A wonderful and beautiful show stopping Pinata Easter cake. The Duck egg blue icing is speckled with cocoa powder and when you cut in, you will find there are hidden Easter eggs inside. This Easter Pinata Cake will wow your guests and act as a beautiful centre piece for your Easter lunch. Every Easter table deserves a beautiful speckled egg cake centre piece and this is one for the whole family. Enjoy my Speckled Easter Pinata Cake recipe this Easter. Easy to make and delicious.
I have loved creating cakes recently. Plus I’ve been trying to get better at getting my buttercream as smooth as possible. Using scrappers is harder than it looks but practice is paying off. Luckily this cake works even if the icing isn’t perfect. My latest cake was this incredible Speckled Easter Pinata Cake and I am so proud of it. An Easter pinata cake is a lot of fun for all the family.
Why you’ll love this Speckled Easter Pinata Cake recipe
- A pinata cake is a surprise until you cut into it. Everyone will love seeing the mini eggs, easter chocolates and sprinkles pour out.
- A speckled egg cake is a grown up yet fun cake perfect as a show stopper cake for Easter.
- Although the details of this duck egg blue Easteer cake look complicated they are so easy to achieve and a lot of the pieces can be made ahead of time.
Top Questions about making an Easter pinata cake
How do you make duck egg blue with food coloring?
What is special about pinata cake?
What is pinata cake?
How do you make the speckle for a speckled egg cake?
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Ingredients
How to make
Top tips
Serving suggestions
Equipment
Variations and substitutions
Storing/making ahead
Other recipes you might like
Recipe
Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
Cake
- unsalted butter
- golden caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- self-raising flour
- baking powder
- lemons
- milk (optional)
Buttercream
- unsalted butter
- icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- milk
- purple colour paste optional
Extras
- lemon curd
- mini eggs
- sprinkles
Decorations
- cocoa powder
- water
Chocolate Nests
- dark chocolate or milk chocolate if you’d prefer
- cornflakes
- mini eggs
- assorted sprinkles
It looks complicated but I promise it isn’t. It’s a layer of duck egg blue buttercream with a cocoa powder paste flicked at the cake with a brush to create the beautiful texture.
Making pinata cakes is so easy. You get the four layers as usual and cut a central hole in the middle of three. Build up the three layers with the hole in and buttercream them. Fill the hole with chocolate eggs and add the layer without the hole on top. Buttercream the whole cake and decorate. No one will suspect there to be a hidden treasure of chocolates inside.
The cake itself is a beautiful lemon sponge with lemon curd to keep the cake moist and taste wonderful.
How delicious does this look!
Making a Speckled Egg Cake
As a cute edition to the cake and to make it look extra adorable I made little chocolate cornflake nests with sprinkles and topped off with mini eggs. This was inspired by the Peggy Porschen Easter cake and my love of chocolate cornflake cakes.
I love how beautiful each slice looked and I think when I make it again I will definitely make smaller nests as the slices were huge. Great to share between two and fight over the nest.
It looks so cute and a wonderful centre piece for any table.
Let’s enjoy a slice of cake. It looks so beautiful when it has been sliced to reveal the mini eggs and sprinkles inside. A lovely surprise for guests.
How to Make The Speckled Easter Pinata Cake with step by step instructions and photos. Enjoy this beautiful cake this Easter.
I’ve been asked a lot since revealing my Easter bake to give a more detailed account of how I made it so here is everything I did to create this beautiful cake. For the lemon cake recipe and other ingredients you will need scroll down.
The big reveal of the Easter Pinata Cake
It was so exciting to cut into the cake and I’m so glad I caught the moment.
Pulling the pinata easter cake slice aside to reveal tumbling chocolates made the kids and big kids around the table very exciting. I added a few sprinkle strands too which I really liked as they tumbled out with the eggs. A great way to fill out the little extra space inside the pinata cake.
How to make the speckled Easter Pinata Cake – step by step
How to Make The Speckled Easter Pinata Cake with step by step instructions and photos. Enjoy my beautiful cake this Easter.
When it came to the constructing the cake I found it far easier than you think it would be. Take the two cakes and divide into two equal pieces so you have 4 pieces. Save the best and level piece for the top. On the remaining three pieces cut a hole in the middle.
Once they are ready place the first piece of cake on the plate. I covered them with a layer of lemon lurd and a layer of butter cream. Repeat with the next two levels.
When the three pieces are constructed, I spread the butter cream inside of the cake to make the pinata area a smooth tube.
When the butter cream is done I filled the hole with a mix of mini eggs and other Easter chocolate eggs. I also added sprinkles so they would fall down.
I added the final piece (the one without a hole) and gave the cake it’s crumb coat.
How to create duck egg blue buttercream
For the decoration I whipped up a batch of butter cream and add a little blue colour paste at a time to get this beautiful duck egg blue. I used the sugarflair baby blue colour paste (aff link) and added a little at a time to build up this colour.
From there, I then pipped it over and around the cake using a large nozzle in a pipping bag. I then used a cake smoother and got a beautiful level icing around the edge and on top.
how to make a speckled egg cake
To make the spatter effect for the cake I mixed cocoa powder and water to make a paste. It is really that easy. Easy and incredibly messy. You are best doing this somehwere with easy to clean walls and worktop.
I placed the pinata easter cake in a wipe clean area (I stuck up greaseproof paper to protect the kitchen).
In a bowl sieve a little cocoa powder – about 2 tablespoons. Then add a little water and make a runny liquid.
I then used a pastry brush and tapped it on my finger of my left hand whilst holding it in my right to get the splatted. It looks so beautiful and is so easy so that was great. the differences in sizes of the splatters looked wonderful.
Definitely clean up as soon as it’s done as it will set.
How to make chocolate Easter egg nests as cake decoration
I melted the chocolate in short sharp bursts in the microwave stirring in between each time. When it was melted I add the cornflakes and stirred gently so I didn’t break them.
On greaseproof paper add a tablespoon of chocolate cornflakes. Top with a mini egg and add a few sprinkles. Allow to harden somewhere cool, in the fridge if you have space.
Adding the Easter chocolate nests the cake
Once I popped the set Easter egg nests on top I was in love. The cake is so beautiful and I was so proud of what I made.
Getting to slice the cake open was very exciting and my family loved it. Seeing the eggs fall out and surprise my guests was great. I loved seeing the beautiful layers and the work which had gone into it looking good on the dining table.
They were pretty big slices as I made the nests fairly large but I had a few extra nests ready so everyone got a good slice and a nest on their plate.
Top Tips for Easter Pinata Cake
You can make the chocolate easter nests in advance and decorate when ready. Be careful though as in my house they don’t last long once made. Store somewhere safe.
Buttercream can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge or even frozen and defrosted when needed. Either way give it a good whip up before you use it again to get the consistency back to a good piping one.
This pinata cake recipe is made of different sections that are bought together so you can do them all individually to make it easier.
Serving Suggestions
You really don’t need to serve this beautiful Easter pinata cake with anything else.
Maybe a glass of something sparkly would help it go down well. A glass of champagne and a slice of pinata easter cake sounds ideal.
Equipment
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- 6 inch cake tins
- Mixing bowls
- Wooden spoons
- Mixer
- Sieve
- Piping bag
- round nozzle
- Icing smoother
- Cake turntable
- Spoons
- Knife
- Microwave proof bowl
Storing Speckled Easter Pinata Cake / Making ahead of time options
There are lots of parts of this cake that can be made ahead.
The cake, buttercream and nests can all be made in advance and assembled on the day or the day before.
Buttercream can be made and kept in the fridge or even frozen before use.
Substitutions and variations
A great way to change up this Easter pinata cake is to change what is in the middle of the cake.
I went for a mix of Mini Eggs, galaxy gold eggs and my favourite sprinkles. You could use your favourite Easter eggs, chocoaltes or even candy to fill the centre of the pinata cake.
Turn this into a birthday pinata cake by adding sprinkles and jelly beans in the middle.
At Christmas you could fill the centre with dried cranberries, white chocolate or even your favourite nuts and treats.
FAQS about making a Speckled Easter Pinata Cake
How do you make duck egg blue with food coloring?
The best way to make duck egg blue with food colouring is using a baby blue colour paste. Colour paste is a more saturated colourant so you only need a tiny tiny amount. For the speckled duck egg blue cake I used Sugarflair baby blue colour paste. I used a tooth pick and added a tiny amount as a time to build up to this gorgeous duck egg blue colour. The slightly yellow colour of the butter makes it so it doesn’t go too blue.
(If you were making buttercream and wanted it to make it more white you can add a little purple colour paste to the mixture. This removes the yellow but you need to use such a small amount otherwise it will go slightly purple.)
What is special about pinata cake?
The most special thing about a pinata cake is how it surprises everyone as it is cut open. There is nothing better than presenting this speckled egg egg cake to friends and family and seeing everyone’s faces as the cake is cut. Faces light up and there is a lot of excitement to see what has been hidden away.
Pinata cakes are so customisable too. If you love candy add that, if you love chocolate add that. Make it seasonal with fresh fruit and berries, or like this Easter pinata cake fill it with mini eggs and other Easter chocolate.
What is pinata cake?
A pinata cake is a cake with the centre cut out in order to hide chocolates or sweets. The centre is hidden until the cake is sliced open and it is a surprise what is inside. This pinata easter cake is full of my favourite Easter eggs.
How do you make the speckle for a speckled egg cake?
The easiest way to make the speckle for the speckled egg cake is mixing cocoa powder and water together. You make a runny chocolaty mixture which is easy to tap from a pastry brush to achieve the beautiful duck egg speckled egg cake.
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Recipe
Let’s eat cake… Speckled Easter Pinata Cake
It might seem like a lot of instructions but I’ve tried to make it as clear as possible to follow.
Speckled Easter Pinata Cake
Equipment
- 6 inch cake tins
- Mixer
- Sieve
- round nozzle
- Icing smoother
- cake plate
- spoons
- microwave proof bowl
Ingredients
Cake
- 300 grams (1 ⅓ cups) unsalted butter
- 300 grams (1 ⅓ cups) golden caster sugar
- 4 (4) large eggs
- 300 grams (2 ⅖ cups) self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 2 (2) lemons
- 3-4 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) milk
Buttercream – you will need two amounts
- 300 grams (1 ⅓ cups) unsalted butter
- 700 grams (5 ⅚ cups) icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) milk
- purple colour paste optional
- blue colour paste (for the duck egg blue icing)
Extras
- lemon curd
- mini eggs
- sprinkles
Decorations
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
- tap water
Chocolate Nests
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) dark chocolate milk chocolate if you’d prefer
- 100 g (3 4/7 cups) cornflakes
- mini eggs
- assorted sprinkles
Instructions
Making the Cake
- Grease and line two six inch cake tins.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix together.
- Zest the two lemons and mix it into the cake mix along with the juice of 1 lemon.
- Divide the cake between the two tins and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and when a cake tester comes out it’s done. Leave to cool for 30mins and then remove to a cooling wrack until cold.
Making the buttercream
- In a stand mixer beat the butter gradually adding the icing sugar and the milk until light and fluffy and well incorporated.
- If you want beautifully white buttercream add a tiny amount of purple food colouring paste. The purple will neutralise the yellow tint of the buttercream. Be careful to add a tiny amount at a time otherwise it will go purple.
- Add a large round nozzle to a pipping bag and fill it up with the buttercream.
Assembling the cake
- Level off the cakes and cut them in two horizontally into two equal pieces. So you have 4 layers altogether.
- Using a round cookie cutter cut a hole in three of the cake pieces.
- On a cake plate or turn table start assembling the layers. Add the first layer with a hole in and spread a thin layer of the lemon curd on. Add a layer of buttercream and repeat for the two other layers.
- Buttercream the inside of the hole to make a smooth surface. Fill the hole with mini eggs and sprinkles too.
- Add the top cake layer and add a buttercream crumb coat to the cake.
The duck egg blue buttercream
- Make another batch of buttercream as above.
- Add a little blue colour paste at a time to build up to the duck egg blue colour.
- Using a piping bag and large nozzle cover the cake in the duck egg blue buttercream. Use a scraper to smooth down the sides and top.
- Place the cake in an area that is easy to wipe down the chocolate splatters.
- To make the chocolate paste to flick at the cake with a brush to add the speckled texture mix together the cocoa powder and a little water until it is a light runny paste.
- Dip a long bristled brush into the cocoa powder paste and tap the brush handle on a finger to leave the drops of chocolate on the cake.
The Easter Chocolate Nests
- Melt down the chocolate in a microwave in 20 second burst until melted. Stir between bursts.
- Stir the cornflakes in until they’re coated in chocolate.
- On greaseproof paper spoon tablespoon amounts of the cornflakes to make the nest. Top with a mini egg and add some sprinkles too.
- Pop them in the fridge to harden or leave somewhere to cool.
- When they are set place them on top of the cake and it’s ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Both a visually and technically gorgeous cake! Tasted pretty good too.
Thank you. It was an amazing cake. I loved making it and loved eating it too.
This is one of the prettiest cakes I’ve ever seen. I love how it’s decorated, both with the coloured buttercream and the toppings. ANd then you cut into it and it’s full of mini eggs! Just gorgeous.
That is the kindest comment <3 Thank you so much
This is such a pretty cake! I haven’t ever made a pinata cake but I know my kids would absolutely love it if I did give in and make one for them!
Thank you so much. It’s a lovely cake to make and everyone enjoyed it so much.
This is magnificent would make a beautiful celebration cake too but so perfect for Easter
Thank you so much Lucy, that is so kind of you to say xx
Wow, this really is a showstopper. Absolutely love the speckled look and I’d love to find a load of mini eggs inside my cake too.
Thank you so much. A lot of love went into this and I am so proud of what I created.
This cake looks so good on the outside and then to be filled with easter eggs too; amazing!
Thank you so much. I am in love with this cake.
Just gorgeous and perfect for Easter. Beautiful photos too.
Such a pretty cake! Love the hidden treats in the middle. This would be the perfect cake for any Easter celebration.
Thank you so much! I love pinata cakes so much so I’m glad that others do too.
It is one spectacular cake Sisley! Absolutely gorgeous and full of surprises too! I love all the little details down to cute little sprinkles on the cornflake nests, so beautifully thought out. It’s a proper Easter showstopper!
Thank you so much Jo, that is so kind of you.
Such a pretty cake! Love the speckles and the hidden surprises. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle
Thank you that is so kind of you <3
So beautiful… and I love the surprise inside! Eb x
Thank you Eb. It was loved.
It looks amazing . Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You are most welcome. I’m glad you like it