The Mister's birthday is this week but due to a very full calendar, we decided to celebrate with family over the weekend. I made a rainbow cake which ended up being a big hit with the adults and the kids. When I said I brought a rainbow cake, everyone assumed in was a "Funfetti" cake and so were pleasantly surprised when we cut into it to reveal 8 layers of food coloring over dose!I was sort of guessing as I went along and it seemed to turn out okay. Here is how I did it, for those of you who are curious: I used two white cake mixes and made them according to the package directions. Once the cake mix was made, I put one heaping cup full of batter into a bowl and added the appropriate food coloring. (It is important to measure the batter so all the layers end up being the same thickness. Also, I used Wilton's gel food coloring you find in the cake decorating section at Michael's. I think it is more concentrated than the liquid kind.) Since I only have two round cake pans, I baked two colors at a time, 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then washed out the pans and reused them. I was totally guessing with the amount of batter for each layer and I ended up with one cup left over. Hence the pink layer in my Roy G. Biv cake. I frosted the cake with Swiss Buttercream. It's not as sweet as regular buttercream and I think it is easier to work with. You can find a recipe for it here. (Note: I used the recipe for a 9 inch cake and I had enough frosting for the whole thing. However, I only used a scant amount between each layer. If you like a lot of frosting, you might consider doubling the frosting recipe.)
Have fun!
(Inspiration for the rainbow cake from here.)
What perfect timing! I planned on making a rainbow cake for my daughter's birthday in April... and this is the prettiest cake yet! Thanks for the instructions! Yay!
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ReplyDeletei would love a piece of this cake! looks scrumptious. and it's far prettier than the cake you referenced as your original inspiration. ;-)
ReplyDeletep.s. the author of "smitten kitchen" is in my oakland family ward!
I love, love, love that pink layer. This is super cute :)
ReplyDeletehow creative! this is awesome! i love it :)
ReplyDeleteso cool!!
ReplyDeleteThat cake looks beautiful! I think I'll try it.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT is just fun!
ReplyDeleteLooks great, Kim. We made one awhile back, but just plopped the batter,one on top of the other, in rainbow hues into the same cake pan (we made 2- 8"rounds)and so each piece had a rainbow effect. The kids loved it for a FHE treat and it was quick and easy...but maybe not so visually appealing as the one you made.
ReplyDeleteawesome! love it :)
ReplyDeleteAHH- that is the coolest cake I have ever seen!! You make it look so easy too! I'm sure if I tried it would look like the rainbow threw up, but man that is a dang cute cake!
ReplyDeleteWow. That pink layer is extra pretty. What a gorgeous rainbow cake, and thanks for including the tips/instructions, so that mere mortals like us can attempt the same!
ReplyDeleteKim! I am a bad commenter, but a good reader nonetheless... In your final stages of pregnancy, do you have time for a few pointers on this cake? I am going to make it for Bella's 5th on Thursday. How much food coloring did you use for each layer? Did you have to mix any of them, or did you just buy all the colors? Thanks in advance :)
ReplyDeleteJessie-
ReplyDeleteI just added the food coloring until it looked like the color I wanted. I wanted the colors to be rich and vibrant (not pastel) so some layers needed more food coloring than others. (Highly recommend the Wilton's food coloring you buy at craft stores- I'm not sure but I think it's more concentrated.) I didn't mix any of the colors except indigo (I think I used blue, black and purple)It turned out more like royal blue but at least it's darker than the blue above it. I hope that helps! :)