Dispatches from the test kitchen: Rainbow cake
The second I saw this post over at Omnomicon with photos of an amazing rainbow cake, I knew I'd be trying it at home. It was just a matter of picking an occasion. I even wrote about it on Shine Parenting because I think it's one of those feats that will truly knock your kids' socks off when they see a slice. A Shine reader commented that it would make a cool Easter cake and, mira, that was all the inspiration I needed.
I followed the directions over at Omnomicon to the letter with only one exception: I did not use soda in my cake mix (side note: I used Duncan Hines white cake mix).
Should you want to try to make the Rainbow Cake, let my lessons learned be your tips:
1. The cake: You're using one box of cake mix for each layer. After you're done baking, pick the layer that isn't as pretty for the bottom of your cake. You'll need to trim about 1.5 to 2 inches off the top of the cake to get it to a reasonable height for layering. Use a serrated knife to cut that layer after it has cooled. Be careful, be slow, and don't worry that you're cutting out too many colors. No one will notice.
2. Food gels: Instead of mixing colors to get orange and purple, pick up a pack of regular AND neon Betty Crocker Gel Food Colors. You'll need way more gel than you expect and it's nice to have purple and orange already mixed. Also? If you are looking to get the kids involved, the mixing of the colors with the batter is the perfect time.
3. Frosting: Use cake frosting instead of a whipped topping mix. The flavor of the whipped topic mixed with pudding is good, but it's really, really difficult to move on the cake. Even after being out for a few hours, the whipped topping wasn't very smooth. It felt like I was pushing spackle on plaster. Also? It would pick up lots of crumbs and sometimes would break the cake a bit. (I did receive the tip to put the cake in the freezer for a bit to lessen the crumb fallout.)
So use frosting that is at room temperature. It'll add extra creaminess to the cake and be much easier to push.
4. Once frosted, don't be shocked that this cake weighs a gajillion pounds. It's a thick mutha. But so tasty!
I highly recommend this cake for any party. Forget the "wow" factor--it's just a clever cake that will make guests smile (especially if they are small and under the age of 10).
Plus, the photos! The pretty, pretty photos! My favorite is the cake spatula after several slices.
This post was first published on crazedparent.org.
