Rainbow Cake!



I originally saw this cake on a blog that I follow, called Not Martha. The writer, Megan, is quite funny and I think we share the same outlook on food a lot of the time. On St. Patrick's Day, she posted a Leprechaun Trap Cake and I was so impressed that I decided right then and there to make it. Since St. Patrick's was done and gone, I decided to make it an Easter themed cake instead. I followed the instructions for the Leprechaun Cake and just ad-libbed my own decorations and frosting.

This cake nearly killed me. That sounds a tad dramatic, but I know the limits of my patience, and this almost got the better of me. I'm not daunted by a complex process; some of the cooking I've done is quite difficult. But this recipe reminded me of all the reasons that I shy away from baking: I dislike measuring, I like to see things happening instead of just waiting around, and I loathe not knowing whether or not something will turn out the way I want. With cooking, none of those issues phase me. Baking is a whole different story. I was on pins and needles the whole time the cake was baking. That being said, I was thrilled with the results when I cut into it. The rainbow itself looked good and the colors were great. Best of all, the kids at the party loved it and that was the main goal.

For the Easter decorations, I found some edible Easter grass at Meijer and a marshmallow bunny for the top. I went with a store-bought Rainbow Chip frosting for two reasons. One, it's my favorite and it fit with the "rainbow" theme of the cake.  Two, I was not in the mood to make frosting. Nothing fancy, but it worked. 

I literally jumped up and down and squealed in my kitchen when I cut out a slice of the cake. It's gorgeous, right?

The breakdown:

• Flavor/Texture: Like the original blog, I went with a boxed cake mix and cooked it at a lower temp than recommended to prevent doming.  It was moist and fluffy.
• Difficulty: I'm not gonna lie - getting a good rainbow was tough. I had a hard time trying to keep the rings relatively the same width, even with the help from the Not Martha blog. It was mainly successful, but it wasn't easy. An avid baker might have found this more enjoyable.
• Pros: It looks awesome and I was very proud that my efforts paid off.
• Cons: The method was time consuming, messy and dirtied quite a bit of equipment. I stained my hands up pretty good.
• Misc: For the rainbow batter, I opted for professional gel "tasteless" food coloring to get the vibrant colors I wanted, without that nasty dye aftertaste. It worked quite well. I followed the 6-5-4-3-2-1 ratio in the original blog and worked under the fact that 1/4 cup is 2 fluid ounces. I did not trim the top of the cake to flatten it. My cake didn't really dome up much and I figured that cutting anything away might result in losing the last layer of the rainbow.
• Encore Performance: Now that I am familiar with the method for creating the rainbow, I'm sure the recipe will be easier next time.  Even so, this recipe will only be pulled out for special requests.

If you attempt the rainbow cake, I would love to see your take on it!