Happy Friday! Tomorrow is National Polka Dot Day and I’m planning to Rock the Dots with Minnie’s Polka Dot Cake! This fun lemon cake has red and pink polka dot cake balls inside, a tangy lemon cream cheese frosting, and polka dot sprinkles! It’s bright and cheery, just like Minnie!
Minnie Mouse is one of my favorite characters and so I knew I wanted to celebrate National Polka Dot Day with something bright and fun like her. Lemon cake was the perfect fit and since Minnie’s signature style includes lots of polka dots, I added some polka dots to the cake in her favorite colors, red and pink.
To make the polka dot cake balls, I used a boxed white cake mix. You could use any kind of cake mix you’d like, but it’s helpful to use a light color mix so that it dyes easily. Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the package. Divide the batter into two bowls and add a few drops of red gel food coloring to one and a few drops of pink gel food coloring to the other. For this, I used Americolor’s gel food coloring in red and deep pink. Once the colors are evenly distributed, transfer them to greased cake pans and bake according to the package instructions.
While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the buttercream frosting. This will be used to hold the cake balls together. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and then gradually add the powdered sugar. Add the milk and beat until combined. Then, beat on high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Once the cakes have cooled, crumble the cakes into two large bowls, one for each color. Add a large spoonful of frosting to the bowls and use your hands to combine the cake and frosting. Add more frosting if needed. You should end up with a large mass of cake that feels moist and firm. Use your hands to roll the cake into small to medium size balls. Place the balls on a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour.
To make the lemon cake, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in the medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the sugar butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour.
Divide the cake batter between three 9-inch round cake pans that have been greased and lined with parchment paper. Gently press the red and pink cake balls into the batter. Bake the cakes for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the lemon cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the lemonade concentrate. The icing might be a bit runny. If it’s too runny to work with, place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
To assemble the cake, first use a serrated knife to trim the tops of the cakes. Make sure the tops are flat and even. Then, place one cake, cut side up, on a cake stand or plate flipped upside down. Spread a large scoop of frosting over the top. Place a second cake, cut side down, on top of the first cake and spread a large scoop of frosting over the top. Add the third cake, cut side down on top of the two cakes.
Place 1-2 large scoops of frosting on the top and use a large offset spatula to spread the frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake. This will become the crumb coat, so the frosting doesn’t have to be perfect. Once frosted, place the cake and the remaining frosting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and frost a second time with the remaining frosting.
To decorate the cake, gently press the round cookie cutter into the top of the cake and pour some of the sprinkles into it to create a polka dots. For this, I used a red and white sprinkle mix from Wilton. Continue add polka dots until the top of the cake is decorated.
Happy National Polka Dot Day! Enjoy Minnie’s Polka Dot Cake!
Minnie’s Polka Dot Cake
Ingredients
Polka Dot Cake Balls
- 1 package white or yellow cake mix
- buttercream frosting, see below
- red gel food coloring
- pink gel food coloring
Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Lemon Cake
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
Equipment
- 3 9- inch round cake pans
- parchment paper
- red/pink sprinkles
- small round cookie cutter
Instructions
Polka Dot Cake Balls
-
Prepare the box cake mix according to the directions on the package.
-
Divide the batter into two bowls. Add a few drops of red gel food coloring to one of the bowls and a few drops of pink gel food coloring to the other. Mix until the color is evenly distributed.
-
Transfer the batters to two cake pans and bake according to the directions on the package.
-
Once the cakes have cooled, crumble the cakes into two large bowls, one for each color.
-
Add a large spoonful of buttercream frosting to each bowl and use your hands to combine the cake and the frosting. Add more frosting if needed, until you have a moist, firm, mass of cake.
-
Shape the cake into balls and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
-
Chill the cake balls in the refrigerator for one hour.
Buttercream Frosting
-
In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
-
Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
-
Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
-
Add the milk and beat to combine.
-
On high speed, beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy.
Lemon Cake
-
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
-
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
-
In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
-
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice.
-
Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
-
Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans.
-
Gently press the red and pink cake balls into the lemon cake batter.
-
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
-
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
-
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
-
Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
-
Beat in the lemonade concentrate.
-
The icing might be a bit runny. If it’s too runny to work with, place it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to firm up.
Assembly
-
Use a serrated knife to trim the tops of the cakes. Make sure the tops are flat and even.
-
Place one cake, cut side up, on a cake stand or plate flipped upside down. Spread a large scoop of frosting over the top. Place a second cake, cut side down, on top of the first cake and spread a large scoop of frosting over the top. Place the third cake, cut side down on top of the two cakes.
-
Place 1-2 large scoops of frosting on the top and use a large offset spatula to spread the frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake. This will become the crumb coat, so the frosting doesn’t have to be perfect.
-
Once frosted, place the cake and the remaining frosting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
-
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and frost a second time with the remaining frosting.
-
To decorate the cake, gently press the round cookie cutter into the top of the cake and pour some of the sprinkles into it to create a polka dot. Repeat until the top of the cake is decorated.
Recipe Notes
adapted from Bon Appetit