Rainbow Cake

Four years ago, I started blogging. I wasn't entirely sure why I did this but I just want to do it...

At first, I wanted to do something to commemorate and remember my yellow-flower-loving mum who passed away due to cancer in 10 years ago. And so, I baked cupcakes with yellow flower theme for Daffodil Day fund raising for my first blog post.

With the Daffodil Day theme in my mind, I baked an bittersweet orange flourless cake to celebrate my first blogging anniversary. At that time, little that I know that my blogging life is getting to be more exciting as I begin to know friends like Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Lena from Frozen wings...

Joyce, Lena and I have been baking a lot together for our bake-along events. Then, I started Cook like a Star and subsequently, Little Thumbs Up with Doreen, from my little favourite DIY. My blooming yellow flower cupcakes and other baking seem to improve tremendously after my second anniversary of blogging.

On my third blogging anniversary, I was facing one of my biggest baking challenge... Egg tarts!!! I never know that these innocent-looking, yellow and simple egg tarts can be so difficult to bake but I never stop trying and eventually conquered this most difficult bake!!!

Four years has passed and interestingly, I'm still baking and blogging... Looking back, I'm extremely glad that I have started blogging. I have learned a lot from baking and cooking and have fed my family very well for all these years. Best of all, I have met many friends in my blogging journey!

Happy anniversary to Bake for Happy Kids!!! 

For my 4th blog anniversary, I like to bake something yellow... or perhaps something more than just yellow.

How about a rainbow cake for me?

This is my rainbow cake!

I really like the feel-good feeling looking at a spectrum of cheerful colours. It makes me feel like Spring is arriving.

Prior baking, I was deciding between this Martha Stewart recipe originated from a famous blogger, Whisk Kid and this BBC Good Food recipe. As usual, the loving-baking me analyse recipes a lot before baking.

Zoe's food for thoughts:

• Martha Stewart / Whisk Kid recipe is super impressive but complicated. It requires SIX sticks of butter to make its Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Too much butter! Yuck! 
• BBC Good Food recipe is straightforward and less complicated but requires 375g of butter to bake the cake and THREE tubs of 250g cream cheese to frost the cake - Too much fat too! Yuck! 
• I keep telling myself... This is a feel-good cake. So, why not disregard the amount of butter, sugar and artificial colouring used? Just go ahead! Liberate myself and bake this cake! - LOL!

This is how I baked my happy rainbow cake... but of course with some moderation.

This classic white cake recipe uses reserve creaming method like how I made The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes

According to the recipe, the batter will look curdled.

The colourings that I used.

Like what the BBC Good Food recipe said, the colour of the batter is how your cake look, so be brave! :)

After baking...

Cooling my colourful cakes

Making this reduced fat frosting is easy!

Cake stand - checked! Spatula - checked! Frosting - checked!

Assemble everything together - HURRAY!

I'm seeing a slice of rainbow here!

Mummy, this is super yummy! Thumb up!!!

Our rainbow cake tastes like moist butter cake, but with lots of colour! - LOL! With the light cream cheese frosting that I have used, the overall sweetness and texture is perfect for us!

Boy: Mummy, your cake is not a real rainbow cake! It has only six colours!
Man, staring and counting: Where is the indigo layer?
Boy: You failed!!!

As usual, my eyes rolled and remained speechless!
 
To bake this cake, I have combined the classic white sheet cake recipe adapted from the book, The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book and the rainbow cake recipe adapted from BBC Good Food recipe to form this following recipe.

Makes one 14 cm six layers round cake
(serve 6-8)

For the cake:
1/2 cup milk at room temperature
3 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
170g cake flour
150g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
175g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature

edible food colouring - red, orange (yellow + red), yellow, green, blue and purple

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced. Prepare as many 14 cm round cake tins as you have (up to six) and line the bases and sides with baking paper. - I have two 14 cm round cake tins and baked six cake layers in three rounds.  

Whisk milk, egg whites and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter into the flour mixture until well combined like moist creamy mixture. 

Decrease mixer speed to medium-low. While beating, add in all milk mixture but gradually with 2-3 tablespoonful at a time. Beat until combined and the batter looks slightly curdled.

Weigh batter first to work out the total weight (Mine is about 630g). Then, weigh out exactly six equal portions of the mixture in six separate mixing bowls (Mine is about 105g each portion). Stir in each food colouring into each bowl of mixture. The colour of the batter is going to be quite similar to the finished cake. Like what BBC Good Food recipe said, be brave!!!

Scrape the coloured batter into the prepared pan. Spread and smoothen the top, and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake at 180°C or 160°C fan forced for 12 mins or until a inserted skewer comes out clean.

Transfer cakes onto wire racks and allow them to cool completely. Clean baking tins and repeat to prepare the tins and bake the other coloured batters accordingly.

For frosting:

350g cream cheese, 30% fat reduced, 22g fat per 100g
120g icing sugar

Using an electric whisk, beat cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy. Please do not over-beat the mixture as mixture might split.

To assemble:

Place 4 strips of baking paper surrounding the edges of a cake stand or a plate. Start by placing the purple cake onto the cake stand or plate. Spread 2-3 tbsp of cream cheese frosting evenly on the cake and right to its edge. Place the blue cake on top of the purple cake and repeat to spread icing on the blue cake.

Repeat layering of cakes and spreading of frosting with the rest of the green, yellow, orange and red cakes. Spread the remaining icing thickly all over the sides and top of the cake. Happy now that you have your rainbow cake? Wait till you slice and serve!

Note: To avoid baking with too much butter and cream cheese, baking a small 14 cm cake is my best option. If you need to bake a 20cm cake to serve 10-12, all you have to do is to double the amount of this recipe. Simple!

You might also wish to consider using the cake recipe from Martha Stewart / Whisk Kid as their 20 cm cake requires only 250g butter. Honestly, I reckon that this classic white cake from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book is pretty good!

Happy Baking
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