Birthdays are always celebrated in our house with a home-made cake of the lucky birthday boy or girl’s choosing. Last weekend we celebrated our daughters’ fifteenth birthday. This time last year I made elegant Mini Strawberry Cloud Cakes With Chocolate Bottoms and Fresh Raspberries. This year their joint request was a little more retro and challenging. A decadent teenage balayage inspired sugar high; a chocolate and caramel ombré piñata cake.

Picture this. Four layers of vanilla, caramel, chocolate-caramel and  dark chocolate sponge. Sandwiched with dulche de leche. Smothered in chocolate ganache. Filled with mini m&m’s and jelly tots. The original inspiration coming from a BBC Food recipe for a much simpler Chocolate and Caramel Ombré Cake  which I eventually adapted with some fiddling about into a piñata extravaganza.

Happily it took just a little over three hours to bake and put together. Fortunately I had tins of dulche de leche squirreled away in the pantry cupboard from a rather large batch prepared earlier. On the day I only had to bake the cakes and whip up the ganache, for what turned out to be a rather straight forward assembly.

What can I say? This cake truly is a party  show stopper.  The pure, unadulterated joy on the girls’ faces and squeals of excitement as they blew out the candles was priceless.  The tumble of lollies as they cut through the first slice captured by a flurry of instagrams and snap chats. Fingers crossed they won’t raise the bar any higher next year.

Four Layer Chocolate And Caramel Ombré Piñata Birthday Cake.
Serves 12 -16

4 layer cakes – vanilla, caramel, chocolate-caramel and chocolate (recipe follows)
1 tin Dulche de Leche, at room temperature (recipe follows)
1 large bowl chocolate ganache frosting, at room temperature (recipe follows)
2 large 180g bags mini m&m’s
1 large 140g bag jelly tots

TAKE the caramel and chocolate-caramel layer cakes and using a 10cm round food presentation ring or scone cutter, stamp out the centres of the cakes. Set aside. The rings will be used as the middle layers for the ombré piñata cake. I like to make a mini cake from the centres using leftover dulche de leche, ganache and lollies.
PLACE the vanilla layer cake on a wire rack and spread a quarter to a third of the tin of dulche de leche in a ring over the top of the cake, leaving a 10cm circle bare in the centre.
PLACE the caramel sponge ring on top of the dulche de leche covered vanilla cake. Spread another quarter to a third of the tin of dulche de leche over the top of the cake.
PLACE the chocolate-caramel sponge ring on top of the dulche de leche covered caramel ring.
FILL the centre with one packet mini m&m’s and one packet jelly tots. Reserve the remaining packet of m&m’s for decoration.
SPREAD the remaining quarter to a third of the tin of dulche de leche over the top of the chocolate-caramel ring cake. Reserve just a little to sandwich the centre cut sponge circles if making a mini cake.
PLACE chocolate layer cake over the dulche de leche covered chocolate-caramel ring cake.
USING a palate knife spread the chocolate ganache frosting over the entire cake, starting with the sides and finishing with the top. Quantities provided for the ganache are generous, use leftovers to frost the mini cake (if making) or use as a decadent milkshake or hot cocoa flavouring.
DECORATE with remaining packet of m&m’s. Cake will keep moist stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to three days, but of course is at its best eaten on the day. The lollies will tumble out of the cake pinata style when sliced.

For The Vanilla And Chocolate Sponge Layers
Adapted From BBC Good Food Chocolate and Caramel Ombré Cake

225g very soft butter, plus extra for greasing the cake tins
225g (1 cup) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
175g (1 1/4 cups) self raising flour
85g (2/3 cup) ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
150ml natural yoghurt
5 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
2 1/2 tablespoons boiling water

PREHEAT oven to 160 C fan-forced. Grease, flour and base line 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins
BEAT butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until just incorporated.
SIFT together self raising flour, almond meal and baking powder. Fold into butter/sugar/egg mixture with yoghurt in two batches.  When smooth divide mixture into two portions.
DISSOLVE cocoa powder in boiling water and stir into one portion of the cake batter.
POUR vanilla and chocolate batters into prepared tins and smooth tops with a spatula.
BAKE for 25 – 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Set aside for 15 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a wire rack to cool.

For The Caramel And Chocolate-Caramel Sponge Layers
Adapted from BBC Good Food Chocolate and Caramel Ombré Cake

225g very soft butter, plus extra for greasing the cake tins
175g (3/4 cup) light muscovado (brown) sugar
55g (1/4 cup) dark muscovado (dark brown) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
175g (1 1/4 cups) self raising flour
85g (2/3 cup) ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
150ml natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tablespoon boiling water

PREHEAT oven to 160 C fan-forced. Grease, flour and base line 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins
BEAT butter and sugars together until pale and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until just incorporated.
SIFT together self raising flour, almond meal and baking powder. Fold into butter/sugar/egg mixture with yoghurt in two batches.  When smooth divide mixture into two portions.
DISSOLVE cocoa powder in boiling water and stir into one portion of the cake batter.
POUR caramel and chocolate-caramel batters into prepared tins and smooth tops with a spatula.
BAKE for 25 – 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Set aside for 15 minutes before inverting the cakes onto a wire rack to cool.

For The Chocolate Ganache Frosting

220g block dark chocolate, chopped
220g block milk chocolate, chopped
300ml thickened cream

WHILE cakes are cooling, combine chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
SET aside at room temperature to cool, stirring occasionally until ganache is thick and spreadable. If it is a hot and humid day, place the melted chocolate and cream mixture into the fridge for about 10 minutes to speed up the cooling process.

For The Dulche De Leche Filling

1 tin sweetened condensed milk.

PREPARE the Dulche de Leche at least a day ahead using this recipe from my previous blog post Easy Slow Cooker Dulche De Leche. Alternatively you can use a commercially sourced product, if available.
Once made unopened tins of Dulche De Leche can be stored in the pantry indefinitely.