Polka Dot Cake

I'm always looking to learn fun new tricks when baking.  I know that I've got a long way to go to become good at decorating cakes (I think I need to take some classes!) but I figure I can still find other little ways to dress up cakes...on the inside!  I saw some pictures for "polka dot cakes" and did some reading on how to make them, and I came up with this way for my first go at making one!  Here is what I did:

2 white cake mixes, plus all the ingredients needed to make the cakes
Food colouring (your choice of colours)
Icing

Preheat oven according to box instruction.

Take your first cake mix and prepare the batter according to directions. 

Divide the batter evenly into the number of bowls that you are wanting colours for your polka dots.  I decided to make pink and purple polka dots, so I needed two bowls.  Add the food colouring to the batter until you reach your desired colour.  Pour batter into cake pans.

Bake the cakes according to the box directions.  Note - I always bake for less time than the box states, it may be due to elevation, but I just find they bake faster than the box guidelines.

Cool the cakes completely, then break each cake apart to make your cake balls.  I added a little bit of icing into each cake to help stick the cake balls together.  Form your cake balls, place them on a plate, cover and put them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  I left mine in the fridge overnight as I started the project around 9 pm!

Once the cake balls have chilled, prepare the second cake mix according to the box instructions.  Pour the batter into the cake pans (I used 9x9) and then place the cake balls in the batter.  Bake the cakes according to direction (again, I bake for less time than the box recommends).

Once the cakes are baked, cool completely, and ice them.  I made my own buttercream icing for this project.

Now...when you cut into that cake...what a nice surprise to find pops of colour!

VERDICT:
While cake balls a re a bit of work (one of those cake pop baking machines are tempting to try to speed up the baking process), it was fun to have the different dots of colour in the cake.  I made this cake as a little belated birthday cake for my Mom (they were away for her actual birthday), and it went over well, especially with our 5 year old, who usually only eats icing! (He ate the cake too, because of the polka dots). I will experiment again in the future with smaller cake balls, just to see the difference, and maybe use different baking pans, all for fun!