Polka-Dot Cake

Surprise Inside!

Makes 12 servings

Don’t worry if you’re seeing spots on your cake—they’re just doughnut holes! On the outside, they form a striking pattern, and baked into the chocolate batter, they make the easiest polka-dot cake ever.

• 1 recipe Perfect Cake Mix batter (see recipe) made with devil’s food cake mix
• 15 plain doughnut holes (Munchkins)
• 3 each cinnamon-sugar, powdered sugar, and chocolate doughnut holes (Munchkins)
• 1 can (16 ounces) chocolate frosting

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8-inch springform pan (see Please Release Me). Spoon one third of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan and smooth. Press 7 of the plain doughnut holes into the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter over the doughnut holes to cover and smooth. Press 5 more plain doughnut holes into the batter (reserve the remaining 3 plain doughnut holes for decoration). Spoon the remaining batter on top, making sure that the doughnut holes are completely covered, and smooth.

2 Bake until the cake is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Invert, remove the pan, and cool completely.

3 Cut all the remaining doughnut holes in half to make 24 semicircles.

4 Transfer the cooled cake to a serving platter. Spread the chocolate frosting on the sides and top of the cake and make soft swirls with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon (see Spooned Frosting). Press the halved doughnut holes, cut side down, into the frosting in an evenly spaced pattern over the top and sides of the cake.