Rainbow Cake

Last week was my youngest daughter's and my birthday. As by tradition, we had to have a cake and what a cake we made! I was supposed to do this as an entry to the Daring Baker's challenge for July 2014 but I ran out of time. So I was making it up for that by baking this for our birthday.

It was indeed a challenge for me. Seriously, I thought it's one of those experiments that would end up in the rubbish bin. I decided to adapt the recipe of Kerry's fabulous rainbow cake from her blog Kerry Cooks since it is based in a Victoria sponge which I know would guarantee deliciousness. And here was where the first of near misses happened - I said I 'adapted' the recipe which means I used an 8-inch cake pan versus her 6-inch ones. Well, the batter were quite thin when I spread it in the pan and naively I though they would rise evenly. Ha! It rose in the middle and tapered to nothingness towards the edges. They look like small hills complete with bulging boulders on the sides!

The the icing would cover all that up, says moi. But then when I reached for the icing sugar in my pantry there was hardly any in the bag. Drat! Okay, I had to think quickly otherwise my youngest would be really disappointed. What I had in abundance was eggs, sugar, and butter so my light bulb idea was to adapt Corinne's Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. Gosh I was nervous because it was the very first time I did that. Nevertheless, glorious billowy white buttercream emerged. This one was delicious and not too sweet - definitely my kind of frosting.

The frosting came out all right but as I was slathering it between layers I realised I hardly have enough to cover it well! Oh darn, it must be mercury retrograde since nothing's going right. I had to use every bit of the icing and as precisely as I could to spread on all the cracks and crannies. Thank goodness there was just enough to cover the whole cake.

Those were not my only firsts in this exploit. The lettering on the cake was a first as well. Looking at it now, I guess there's no other alternative for me but to improve. Despite all my trials, the best part was cutting the cake. It was an unexpected delight to see that it had all come together in all its colourful glory. Really fab! Best of all, the cake with the meringue icing combination tasted great - that was according to my daughter. Mission accomplished!

Rainbow Cake

*Batter: (x2)

250 g  self raising flour
250 g  butter - softened
250 g  granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

gel paste colourings (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple)

Note: Mix two batches of this batter and divide each of them into 3 thereby creating 6 layers.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F. Grease three 8-inch round pans.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add in vanilla and eggs one at a time; mixing well after each addition.
4. Add flour and then milk into the butter mixture just enough to mix it in.
5. Divide equally into three smaller bowls and tint each one with a different colour. Mix the gel colour well in the batter.
6. Spread batter evenly in the three prepared baking pans.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool 5 minutes in pan and then remove. Cool completely on a wire rack.
9. [Optional] Wrap the cooled cake layers in cling film and chill in the fridge for several hours. It is easier to assemble it if the cake layers are chilled or even frozen.

*Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing:

5 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
250 g  unsalted butter - softened but not melting
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of fine salt

1. In a bowl set on a simmering saucepan of water (bottom not touching the water), whisk egg whites and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. You can test this by feeling a little of the mixture between your fingers. If you can't feel any grittiness then it is done.
2. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whip the egg white mixture with an electric mixer and beat until stiff peaks stage.
3. While still beating, add the softened butter a spoonful at a time.
4. Once all the butter has been incorporated, add the vanilla and salt.
5. Mix on high speed until the icing is light and fluffy.

*To assemble:

• On a cake board or plate, put a thin layer of icing in between cake layers while stacking it on top of each other.
• Put icing on top and all along the sides of the cake. Decorate as you please.