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Super Tall Amazing Rainbow Birthday Cake!
When my older sister was about 9, my mom made her this legendary multi-tiered cake that was all white on the outside but with each layer of the cake being a different color of the rainbow, arranged, natch, in rainbow order. I re-created a similar cake about 4 years ago when my niece Leila turned 5, with a chocolate outside and a strong structural resemblance to the leaning tower of Pisa. Yesterday my other niece Mitra turned 5, and got her very own rainbow cake, thanks to the combined efforts of my sister and I!
The kids go CRAZY when you cut into it- but believe me, it's not easy to cut into it. The cake comes out super tall and huge, so much so that out of 6 or 7 kids yesterday, only 1 ate the whole piece.
before cutting it just looks like a super tall white cake... after cutting, the excitement begins.
So how do you make this beaut? It's actually not as hard as it looks. We just use 2 yellow cake mixes (the yellow cake mix renders richer colors than the white.) Mix the cake mixes as usual, divide the whole lot evenly among 6 bowls and use regular food color to get the different colors. (Mitra was the colorizer for this particular cake and I think she did a fine job of getting her Roy G Biv- sans i, however.) Bake each layer separately, cool, then stack, gluing together each layer with a bit of icing. There is actually a fair amount of icing between each layer, but it gets smooshed down by the sheer weight of the thing. Ice the entire outside and decorate with candles and/or sprinkles. If it starts tipping over or seeming teetery, stick some wooden skewers in it in a couple of places and take them out right before cutting. Voila! Rainbow cake!
This is what it looks like mid-icing.
The icing our mom used so many years ago and that we used yesterday is a version of that fluffy marshmallowy meringue-y 7-minute icing. You can use any icing but this one sets up a bit and adds some structural integrity- as long as it's not out too long. You should definitely ice this puppy the same day as the party if you use this type of icing. Here is the easy shortcut recipe in the appropriate amount to easily cover and fill this giant monstrosity.
No-boil 7-minute icing
Ingredients:
Method:
The kids go CRAZY when you cut into it- but believe me, it's not easy to cut into it. The cake comes out super tall and huge, so much so that out of 6 or 7 kids yesterday, only 1 ate the whole piece.
before cutting it just looks like a super tall white cake... after cutting, the excitement begins.
So how do you make this beaut? It's actually not as hard as it looks. We just use 2 yellow cake mixes (the yellow cake mix renders richer colors than the white.) Mix the cake mixes as usual, divide the whole lot evenly among 6 bowls and use regular food color to get the different colors. (Mitra was the colorizer for this particular cake and I think she did a fine job of getting her Roy G Biv- sans i, however.) Bake each layer separately, cool, then stack, gluing together each layer with a bit of icing. There is actually a fair amount of icing between each layer, but it gets smooshed down by the sheer weight of the thing. Ice the entire outside and decorate with candles and/or sprinkles. If it starts tipping over or seeming teetery, stick some wooden skewers in it in a couple of places and take them out right before cutting. Voila! Rainbow cake!
This is what it looks like mid-icing.
The icing our mom used so many years ago and that we used yesterday is a version of that fluffy marshmallowy meringue-y 7-minute icing. You can use any icing but this one sets up a bit and adds some structural integrity- as long as it's not out too long. You should definitely ice this puppy the same day as the party if you use this type of icing. Here is the easy shortcut recipe in the appropriate amount to easily cover and fill this giant monstrosity.
No-boil 7-minute icing
Ingredients:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Method:
- In the bowl of a Kitchen-Aid, combine everything except boiling water with the whisk attachment.
- While whisking, slowly pour in boiling water.
- Beat about 7 minutes, until mixture holds stiff peaks.
- Use immediately or texture will become weird and won't spread easily.
this is SOOOOOO yummy looking. I do wish I was good at making layer cakes, only mine NEVER work out, even with two layers, so I am a little bit scared of 6!
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Yeah, it definitely gets a little tippy and teetery... you can put wooden skewers in it to stabilize it, or trim the cakes so they're totally flat! Good luck.
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Fabulous! I'm looking forward to trying this beauty out!
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This has got to be the coolest frackin thing I have evah seen in cake form!! I absolutely love it.
Now to figure out how to get this into a cupcake form, hmmmmmm
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OMG, if/when you DO get it into cupcake form, please please please send pics/links!!!!
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I made this cake last night and it was delicious.
I'll probably use the frosting again but modify it. 2tsp of vanilla is WAY too much. The frosting tasted like vanilla extract. Next time I do it I'm going to try a half tsp or possibly 1 tsp. It also took about 15 minutes before the frosting had stiff peaks for me.
I can't wait to try this frosting again with the modifications. I'm going to go grab a slice of cake now.
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What an amazing and creative cake! I make custom cakes and will have to try this out and add it to my menu. I love the surprise element of it! Have you ever tried to add flavors to the layers? I wonder how that would work?
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Thanks- I have never tried flavors but if you do let me know how it goes!
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Wow...
You're my hero! Hahaa. This is so beautiful. I am shamelessly addicted to rainbows. Is the 7-minute icing relatively easy or fussy? I have never made it and I'm nervous.
p.s. I bet you could add both color AND flavor by adding Kool-aid (i.e. grape=purple, red=cherry, green=lime, etc). Kool-aid is pretty heavily dyed.
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The icing is easy. No problems at all. Good idea about the kool-aid!
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