Red Velvet Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Last week saw one of Mounty County's finest transition into adulthood. One of my old Maccas buddies, Rachel, turned 18 and for once the choice of cake was very clear. An avid fan of red velvet cake, I knew four layers of reddy-brown moistness sandwiched with cream cheese frosting was the only way to go. 

I have previously stuck to one red velvet cupcake recipe (which I will blog about later), but decided to look up a new one for the purpose of this cake. The method wasn't too difficult and the cake was delicious; moist but not too sweet, perfect for countering the sweetness of the cream cheese icing. As with any layer cake I make, this took quite a while due to the fact I own several different cake pans, no two of which are the same diameter. Therefore each layer had to be cooked one at a time. However this time, I was baking some sugar cookies for my sister to take to school (recipe to come later), so I figured out an efficient rotation system between cookies and cakes which limited time wasted from the oven being on between batches. (Cool story, I know).

The only thing I was slightly disappointed about was the icing in between the layers. Despite knowing the cake wasn't very sweet, I didn't want the frosting to become too overpowering so I was rather sparing with it. This resulted in it soaking up into the layers and made the cake look like one big layer instead of four distinct ones separated by the frosting as I had hoped. Nevertheless, the taste remained unaffected and I was still very happy with the result. Oh, and as you may have noticed from the picture, the cake didn't look as pretty as I had hoped. The sides were rather difficult to ice and after a car trip covered in uneven glad wrap, that was what was left. Still, it's not like I was baking for the CWA, everyone knows taste > everything, right?

Red Velvet Layer Cake (Adapted from Best Recipes)

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 120g soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• Few tbsp red food colouring 

For the frosting: 

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 60g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
  

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line one round 20cm baking tin (or as many as you have).
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa and set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (approx 3-5 minutes).
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add in a third of the flour mixture and beat well to combine.
6. Add in half of the buttermilk and beat again to combine,
7. Repeat, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.
8. In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda until foaming. Add into the batter and mix well with a rubber spatula or large spoon.
9. Add in the food colouring, a few drops at a time, until mixture achieves a desired shade of red.
10. Divide cake mixture evenly into four bowls, with the mixture of one going into the baking pan and into the oven. Cover the other three portions with cling wrap and put aside.
11. Bake each layer for 10-15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
12. When layers are cooked, let cool in tin for five minutes before transferring to a rack for further cooling. Reline/regrease tray and repeat with each remaining portion of batter.
13. When all layers are completely cool, prepare the frosting by beating together the butter, vanilla and cream cheese together until light and fluffy (approx 2-4 minutes). Add the icing sugar and beat until mixture is light and creamy.
14. Sandwich each layer together with icing as well as covering the entire cake in it. Add extra decorations to the cake if desired (I used coloured sugar).

Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate-Chip Buttercream

Last Monday, our tiny five-person Japanese class had a party to signify our last lesson with our on/off Japanese teacher who was going on maternity leave. As these weren't my usual taste tasters, I decided on something simple yet effective; yes, another chocolate cake! I knew the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe was a reliable one, but I decided I would instead use this opportunity to try out a recipe for Devil's Food Cake. I have never made one of these before (or indeed, eaten one), so I was intrigued by what this recipe, which included half a cup of coffee, would produce.
The result was a cake with a deep, dark chocolate flavour (yeah, nine tablespoons of cocoa powder tends to do that :P), and was less rich/sweet than the chocolate cakes I was used to making. The large amount of cocoa powder, as well as the coffee, made the cake a beautiful, deep, dark chocolate colour to match its flavour, and I thought the white buttercream would be a good contrast.
This recipe is David Lebovitz's, but the one I directly used was from raspberri cupcakes. I didn't make the icing mint flavoured, but I liked the idea of a buttercream speckled with chocolate.
The cake itself was lovely, but I think next time I would try a regular chocolate ganache (like on Lebovitz's original recipe), as the buttercream seemed out of place on this cake.
I wish I'd had gotten a picture of the inside of the cake when we had cut it, the contrast looked really good.
Oh well, here's the recipe, folks! 

Oh! And as always, I made the buttercream quantities based on my own judgement, but I'll include the measurements from raspberri cupcakes... Although it seems to be a lot more than I used.

(Adapted from David Lebovitz's Devil's Food Cake recipe)

For the cake: 

•  9 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (you can just measure out that amount of plain flour and replace three tablespoons with cornflour instead)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 115g soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup milk

For the chocolate-chip buttercream

• 280g soft butter
• 500g icing sugar
• 150g dark chocolate, grated
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease two 20cm cake tins (I only have one so I had to do them one after another).
2. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, salt, bicarb soda, and baking powder in a bowl.  
3. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined.
5. Mix together the coffeee and the milk.
6. Pour in half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stirring to combine.
7. Add the coffee and milk into the mixture.
8. Finally, add the last of the dry mixture and stir untl combined.
9. Divide  mixture between the two tins (if only using one, reserve half the mixture in a small, covered bowl).
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes  or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
11.  Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. (If using one tin, put other half of mixture into tin after removing the cooked cake and repeat) 
13. When cakes are completely cool, prepare the buttercream by mixing the butter and the vanilla essence  with an electic mixer until smooth and creamy.
14. Sift in the icing sugar, a cup at a time, beating after each cup until all the icing sugar is used and the buttercream is fluffy and thick. 
15. Add the grated chocolate to the mixture , giving it a quick whiz on low speed to distribute the chocolate into the buttercream.
16. Sandwich cakes together with icing and then cover entire cake with icing; decorate top of cake with additional grated chocolate if desired. 

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

 

(and sprinkles!)

I originally started off this post with "There isn't too much to say about this cake", but I quickly scratched the whole past to start again after I remembered what actually happened. Making this cake was absolutely terrible!
After very much enjoying the cake made from the Women's Weekly recipe (see post below), I decided to re-bake it so I could take it to school and share it with my friends. The batter was easy enough to whip up, but once cooked, it yielded a very obvious problem; the cake was about half as high as a normal cake should be. I had once before had this same problem when using a too-large springform pan, but I did not expect this to happen with the smaller-sized springform pan I had since purchased and was using for this cake.
Nevertheless, a cake only a few centimetres high resulted, as my infamous baking-panic set in. The only viable option was to bake another cake, so I proceeded to do so, opting to sandwich the them together with some buttercream.
But of course, the second cake would not be without its fair share of dramas. I had used up the last of the greaseproof paper for the first cake, and assumed a large greasing with ghee would suffice. Nup. The soft cake stuck to the bottom of the pan, and I was forced to salvage what I could and stick it all together. The good news however,was that I don't think this was noticable at all when the cake was actually served.
I quite liked the pairing of the vanilla buttercream with this cake, and a dash of sprinkles gave it a birthday-cake type of quality which is always nice. Despite the drama I experienced, it was a tasy and a very easy to prepare cake which I will definitely be using again. 

The recipe below is for one single, unlayered cake. It can be either split and cooked in two batches (if using a smaller pan), or can be doubled, if a double-layer cake is desired.

Also you might already be aware of my inability to quote how much buttercream is required, so I apologise. Just have as look at the cake and judge how much you'll need. Sorry :(

(Adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly recipe)


Rich Chocolate Cake

For the cake:

• 200g (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour
• 50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
• 125g soft butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 275g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 160mL (2/3 cup) water

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20cm baking pan.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with an electric mixer on low speed until combined.
4. Raise mixer speed to medium and beat for a further three minutes (the mixture should be smooth and creamy, and the colour should lighten slightly)
5. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I used some of the batter to make a few cupcakes, too. They were excellent and confirmed the fact this same recipe can be used to make cupcakes, which is always awesome.

Cookie Monster Cake

The fact my cousin was turning two was more than enough reason to bake another cake, and more importantly, this cake. Despite the fact she's too young to say much more than "dada", let alone understand what the cake was supposed to be, I regarded it the perfect oppurtunity to try a cake which I had wanted to for a while. I'd always had intentions of trying out the Cookie Monster Cupcakes I saw somewhere, but decided I'd attempt those another time, as a cake was much more suitable for a birthday. 

Google Images shows up elaborate creations when "Cookie Monster cake" is searched, but I figured a simple cake covered in blue icing with Cookie Monster's eyes and mouth made out of fondant would suffice.
A difficulty I encountered with this particular cake was trying to figure out how to colour the fondant black; i've never seen black food colouring at the supermarket, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on some "proper" gel/paste food colouring which I'd hardly ever use. The only solution was trial and error, which luckily, worked out on the first run. Trialling it out first on some buttercream, a few massive tablespoons of cocoa got the icing to a very dark colour, but, as expected, not completely black. I hoped for the best as I poured in some red and blue food colouring, and the result was an unmistakable black. Success! Transferring it into fondant was easy enough, and made an excellent mouth for my cake. I also made a fondant cookie, experimenting with cocoa and colouring the cookie as well as the fondant chcolate chips. Of course a real cookie would be fine to use, but I didn't have any on hand and I think the fondant cookie suits the rest of the cake better.I used marshmallow fondant for my cake, but I see no reason that store-bought, ready-made icing would not work.

The cake itself was made from a recipe from an Australian Women's Weekly cookbook and was incredibly easy to make as well as delicious. I was actually quite skeptical that a cake with little more direction than to put everything in a bowl and mix it for a few minutes with an electric mixer would yield anything extraordinary, so I was incredibly impressed with the result. You could substitute the cake for any other chocolate cake recipe, or indeed, any other type of cake, but hey, who doesn't love chocolate cake?
Below is the recipe for just the cake I used on the inside. I will also attach how I created all the other parts of the face, but be aware that I tend to do things in strange ways and they may not be the best instructions to follow. However I'm sure the photo is pretty self explanatory anyway, so...sweet as.

(Adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly) 

Rich Chocolate Cake

For the cake:

• 200g (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour
• 50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
• 125g soft butter
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 275g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 160mL (2/3 cup) water

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20cm baking pan.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with an electric mixer on low speed until combined.
4. Raise mixer speed to medium and beat for a further three minutes (the mixture should be smooth and creamy, and the colour should lighten slightly)
5. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the face:

1. Cut out two uniform circles from white fondant icing using the rim of a stainless steel cup (or circle cookie cutter or what have you)
2.  Colour a small amount of fondant black, then roll it out on a flat surface before using a sharp knife to cut out the mouth shape.
3. With the remaining black fondant, roll into two equal sized balls, flattening them slightly to form the eyeballs.

I don't really now how to explain how I made the cookie (sorry!), so either develop your own method, use an actual chocolate-chip cookie, or just omit it completely; it's not entirely necessarry. 

Then just cover your cake in some blue buttercream and position the eyes, eyeballs, mouth and cookie (if using one) on the cake, as shown in the photo.

Chocolate Brownie Cake

My friend Thet turned 17 over the weekend and after pestering him to no avail about what type of cake he wanted, I finally decided on this. My two main ideas were to include either Oreos or M&Ms; I'm not even sure why, but it just seemed like the thing to do. Besides, who doesn't love them some M&Ms and Oreos!? (Lord help you if you are aware of someone who fits that category).
Besides from a few types of cheesecake, I had been eyeing the Chocolate and PX Brownie Cake recipe from Spicy Icecream for a while, and after raspberri cupcakes re-adapted the recipe to make a new cake, I decided it was reason enough to stick with it.
This was actually my first time making brownies, so I wasn't too sure on how the batter should look and other such details. I was also completely blown away by the amount of butter I would need - almost half a kilo! Inspecting the contents on the stove, my sister uneasily asked me if I was sure that the recipe actually was supposed to have that much butter. I froze for a second, wondering if I had in fact just read the recipe wrong. Turns out I hadn't and as I combined the dry ingredients with the melted mixture, the brownie noob in me came out as I found myself frantically grabbing the cocoa powder from the cupboard to add to the mixture; why wasn't it turning brown!!?? Needless to say, all it took was a tad more mixing and the mixture was a luscious, chocolately brown.
While baking the main cakes, I poured a little of the batter into some cupcake cases, resulting in a deep and meaningful silence during which my sister and I mutually thanked the God of household appliances for inventing the oven. There really is nothing quite like fresh, fudgy brownies.
So back to reality:
I was incredibly happy with the taste of the brownies (nonetheless mourning the fact they wouldn't taste anywhere close to their fresh state by Monday), and must not have been thinking straight because in the process of moving the bottom brownie layer, dropped the cake on the countertop. A crack completely separating two halves of the brownie, I managed to salvage them; still a little warm, it was possible to smoosh the cake back together. (Thanks for that one, baking Gods).
I baked the other layer and prepared the chocolate lace, leaving the ganache and the assembly for the next day.
I knew the cake did not need any extra richness, but two oversized brownies hardly incur the excitement associated with a birthday cake. I substituted the original ganache recipe for the one used in the Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe, thinking the sour cream would cut the sweetness a little. Nevertheless, the cake was incredibly rich, but I was still satisfied and I think all those who ate it were too, so I was happy. :)
I may be responsible for a mass diagnosis of diabetes within my school, but hey, at least it was a tasty way to go, no?
 

(Adapted from the raspberri cupcakes Rolo Chocolate Brownie Cake recipe)

Chocolate Brownie Cake

For the cake: 

• 400g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 200g dark chocolate,broken into pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 200g (approx. 1 cup) caster sugar
• 200g (approx. 1 2/3 cups) plain flour

For the ganache:

• 75g unsalted butter
• 175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 300g icing sugar
• 125mL sour cream 
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease two 20cm cake tins (I only have one so I had to do them one after another).
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together by placing them in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. 
3. Beat eggs and caster sugar with an electric mixer until thick and pale (about 3-5 minutes).
4. Fold through chocolate mixture then fold in flour until just combined. 
5. Divide the butter evenly among each tin, or alternatively, fill one tin with half the mixture and cover the other half with cling wrap and put aside.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes  or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. (If using one tin, put other half of mixture into tin after removing the cooked cake and repeat)
9. When cakes are completely cool, prepare the ganache. Melt the chocolate and butter together by placing them in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally.
10. When the mixture has finished melting, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl while the chocolate mixture cools. Add the sour cream and vanilla and then the icing sugar into the chocolate mixture, whisking while the icing sugar is added to prouduce a silky smooth concoction.
11. Sandwich the two cakes together with the ganache and cover completely with more ganache. Cover and place in a cool, dry place until ready to serve.

 

If you wish to cover the sides in chocolate lace as I have done, simply fill a piping bag with melted chocolate, pipe swirly patterns all over baking paper and put in the fridge to set. Once solid, break into appropriate-sized pieces and stick onto the sides of the cake. 

And as for the M&Ms: 1. Go to shops 2. Buy M&Ms 3. Place on top of cake 4. Profit $$$

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Last weekend I made what I shamelessly refer to as the best cake I have ever made. Much credit is owed to the recipe, which is concise, easy to follow, and to be honest, it's hard to believe that it's so simple when comparing it to the quality of the result.
I have made this cake once before for a close friend's birthday, and it turned out absolutely delicious. I was a tad wary of using sour cream in a cake the first time I made it, but it made the cake incredibly moist and the batter itself was so delicious that my sister offered to wash up just so she could eat the leftover clinging to the  (whatever you call the detachable thing you use for a  food processor).
This time, it was made for Mother's Day (see post below), and only had to be shared amongst the five immediate members of my family, and my mum even ate a few slices without complaining about how much fat and sugar was in it.
I find that putting chocolate cake in the microwave for fifteen seconds or so is similar to toasting a sandwich, it just adds an extra level of deliciousness. This proved true for this cake, and I strongly recommend this to anyone who attempts this cake.
So here's the recipe, if you like your cakes on the simple and delicious side, do try it!

(Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe)

For the cake: 

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 40g cocoa
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence (use extract if you have it)
• 150 mL sour cream

For the ganache: 

• 75g unsalted butter
•  175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
•  300g icing sugar
• 125mL sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease a 20cm cake tin.
2. Put everything into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth, thick batter. (Seriously, that's it. I usually get scared that the batter is too thick, so i splash in a bit of milk while I'm blitzing it).
3.  Bake for around 30 minutes or when until a skewer comes out clean. (For me, both times, most of it was cooked but the centre was stil gooey; make sure all of it is completely cooked before removing it, but also take care not to leave it in the oven for too long or the rest of it will dry out).
4. Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. When  cake is completely cool, prepare the ganache. Melt the chocolate and butter together by placing them in a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally.
6. When the mixture has finished melting, sift the icing sugar  into a small bowl while the chocolate mixture cools. Add the sour cream and vanilla and then the icing sugar into the chocolate mixture, whisking while the icing sugar is added to prouduce a silky smooth concoction.
7. Cover cake in the icing and.....eat it.

 Note: The quantities will probably make more icing than you need, it will thicken upon refrigeration into a solid mousse-like mass, but can be used again if heated slowly in the microwave (or y'know, just grab a spoon and eat it in its solid form).

    

Victoria Sandwich

                                 (Please excuse the poor photo, it did look better in real life, I promise).

The increased amount of baking I find myself doing causes concern with my parents from time to time, who do not equate knowing how to make the perfect batch of red velvet cupcakes from scratch with focusing on the HSC [that's what they think........;)].

For that reason, it came as quite a surprise when I was told by both my parents to bake something. For those who do not completely understand the significance of this, it's like having a "study period" and being told to bludge; to do something we do anyway, but this time, with the permission of the authorities. My mum requested a cake be made for a lunch she was going to be attending, and my dad told me to make one for my mum as it was Mother's Day.

My initial reaction was actually less than enthusiastic. I think it may have had something to do with the several hours I spent baking a few days before, but you can never be sure...

Nevertheless, after a quick Woolies-Run with my sister, I found myself back in the kitchen (yes hello boys, I said I was back in the kitchen. haw haw.) and baking again.

I had decided for the second cake (post to follow this one) I would bake a chocolate cake, and for the Mother's Day lunch, I would attempt a Victoria Sandwich. Named for Queen Victoria, the cake is a light sponge sandwiched with jam and cream.

The fact that the recipe I used required little else but mixing all the ingredients together and included substituting fresh cream with butter cream icing should have been enough of an indication that this cake would end up hardly different to a regular butter cake. Nevertheless, I persevered; it was on the BBC website after all. How could I say no to the corporation that provided us with such joyous Victorian Era entertainment in so many English Extension lessons?

I have included the recipe below, but if you actually intend to bake a proper sponge cake, do not use this recipe! I am yet to re-attempt another sponge  recipe, and after finding a favourite butter cake and chocolate cake recipe, a sponge cake recipe is next on ma list.


(Adapted from BBC GoodFood Classic Victoria Sandwich Recipe)

Victoria Sandwich 

For the cake:

    * 200g caster sugar
    * 200g softened butter
    * 3 eggs, beaten
    * 200g plain flour
    * 3 tsp baking powder
    * 2 tbsp milk

 For the filling:

    * 100g soft butter
    *  140g icing sugar
    * 1 tsp vanilla extract (or essence if that's all you have)
    *  5 tbsp rasberry or strawberry jam
    * Icing sugar (for dusting)

Method:

1.      Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease two 20cm cake tins (I only have one so I had to do them one after another).
2.      Beat all the ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth. (Seriously. This is all it said to do on the site).
3.      Divide the butter evenly among each tin, or alternatively, fill one tin with half the mixture and cover the other half with cling wrap and put aside.
4.      Cook the cake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5.      Allow cake to cool for five minutes in its tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6.      (If using one tin, put other half of mixutre into tin after removing the cooked cake and repeat)
7.      When cakes have cooled completely, prepare the buttercream by creaming the butter and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Slowly sift in icing sugar and beat to combine.
8.     Spead the top of one of the cakes with jam and then butter cream. Place other cake on top of the cream layer and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.                     

I managed to try a tiny piece of the cake which my parents brought home as leftovers. It was okay, just like a butter cake but a lot more dense. I can happily report that I was much, MUCH happier with the other cake I made that day (which I will recount in the next post). Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the mums out there. :)

Rainbow Cake

It would have been about two years ago when I first glimpsed the widely admired Rainbow Cake. Six thin layers of cake, all in different colours of the rainbow, sandwiched by white buttercream and piled into a high and mighty stack of epic cakeage. At that time, it was one of those things you admire but never really have any intention to make. That of course made sense at the time, as despite the fact I loved baking, I hardly did anything more exciting than a packet cake mix decorated with a pretty but nonetheless ordinary dash of sprinkles. 

               Fast forward a few years and while I'm no Bakerella, making cakes has found itself a firm spot in my life. I've had my fair share of cake fails and have often vowed to stop baking after another sunken in or over-risen cake, but I always find myself back again. So i suppose it comes as no suprise that I too would one day attempt the six layer Rainbow Cake, made famous by Whisk Kid and replicated, appropriated and re-done by many, many people who shared the same awe for it that I do.

The description that accompanies the recipe on Martha Stewart's website mentions that it is "ideal for a child's birthday party, or any time you want to make a big impression." And big impression it made indeed!                 The cake I made was for my friend Vandy's 17th Birthday. Friends from the very first day of year seven, she has remained one of my closest friends all throughout my high school life. This being her last birthday we would share with her at school and also just to represent how I feel about her as a friend in cake form, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to make this cake. 

             Making this cake after a day of school was not the wisest idea, I found myself so exhausted by the time I was done by the cake that I honestly could do little else but waste some time on Facebook before going to bed (perfect year 12 role model right there).

The cake itself is not incredibly difficult, the real trick is to make sure you have enough time to make the whole thing. And the dedication.

This was made no easier by the fact I have only one cake tin of a uniform size, but I did manage to get some Modern History homework done while I waited for each cake, so it wasn't too bad. :P

Below is the  general method I used. It varies quite a lot from the Whisk Kid cake, but I personally preferred this one better. The original cake has SO MUCH ICING, and while the white layers contrast beautifully with the cake layers, I did want my cake to be eaten and not cast aside due to unpalatable sweetness.

I also used two packets of store bought cake mix. As much as I prefer baking from scratch and had originally planned to do so, I realised that I would be in the kitchen for an even longer time if I baked the cakes entirely from scratch, so this did shorten the process a tad.

 Rainbow Cake

- Two packets Green's Golden Butter Cake Mix (or your preferred butter cake mix/recipe)

- Food colouring in red, green, blue and green

Use gel colours if you have them, I used liquid and it worked out perfectly well.

- A large amount of uncoloured buttercream

This is very ambiguous and I apologise, but I judged how much buttercream I needed by eye only and have no measurements :(

1.  Prepare the butter cake according to the packet's instructions.
2.  Divide the batter as evenly as you can into six smaller bowls. It doesn't need to be perfect, but you should be able to figure out if they're rougly even. This is very important for the end result of the cake.
3.  Colour the bowls of batter; red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple respectively.
4.  Grease and line a circular pan with baking paper. If you have more pans of the same size, do this to each additional one.
5.  Pour the red batter (and the orange one and so forth if you have additional cake tins) into the tin. Cover the rest of the bowls with cling wrap and put aside.
6.  Cook the first layer(s) in the oven at 180 degrees. This should take around 8-10 minutes, but may vary, so watch the cakes carefully!
7.  Allow cake(s) to cool in tin for five minutes. Place on a wire rack so cake(s) can cool.
8.  Repeat with each remaining layer until all six layers are cooked. As each layer cools, it is advisable to wrap them in cling wrap to avoid drying out.
9.  When each layer has cooled, prepare a large quantity of buttercream. As mentioned above, I have no specific measurement. You will need enough to cover the surface of six cakes, as well as the sides of the cake (which will, of course, be six layers tall). 
10.  Place the purple layer on the serving plate and cover with a layer of buttercream. You make make this as thin or thick as you like depending on how much icing you like. I made mine rather thin as I did not want it to be too sweet.
11.  Place the next layer on top and repeat process with each remaining layer, ending with the red layer.
12.  Cover entire cake with buttercream. I made this layer about twice as thick as the layers inside.
13.  If you wish to cover the cake with additonal sprinkles (as I have done), do so. Otherwise, carefully cover the cake with cling wrap and keep in a cool, dry place (e.g. pantry) until required.

    

    
    

    The worst part for me was not knowing how the inside would turn out. I was happy with the layers as I was making it, but I was incredibly nervous as to how successful it would be.

Low and behold, the moment of truth arrived and it turned out even better than I would have ever expected! 

The layers were bright and looked amazing, and the numerous online warnings about not using liquid food colouring were redundant.

The most important part was that Vandy absolutely loved the cake. All the time, effort and patience were well worth the smile it put on her face (and all those who saw it), and was definitely the best part of the whole... saga.

Happy (belated) Birthday again, Vandy, you "win4lyf."