balls. Think I will try with less batter next time and see how that does
Thanks for the suggestions everyone
You inspired me to make the polka dot cake. However l am having trouble with the dots. They keep rising and sticking out of the top of the cake when in the oven, and l want them sitting in the middle or there abouts. Have baked 5 cakes now and the only one that has worked out is the one where l kept opening the oven door and poking down the dots with a fork. Mind you the guys in the workshop next door are hopeing for more rejects as l jusst whack a little frosting over the thing ang send it over to them. The flavour is good but the little balls just wont stay put. Any suggestions please?
FIVE cakes? Wow…you are more persistent than me! I haven’t had this problem, but there are lots of comments answering this question from people who have had a hard time with this…along with all of my musings on possibilities….My favorite solution was someone who used pound cake in hopes that the heavier cake would keep the cake balls from rising. My other suggestion is to not use so much white cake batter with them. Just barely cover the cake balls with batter. Check the other comments and see if any of the suggestions help. Here’s hoping that cake #6 is PERFECT!
I just did a trial of this cake for my daughters birthday… I wanted to practice first! How did you keep your cake layers from rising in the middle? Normally I trim my layers before stacking, but I didn’t want to hack off any polka dots. Thanks for the great cake!
Hi! There are several comments on this- if you look close at my photos you can see where I trimmed into the polka dots a bit. I don’t know that there is anything you can do to prevent the layers from rising when they bake. Just trim sparingly and your cake will still be beautiful!
No need to trim the cake or loose any dots! If your cake has a bit of a dome, cover it with a damp paper towel when it comes out of the oven and press it down. You can invert it after it is cool enough to remove from the pan and add some weight like a flat cookie sheet or two and it will turn into a nice level layer with no trimming. My friend Jessica shows some photos on how to here: http://www.jessicakesblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/korean-birthday-cake.html. Thanks again Ruthanne for giving my Hidden Polka Dot Cake a try! Happy Caking!
Perfect!!! That’s incredibly helpful! Thanks so much for sharing with us- Im really excited to try this on my next cake- I hate trimming layers!!! And now I am addicted to your friends beautiful blog- oh my….pretty pretty cakes and a cute logo!!!! Love it!
You have inspired me as well to make this cake. I’m not a good baker. I can make a cake and frost it but no decorating skills ect. I’m even going to get some fondant and roll it into small balls to put around the cake and use edible imaging to decorate the sides for my daughters birthday in May. I will be making a trial cake next weekend and see how it turns out. Thank you for the inspiration.
I am SO impressed! You are braver than me! I’ve only used fondant on Oreo pops and I’ve not tried edible imaging either. I’m excited to hear how it all turns out for you!!!
Has anyone tried making this in a simple single layer 9×13 pan? I’m ztempted to try it because I’m not good at layers and decorating!
Thats cool ! But how do the cake pops not burn while bein cooked into the cake???
They don’t even get dry- they just mold right together with the rest of the cake. No burning!
I made this cake for my nieces 7th birthday. It turned out nice but I had one problem. My cake pops kept floating up to the top of the cake batter. So when I trimmed it to make flat the cake pops were cut off. Well half cut off . What am I doing wrong?
There are lots of tips for that issue here in the previous comments. I’ve never had this issue, so I am relying on the advice from others who had the same problem. I think they had some very good ideas. Hope your next attempt comes out perfect!!!!!
Some bakers have had better luck by trying one of the following:
1) Freeze the baked balls before adding them to the batter.
2) Use a dense or thicker cake batter like a pound cake or Madeira cake recipe.
3) Rather than trim the cake off, as soon as it comes out of the oven, place one or more damp paper towels on the “dome” and press to flatten the cake. After ten minutes, invert the warm cake (paper towels and all) on to a level surface. A flat pan can be placed on top to weigh it down until cool.
Hope this helps. I haven’t experienced this problem either but due to the many variables in climate, oven temps, cake mixes or cake recipes and the like, it seems to be an issue for many. You are not alone! Happy Caking!
Some bakers have had better luck by trying one of the following:
1) Freeze the baked balls before adding them to the batter.
2) Use a dense or thicker cake batter like a pound cake or Madeira cake recipe.
3) Rather than trim the cake off, as soon as it comes out of the oven, place one or more damp paper towels on the “dome” and press to flatten the cake. After ten minutes, invert the warm cake (paper towels and all) on to a level surface. A flat pan can be placed on top to weigh it down until cool.
Hope this helps. I haven’t experienced this problem either but due to the many variables in climate, oven temps, cake mixes or cake recipes and the like, it seems to be an issue for many. You are not alone! Happy Caking!
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I love this cake and want to make this for my little one 2nd birthday on Sunday. I have one question: is one batter enough to cover the cake balls? I mean, you use one to make the cake balls and one for the 3 cakes: is it enough? I’ll make the cake for the first time, I am so scared!!!
Yes- it really should be enough. Once you get all of those cake balls in the pan it takes up a lot of space- you won’t need much cake mix to fill in the gaps
. Don’t be afraid- you’re going to see so many smiles when you cut into it!! Let me know how it goes!
I haven’t read throught all the comments and wonder if anyone else came up with this problem. When baking the cake I noted all my cake pop balls migrated to the centre of the cake. In your tutorial you show the cake batter covering the cake balls and it appears to actually cover the cake pops, but my cake pops floated to the top. Is there something I did wrong (followed your directions) and is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again? The cake was still a success as the person for whom I made it loved it and it tasted fantastic, but I know it could be better!
I took a cake decorating class several years ago. It does not hurt your cake to press it down. I do it all the time and have decorated many wedding cakes and birthday cakes. I use a smooth towel and just the pressure of my palms, there is no need to try and cut off cake to make it level!
Thanks so much for the tip- it seems like this is the very best way to level!
Now I know what to bring to my Mother’s Day lunch with the family! Going to experiment with strawberry cake balls. I think white cake with strawberry balls would be perfect… Hope my grocery store still carries the cake ball maker.
Oh- that sounds like such a great idea!! I love strawberry cake. If your grocer doesn’t carry the cake ball maker, try Target. I just found one there for a friend
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Completely great idea! I am going to try it with “tie dye” cake balls as a surprise inside for my twins’ 7th birthday Tie Dye themed party!
GREAT idea! That sounds incredibly fun!!! I want to see pictures!!
I’m trying this next week for my 2 year-old’s birthday. So excited!
So fun!!!! Hope it turns out perfectly!!!
My classroom is Polka dot Themed. I am going to make this for my kiddos for the last day of school! I’m sure they won’t be surprised to see the polka dots inside! Thanks for posting!!!
How fun! They are lucky to have such a creative teacher!
This is so cute I had to share with my Aunt who’s a Nancy Ann Story Book doll collector, and the boxes for them are polka dotted.
Oh I bet she will love it! Polka dots are always so fun!
I think this is a wonderful idea and i also agree that it is hard to find space for all the new kitchen gadgets. I wonder if cake doughnut holes will work in a pinch you wont have as many color choices but you will get the same effect. Some places have chocolate and blueberry cake holes. I have also seen filled holes that would be interesting to experiment with. Thank you easybaked!
That is a really interesting idea…it really might work. I’ve seen strawberry doughnut holes…? It sounds really yummy. How about a doughnut filled cupcake? Love your creativity! If anyone out there tries this, let us know how it works for you!!
HELP! I love this cake but my cake pops KEEP rising to the top of the batter. I”m using 8 x 3 pans – could that be the issue?
Hi Shannon! You aren’t alone! Although I haven’t had this problem, it is addressed in both the other comments here and in the “tips” box at the end of this recipe. Hope both of those things help!!
I have a quick question! I don’t have a cake pop maker/baking pan, can I make the cake pops like “regular” (bake the cake, mix in a bit of icing and roll the balls myself) and still have this kind of cake work? Or will the icing mixed in with the cake pops make it bake funny or destroy the “dots”?
I haven’t tried this, but I would suspect that it would make a big mess with all that icing getting gooey with the baking…? But, I haven’t actually tried it, so I can’t say for sure? Sorry I’m not more help. Certainly if you do try it please tell us all how it works for you!