The only thing better than surprising someone with a cake is surprising that person with a cake that has a surprise inside of it. A polka dot cake is a creative idea to try, and will have others double- taking at their slices of cake and curious as to how the dots were placed inside.

Polka dot cakes are popular on Pinterest, and though they may seem challenging to make or replicate for yourself, it is easier than you think. Many cakes can be beautifully decorated and highly detailed on the outside, but a cake with polka dots inside is less common.

While you can choose to keep how you got the polka dots inside your cake a secret from others, it is fairly easy to attain this cheerful pattern in your dessert.

Polka Dot Cake

2 boxes original Vanilla Betty Crocker Supermoist Cake Mix, or any cake mix of your choosing

6 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

2 drops food coloring

Heat the oven to 350 F.

Before you start, make sure you have two medium mixing bowls to separate the colored cake batter from the white cake batter. Prepare one box by mixing water, eggs, vegetable oil and cake mix in a bowl. In another bowl, prepare the other packaged mix in the box the same way, and then add the food coloring to the batter.

Set aside the white cake batter, and pour one spoonful of the colored food batter into the molds of the cake pop maker. Close the cake pop maker’s lid and allow the cake balls to bake for about eight minutes.

After the colored cake balls are fluffy, round and fully baked, remove them from the molds with a fork and place them on a plate.

Spray a 6-inch-by-3-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and then fill the pan with enough white batter to fully cover the bottom – about a centimeter thick.

After pouring some of the white batter, place about five to 10 colored balls in the cake pan. Cover the covered balls in the remaining batter, filling up the cake pan with the white batter. Then place the cake pan in the oven and let bake for about 20 minutes. After the cake is baked, remove from the oven and let the cake cool for a couple hours before decorating it with icing.

Once decorated, slice and serve immediately or store cake in a cake container and refrigerate.

While the nutritional value of a cake may be slim to none, the milestones associated with cakes are not. Cakes are often synonymous with celebration, and it’s hard to deny the presence of cakes in our lives growing up, whether it be the Disney princess cake you picked at the bakery for your eighth birthday, the moist milk cake your family enjoys every Thanksgiving, or the last minute cake you whipped up as an anniversary present for your significant other.

For your next special occasion, a polka dot cake may be the idea that’s spot on.

Hope Roberts can be reached at [email protected]