Party piñata

1.Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease round cake pan; line base with baking paper.

2.Make cake according to directions on packet. Pour into pan until three-quarters full; bake about 45 minutes. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool.

3.Meanwhile make the chocolate butter cream. Beat the butter in a small narrow bowl with an electric mixer until the butter is as white as possible. Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar, then the milk, then the remaining sifted icing sugar. Beat until the butter cream is smooth and spreadable. Keep scraping down the side of the bowl during beating. Sift cocoa powder in with the icing sugar.

4.Secure cake on cake board with a little butter cream. Using ruler and toothpicks, mark an 11cm circle in the centre of the cake. Using markings as a guide, cut a deep hollow into the cake with a small serrated knife.

5.Spread chocolate butter cream all over cake; allow to set, then fill hollow with selection of lollies.

6.To make piñata shell: grease pudding steamer with oil; place bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt milk Melts; pour into the pudding steamer, swirl Melts to coat the inside of the steamer evenly. Continue swirling until the Melts begins to set and stops flowing around the steamer (keep the Melts a uniform thickness, particularly at the top edge). Stand until chocolate is almost set. Freeze until Melts set completely.

7.Carefully place pudding steamer with set piñata shell over cake; using a hot cloth, briefly rub the outside of the bowl ­the piñata shell should slip from the bowl to enclose the cake.

8.Melt extra milk Melts; secure Smarties and gobstoppers to piñata shell with a little melted compound chocolate.

9.Allow birthday child to break the piñata shell open with the toy hammer.