Not only does this festive bull's-eye cake slice up into pieces that look like giant candy corns, but the inside also holds a secret cache of the treats themselves that spill forth when you cut into the cake. Seem complicated? It's actually pretty simple. Find out how it's done, step by step.
For the Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with parchment. Then, divide your prepared cake batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until the cake has a nice golden-brown crust around the edge, the cake bounces back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely in the cake pans on a rack.
For the Frosting
Combine confectioners' sugar, butter, milk and vanilla in a large bowl, then beat with an electric mixer on low speed until all the sugar is blended into the butter. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Remove 3 tablespoons of frosting and place it in a small bowl; leave this frosting plain. Remove another 3/4 cup of frosting, place it in another bowl, then dye it with the orange food coloring. Dye the remaining 3 3/4 cups of frosting in the mixing bowl with the yellow food coloring. Then, fill a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip with the yellow frosting.
Assemble the Cake
Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of one cake layer (reserve or discard the cutout cake). Put the cake ring on a spinning cake stand or serving platter and frost the top with about 1/2 cup of the yellow frosting. Fill the hole with the candy corn. Put the other cake layer on top, so that the rounded side of the cake is facing up; push down gently to sandwich the two cake layers together.
Frost the Cake
Pipe a ring of yellow frosting along the outside edge of the cake. Pipe a second ring just inside it so they are touching. Pipe the remaining yellow frosting onto the sides of the cake, making sure to connect it to the frosting ring on the top of the cake.
Make It Smooth
Using a large offset spatula, flatten the icing on the side of the cake to frost the outside until smooth.
Add the Orange and White
Fill a second piping bag fitted with a tip with the orange frosting. Then, pipe 3 concentric touching rings of orange frosting just inside the yellow rings. Spoon the reserved white frosting on the center of the cake and spread it flat so that it touches the orange frosting.
Smooth Out the Top
Position the tip of a large offset spatula in the center of the cake so the length of the blade looks like a radius and touches the top of all three frostings. Using one continuous, circular motion with gentle pressure (using a spinning cake stand will help), spread the frostings flat on the top of the cake so they form stripes (some of the frosting will come off with the spatula; do not try to reapply it). Let the cake stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
Get the Full Recipe
Find the full list of ingredients on the recipe page, then watch our how-to video before getting started.
