Explosion Cake recipe (Piñata cake)

Learn how to make a rainbow explosion cake or piñata cake, it will be a tremendous colorful surprise for any party!

I was sent a Williams Sonoma rainbow explosion cake kit that already included all the ingredients and recipes so that was easier. I highly recommend this kit because it has most of the ingredients and instructions to make this cake. It’s so easy!

So I started making this explosion cake recipe before the snowstorm. It worked to surprise my oldest son whose birthday was during the storm, as I mentioned in my Instagram post. That’s why the pictures are a little bit dark.

For this cake, you would need several layers, at least 4 bu,t I made 6 of them. I backed by batches, as I only have two same-size cake molds.

If you are the same as me, you can prepare the whole cake mix and refrigerate between baking the batches.

Let’s see how to make an Explosion Cake or Piñata cake using a boxed cake mix. (inspired by the rainbow explosion kit of Williams Sonoma)

How to make a rainbow Explosion Cake or Piñata cake

Ingredients

• 2 boxed cake mix (including ingredients in the back of the box for preparing it)
• 6 food coloring gels, different color
• 6 small cake pans same size (6”)
• Spray oil
• Round cookie cutter (2”)
• Cake plate or cake cardboard
• 2 cans of vanilla ready-to-spread frosting
• 2 cups regular-colored Sprinkles
• 3 cups colored sprinkles in different shapes to fill the cake.

For the cakes

Follow boxed cake mix instructions and prepare the batter for the cakes.

Divide the cake batter evenly into six parts, using bowls. You can use a ¾ cup measure spoon.

Color each batter bowl with a few drops of your preferred food coloring gel. I used pink, blue, purple, orange, green, and yellow. Separate.

Grease six cake pans with spray oil.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Pour each bowl of colored cake mix into each cake pan. They will be less than half full.

Bake the cakes for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out clean.

Now, take out the cakes from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for about ten minutes.

After this time, take out the cakes from the cake pans and separate them.

Build the rainbow explosion cake or piñata cake

Set apart one of the cakes (Pink), it will be the top layer with no hole.

Using the cookie cutter cut out a circle from the center in all remaining cakes. Separate.

Spread some frosting in the center of the cake plate forming a ring about the same size as the cakes, to avoid the cake sliding. Place one of the cakes with the cut-out over the frosting ring.

Cover the cake with an even layer of frosting, except the hole.

Repeat with the remaining cakes (except the pink top layer cake), covering each layer with frosting.

After this, pour the explosion sprinkles into the hole, until filled. Spread some frosting over the last layer (except the hole) and cover with the pink top layer cake.

Check out the step by step to make the explosion cake in my Tik Tok Video.

Frosting the explosion cake or piñata cake

Using a spatula or knife, apply a very thin even layer of ready-to-spread-frosting to the top and sides of the cake.

Refrigerate for twenty minutes to firm up the frosting. After this time, use a spatula or knife to cover the cake evenly with the remaining frosting.

Decorate the explosion cake or piñata cake with the remaining colored sprinkles.

I hope you enjoy your rainbow explosion cake or piñata cake!

Check out:

• How to make a Thomas The Train Piñata
• How to make a flower crown inspired by Tangled