Best Stuffed Candy Corn Cake Recipes

STUFFED PINATA CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottom of each with parchment.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk together in another medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy. Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on medium low until incorporated. Now add a third of the egg-milk mixture and continue to beat on medium low until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour and egg-milk mixtures, finishing with the flour.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
• For the frosting: Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water.
• Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixer bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and whisk until the mixture is warm to the touch and the sugar completely dissolves. Transfer to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Toss in a couple of chunks of butter at a time, making sure the pieces are incorporated before adding more. After all the butter is added, continue beating on medium-high speed. The mixture will deflate and appear curdled. Continue beating until the frosting comes back together to a smooth and spreadable consistency. (If the frosting is very soft or begins to break, refrigerate until set but still spreadable, then beat until light before using.)
• For the filling and decoration: Dye the coconut: Have ready 5 resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Put 1 1/2 cups of the coconut in one container with 6 to 8 drops of blue food coloring. Put 1 cup of coconut in the second container with 5 to 6 drops of orange food coloring, 1 cup of coconut in the third with 5 to 6 drops yellow food coloring and 1 cup of coconut in the fourth with 6 to 8 drops purple food coloring. Put the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in the fifth container with 4 to 5 drops pink food coloring. Seal each container and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring 1 drop at a time as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
• Assemble the cake: Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put one of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with candy. Cut one of the reserved cake rounds in half horizontally to make 2 thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
• Cut a strip of parchment about 30 inches long and 3 inches wide. Wrap this parchment around the cake like a collar, leaving 1 inch of frosting exposed around the bottom perimeter of the cake. Pack some of the blue coconut onto the exposed frosting to make your first strip of color. Lift the collar up another 1 inch and do the same with the orange coconut. Remove the collar and fill the remaining inch of frosting with the yellow coconut. For the top, make 1-inch-wide rings, starting on the outside and working your way in, with the purple, pink, blue and orange coconut until the top is completely covered. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.

LAYERED CANDY CORN PIE

Steps:

• For the cookie crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the cookie crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Stir in the butter and continue to mix until the mixture looks like wet sand and holds together when pinched.
• Firmly press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake until the crust is set and lightly toasted, 12 to 15 minutes. If the crust puffs while baking, use the bottom of measuring cup to gently press the crust back down while it's still warm. Cool completely.
• For the lemon filling: Once the crust is cool, combine the lemon juice and gelatin in a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside to let gelatin soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add the coconut milk, sugar, turmeric and salt to a blender and blend on medium speed until combined. Microwave the juice-gelatin mixture until just hot and liquefied, about 30 seconds. Stir to make sure the gelatin is dissolved, then add to the coconut-milk mixture in the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into the cooled crust, then refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
• For the mango filling: Combine 1/4 cup of the orange juice and the gelatin in a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside to let gelatin soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add the mango, raspberries, sugar, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon orange juice to a blender and blend on medium speed until smooth and combined, scraping down the sides of the jar with a rubber spatula as needed. Microwave the juice-gelatin mixture until just hot and liquefied, about 30 seconds. Stir to make sure the gelatin is dissolved, then add to the mango mixture in the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve directly on top of the set lemon layer, pressing on the solids in the sieve with a rubber spatula to extract as much filling as possible. Spread into a smooth and even layer using an offset spatula, then refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.
• For the coconut filling: Combine 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and the gelatin in a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside to let gelatin soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add the remaining 3/4 cup coconut milk, sugar, coconut extract and salt to a blender and blend on medium speed until combined. Microwave the coconut milk-gelatin mixture until just hot and liquefied, about 30 seconds. Stir to make sure the gelatin is dissolved, then add to the coconut mixture in the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve directly on top of the set mango layer, then refrigerate until the filling is firmly set and with only the slightest jiggle when moved, at least 2 hours or up to overnight (wrap tightly in plastic wrap).
• For the toasted meringue topping: Combine the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and cornstarch in a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the egg whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Beat in the coconut extract, then transfer to a piping bag fitting with a round pastry tip.
• Pipe 1-inch dollops of meringue on top of the pie, layering upward as you go, until all the meringue is used. Use a small kitchen torch to toast the meringue until deep golden brown. Nestle candy corn throughout the toasted meringue, then cut into wedges to serve.

HALLOWEEN SURPRISE STUFFED CANDY CORN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat and prep: preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottom (not the sides) of three 6" round cake pans. On top of that, place a piece of parchment, cut to fit in the bottom of the pan, and again lightly grease the top of the parchment paper.
• Mix it up: mix up a batch of my Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake (find the full recipe and post here!).
• Divide and color your batter: divide the batter into thirds (weighing this on a kitchen scale is a great way to ensure accuracy if you have one!), leaving one-third un-colored, and coloring the other two portions orange and yellow respectively to your desired depth of color.
• Pan and bake: pour each portion into its own pan and spread into an even layer using a spatula, offset spatula (my favorite!), or a dinner knife. Bake for 34-38 minutes until top is fully set, and the center springs back when lightly touched.
• Un-pan and cool: allow cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Then, use a knife or offset spatula to loosen the cake edges from the pan, un-pan the cakes, then allow to cool fully while preparing the frosting.
• Make the frosting: while your cakes cool, whip up a batch of Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (find the full recipe and post here!). Because we want a slightly stiffer frosting for this cake, you can add the powdered sugar all at once instead of in several batches.
• Divide and color: divide the frosting into equal thirds, leaving one in your mixing bowl and placing the other portions in two small bowls. Color one bowl yellow, and one bowl orange to your desired depth of color and leave the last third in the mixing bowl white.
• Level cakes (only if needed): if your cakes have a high dome, level by using a serrated knife and cutting horizontally across the cake while holding the knife level. (If your cakes came out naturally level-ish, feel free to skip this step).
• Cut out the core: using a 3" round cookie cutter or tracing a 3" wide parchment circle with a paring knife, cut a circle out of the center of the orange and yellow layers (be sure to leave the "white" layer for the top whole!).
• Fill piping bags and attach cake to serving plate: place each color of frosting in its own piping bag fitted with a large round tip or with the end cut off to form a 1/2" wide round hole (if you don't have piping bags, you can use a zip top bag with the corner cut off to a 1/2" opening). Pipe a few little spots of yellow frosting on the bottom of the yellow cake ring and press it onto the center of your serving plate.**
• Stack it up: pipe a full layer of yellow frosting (about 1/4-1/2" thick) on top of the yellow cake ring. (Leave a little space towards the inner rim so the frosting doesn't squish out into the core and make a mess of your candy!) Spread icing into an even-ish layer all the way to the outer edge. Top with the orange ring of cake, centering it and pressing it gently into the first layer of frosting.
• Add in the surprise: you'll now have a cake stack with an empty core with the "white" layer on the side. If you see any frosting squishing out inside the core, just use a dinner knife or offset spatula to remove it or smooth it into the cake. Fill the center of the cake with the candy corn, as far up as you like (I filled mine right to the top which took about 1 cup of candy corn).
• Seal off the cake: finally, pipe a layer of orange frosting on top of the orange cake ring, just as before (leaving a little room on the inner edge, but spreading into an even layer to the outer edge). Add the white cake layer on top, wiggle it to the center, and gently press down to fully adhere it to the frosting below.
• Smooth it off: use a straight-edge cake comb or offset spatula to smooth the excess frosting between the layers on the outside of the cake. If the cake feels a little wobbly from the softened frosting, chill for 20-30 minutes in the fridge before finishing the outside.
• Pipe on the stripes: when you're ready to finish the decoration on the outside, pipe yellow rings around the bottom yellow layer, pipe orange rings around the middle orange layer, and white rings around the top third (check out the video to see this in action!). Use a straight-edge cake comb or offset spatula to smooth the excess frosting between the layers on the outside of the cake.
• Finish the top, then chill: use the remaining white frosting to frost and smooth out the top of the cake, and add as many or as few decorations on top as your heart desires! Chill the cake for at least 2 hours before serving.
• Serve up a candy corn surprise! If possible, allow cake to sit for about an hour at room temp before service. Slice and share to watch the candy corn surprise put a smile on everyone's face, then enjoy the tasty cake that made it possible!