With my birthday coming up in just a couple of weeks I’ve been on the lookout for the best birthday cake for a while now. Yes, I’m that girl who makes her own birthday party. Yes, it’s nice my husbands drives all the way into town to get me a small cake from the local bakery, but a cake baked in my own kitchen with my little 5 year old sous-chef by my side will always taste better.

And this Piñata cake is was a breeze to make. If you’ve made a layer cake before (and even if you haven’t) this is totally something you can handle. Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand, read and re-read all the directions on how to assemble the cake and you’re in good hands!

Ingredients

• Cake
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• Frosting
• 12 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 12 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3/4 cup M&M’S Mini Milk Chocolate Baking Bits
• You’ll also need
• 1 cup M&M’S to fill the cake
• 1/2 cup M&M’S to decorate the cake on top

Instructions
Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and line three 9 inch round baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the mixing bowl of your mixer, add all the ingredients for the cake. With the whisk attachment on, beat on low-speed until all the ingredients are combined.
Divide the cake batter between the three prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes in the pan before inverting and cooling them completely on wire racks.
Make the frosting
In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low-speed until smooth and creamy. Add the powder sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add few drops of heavy cream to reach desired consistency.
With a spatula, fold in the M&M’S minis baking bits.
Assemble the cake
Out of a thin cardboard or a thicker piece of paper, make a cylinder, about 3-4 inch in diameter. Cut a whole into one of the cake layers to fit the cylinder.
Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter. Position the cylinder in the center and spread about 1 – 1 1/2 cups frosting around it.
Fill the cylinder with M&M’S.
Carefully, place the 2nd cake layer over the frosting making sure the cutout hole lines up with the cardboard cylinder.
Spread 1 to 1 1/2 cups frosting over the second layer.
With your fingers, gently wiggle the cardboard cylinder out making sure the M&M’S stay inside the cake.
Place the 3rd cake layer over the frosting and, with an offset spatula spread the remaining frosting on top and on the sides of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with more M&M’S.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.


Notes
Update ~Here~