Rainbow Cake

Hello! 

When thinking about what my first post should be, I thought that a beautiful rainbow cake would be perfect!  I baked this cake a couple of months ago for a friend's birthday.  This friend is tough to please because she doesn't like chocolate (I know, right...weirdo :))  Being that my biggest obsession is chocolate, I tend to bake everything as if it's going to be all mine!  So, I had to be creative to find something just as yummy and of course it had to have the cool factor as well.

I tried to document each step as I went along.  It was a very lengthy process and to be honest, I don't think I'll make this cake completely from scratch again.  A box cake never hurt anyone and this seems like the perfect time to put that statement into use. 

I found this recipe here...she was on the Martha Stewart show too!  And everyone knows that I strive to be Martha in every way that I can so this instantly gained a few points on me.  Be sure to watch the video of her on the Martha Stewart show that she has posted on her blog.

Then, I found another recipe here with the same concept.  Except this girl decided to use box cakes, which I think is a great idea if you don't have a whole day to make this (seriously, it was a lengthy process).

White Cake:

2 sticks Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)

2 1/3 cups Sugar

5 Egg Whites (Room Temp)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

3 cups Flour

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt (unless using Salted Butter)

1 1/2 cups Milk (Room Temp)--warm in microwave for 30 seconds to bring it to room temp

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple GEL Food Coloring (MUST use GEL)

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Oil and line your cake pans.  I would recommend either using 8" or 9" pans.  (I used 8" pans)  Rub each one down with Crisco or butter and then line with parchment paper and oil on the outside of that too.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  (If you don't want to break out the sifter, just mix with a whisk until well combined)  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter until smooth.  Add the egg whites one at a time.  Add Vanilla and mix until incorporated. 

Alternate between the wet and dry ingredients by adding the milk and flour in two parts.  I always start with the dry and end with the wet.

Divide the batter between 6 bowls.  It ends up being about 1 cup each.  Stir in a good amount of each food coloring into each bowl of batter.  I used a fork to stir each one to ensure that color is throughout.  Now you are ready to pour the batter into your pans and bake.  I only have 3 cake pans so I just baked 3 at a time. 

Bake these for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them rest on the cooling rack while still in the pan for about 10 minutes.  Then, flip them over and cross your fingers that they remove cleanly.  Then cover them and put them in the fridge to cool completely before frosting.

White Frosting:

It is completely insane how much butter goes into this frosting!

To fill and crumb coat:

9 Egg Whites

1 3/4 cups Sugar

4 sticks Butter (Room Temp)

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

To frost:

5 Egg Whites

1 cup Sugar

2 sticks Butter (Room Temp)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

I made these in two separate batches to make frosting easier and so my mixer wouldn't be overflowing.

Cook egg whites and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat, whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely.  You can test this by rubbing it between your fingers to see if you still feel the grains of sugar.  Now, pour this into your clean mixer and whip on high speed until it comes to room temperature.  Then, on medium-slow speed, add the butter slowly.  You can cut the butter into tablespoon pieces and add them one at a time.  (It would probably be easier to whip the butter first and add it that way)  After all the butter has been added, turn your mixer on high speed and whip until it has all come together.  This takes about five minutes.  Now add the vanilla extract, beat briefly, and then use. 

If the frosting seems soupy after you have whipped in all of the butter, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and then whip it again until it is fluffy and a frosting consistency. 

Assemble your cake in any order you would like.  I liked to stay with the ROY G BIV order (RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, VIOLET)

You can keep this cake in the fridge but I would suggest getting it back to room temperature before you cut it so it will slice cleanly.

So here is my masterpiece! 

Let's be honest, it's not nearly as neat and pretty as the ones in the other two blogs.  But I was proud! :)