Now that warmer weather is here, school celebrations, outdoor birthday parties, and spring cookouts are happening. But if you’re gluten free, that probably means missing out on the baked treats and hoping that someone brought some ice cream. Luckily, Pillsbury™ now makes awesome gluten free premium cake mixes, brownie mix, cookie mixes, and frostings that make gluten free treats like my Gluten Free Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake easy enough for anyone to make – and all to enjoy.
Why a Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cakes for spring?
Here in Georgia, the flowers are blooming and I’m surrounded by a riot of greens, purples, reds, and yellows. Inspired by all the gorgeous colors of spring, I wanted to create a Gluten Free Surprise inside cake – also called a piñata cake – using Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Gluten Free Cake & Cupcake Mix and Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Vanilla Flavored Frosting.
I thought a rainbow of colorful jelly beans would be go well with the sprinkles included with the Funfetti® frosting. I also felt that the jelly beans would be delicious and easy to eat along with a moist, gluten free cake unlike hard candy or big pieces of chocolate.
But I wondered, are jelly beans gluten free? I consulted the General Candy List at the Celiac Disease Foundation’s website and found out what brand they recommended.
Get your Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake supplies at Walmart
Another way to find out if jelly beans are gluten free is by checking packages while shopping at Walmart. You see, I got all my supplies to make my Gluten Free Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake at Walmart! (And most of the cake baking and decorating materials I didn’t already own, too!)That’s why I’m thrilled that Pillsbury™ came out with this line of gluten free baking mixes.
You see, when when my mother-in-law was diagnosed as having celiacs, you could only get gluten free baking mixes online or at health food stores. They were very expensive and were terrible. Now she can buy gluten free Pillsbury™cake and cookie mixes at a store she normally goes to and doesn’t feel like she’s paying too much for a product that tastes awful. Pillsbury™ gluten free baking mixes are easy for her to find, too, since they’re with the regular baking supplies.
I also like Pillsbury™ gluten free baking mixes because if you know that you have a few gluten free people coming to a party, you can make your cake or cookies for everyone and not worry that people will go “Ewwww, gluten free – yuck.” The Pillsbury™ gluten free products taste just as good as the regular Pillsbury™ mixes.
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More surprise inside cake ideas
Gluten Free Surprise Inside Cakes are versatile! Here are some more fun cake decorating ideas:
You can decorate Surprise Inside Cakes using whatever flavor or color of Pillsbury™ frosting or Pillsbury™ Gluten Free Cake Mix you like.
Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for cake decorating ideas. A big trend with brides is showing the cake layers like I used in the Gluten Free Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake.
If the Surprise Inside Cake is made for a baby shower as a “gender reveal” surprise inside, use a neutral frosting on the outside and either pink or blue candies on the inside.
You can use other types of gluten free candies in your Surprise Inside Cake such as gummy bears, chocolate kisses, M&Ms or chocolate chips.
Are you making a surprise inside cake for a school function, like after prom or a team banquet? Use candies in the school colors!
Small wrapped candies can be put into surprise inside cakes! Those can be unwrapped after having the cake.
Experiment with the piping on the bottom and top edges. A Surprise Inside Cake is a whimsical cake – have fun with it!
Discover more ways to #MixUpAMoment with Pillsbury™ gluten free mixes!
This Mama’s tips for making a Gluten Free Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake recipe
Now that Pillsbury™ makes wonderful gluten free cake mixes and frostings, you may find that you enjoy cake decorating. If so, take some classes at your local crafts store. I took the entire cake decorating class series many years ago and still use those skills in my cooking and baking.
I buy most of my cake decorating supplies at Walmart. These supplies are located next to the party supplies at my Walmart and not in the housewares section. In your store it may be where the crafts are located.
If you want to start making more gluten free cakes for parties, invest in two cake decorating 8-inch professional baking pans. Regular cake pans are slanted. Professional cake decorating pans have straight sides, so the cake layers stack perfectly and are easier to frost.
Since you’re baking the batter in two pans, you will need to cut them in half to make four cake layers. Experienced bakers will use a bread knife to cut them in half. This makes me nervous, so I use a cake leveler instead. So much easier and worth the price!
Another product I swear by is Cake Release. Some people grease then flour their cake pans. Others line their cake pan with parchment. Cake Release works perfectly every time and I’ve never had a cake stick to the pan when I’ve used it.
A new product I came across when I was in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart was Crumb Sealing Spray. If you’re worried about getting crumbs in your frosting, spray Crumb Sealing Spray on the cake, place the cake in the refrigerator for 3 minutes, then frost the cake. It’s coconut oil in spray form. Very clever and it works well.
Cutting the hole for the candy: I used a cooking ring to cut the hole in my two cake layers. Or you can use a large round cookie cutter. Another option is place something something round on the cake layers and then carefully use a knife to cut around it. Also the hole can be as big – or as large – as you want. Just think about how much candy you want versus how much cake and frosting per slice.
I love my small offset spatula so much that I have two! Plus a large one as well, because sometimes you need help lifting cakes to cake stands.
Speaking of lifting, you need to purchase some 8” cake boards. They’re heavy circles of cardboard that you place your cake on. If you cover the board with parchment, wax or freezer paper or foil, you can reuse it. Since a dinner plate isn’t exactly flat and that darn cake stand is a bit large to fit in the refrigerator.
Gluten Free Surprise Inside Jelly Bean Cake
Print
Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Release
1 box Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Gluten Free Cake & Cupcake Mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 (7.5 ounce) bag gluten free jelly beans
Crumb Sealing Spray
2 cans Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Vanilla Flavored Frosting
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F. Spread cake release on bottom and insides of two 8-inch professional cake decorating pans with a pastry brush.
Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Mix until moistened. Beat with mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium for 2 minutes. Pour half of batter into one pan and other half into other pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 34 to 38 minutes. When toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, cake is done.
Remove cake from oven and place on cake rack. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Cut cake layers horizontally with a bread knife or a cake leveler so you have four cake layers. Place one cake layer on covered 8-inch cake board.
Place two layers on top of each other on a cutting board. Taking a round cookie cutter or large round cookie cutter, cut a hole through each cake layer. This will be hole where the jelly beans will be. Put the extra cake aside. Don’t eat it for a snack yet as you’ll need one round piece during the frosting process.
Frost the first cake layer on the cake board with a third of the can of Funfetti® Vanilla frosting.
Carefully place the first ring layer on top of that layer. Use a spatula to carefully remove the frosting from the hole so the candy does not get covered in frosting. You want it spill out when the cake is cut.
Frost the first ring layer with the second third of the can of Funfetti® Vanilla frosting.
Carefully place the first ring layer on top of that layer. Frost the first ring layer with the remaining Funfetti® Vanilla frosting.
Now fill up the hole with the jelly beans. It’s OK to pat down the candy a bit as you want to pack in as much candy as possible.
Using the second can of Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Vanilla Flavored Frosting, frost the second ring being careful not to get frosting on the candy. Place the cut out circle of cake on top of the candy to protect it from getting frosted.
Place last cake layer on top of cake being careful to center it.
Coat cake with Crumb Sealing Spray and refrigerate for 3 minutes per can directions.
Remove cake from refrigerator. Frost cake sides and top as you wish. Refrigerate cake until serving time.
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 38 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
Servings: 1 cake
Serving size: 1 slice
Stop by on April 21 to check out my Gluten Free Brownie Cupcake recipe!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine.