Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I've had so many people ask me for details about making the Rainbow Cake.  So today I'll explain a little bit more about how I made the magic happen.  Although it looks complicated, it was actually really easy!

Did I think to take pictures of the cake making process?  Of course not.  I was way too frazzled by this point in the party prep to remember to take pictures.  I'll simply explain the steps for building this awesome cake and show you the finished product, but this tutorial at Smart-Bottom Enterprises has excellent step-by-step photos of the entire process.

I started out by preparing two boxes of French Vanilla cake mix.  I used Betty Crocker, but any brand will work.  You could also use White cake mix, or any other flavor that has a whitish batter.  I should note that I added a package of Vanilla instant pudding mix and a half cup of sour cream to the cake batter, along with a tsp of vanilla extract.  I have found that this produces a nice moist cake.  Be careful not to over mix the batter since you will be mixing it even more when you add in the dye.

The next step is to evenly divide the batter into six small bowls.  It doesn't have to be exact, just eyeball it.  Now it's time to add in the dye to create the rainbow.  I used generic Target brand food coloring drops, but I have heard that Wilton gel coloring works well too.  Add dye to each of the bowls to create red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple batter.

My original plan was to mix the colors together in only three large 9 inch layers for a tie-dye effect.  The Rainbow Cupcakes I made a few weeks ago looked and tasted great, but when I found a set of six disposable 8 inch cake pans at the grocery store, I decided to change things up a bit and make a separate layer for each color rather than mixing the colors together.  I baked the layers two at a time at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  After baking, I let the layers of cake cool in the pans overnight.

The next day I leveled each layer a bit, then stacked and frosted them using a quadruple batch of Vanilla Buttercream frosting.  I topped the cake with round Wilton sprinkles and a set of wacky, squiggly candles I found in the party aisle at Target.  The Yo Gabba Gabba characters I used to decorate the sides of the cake are actually bath toys I bought from Amazon.  I glued them to the sides of the cake using a small dab of frosting.  Voila!  A crazy cake perfect for a Yo Gabba Gabba party!

Not only did the cake look great, it also tasted great!  Everyone loved it.  It was definitely the hit of the party!

If you decide to make a Rainbow Cake of your own, I would love to hear about it and see photos...happy baking!  :)

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