Birthday Cake

So I'm finally getting around to posting about my daughter's first birthday cake. I wanted it to be something special, and after making the zebra cake earlier in the week and seeing a post for a rainbow cake on Cookies with Boys, I thought it could be fun to make the rainbow cake. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with flavor for Little H's first birthday, but if anything my three year old and my four year old niece would appreciate it.

I used the basic yellow cake recipe I made for the vanilla oreo cupcakes I baked for her classroom and used food dye to make the colored layers. Warning... making a rainbow cake is messy and uses a LOT of bowls (but well worth it). After carefully mixing all the colors, my daughter and I were ready to assemble. I was very careful in pouring the different layers so one layer of batter didn't mix in with the one beneath it. Instead of pouring the batter into the pan, I kind of drizzled it in. After about fifteen minutes of carefully drizzling, I realized this cake was going to be more of a rainbow swirl than a cake with perfectly layered colors because the rising agent kicked in and the batter was starting to bubble. I hoped for the best and threw the cake into the oven.

The cake rose beautifully, but the one was a little lop-sided so I sliced the domes off each layer. I just used a basic white icing for the frosting. I would have loved to get a little more creative, but time was not on my side. Our errands ran a little longer than expected before the company came and I was left icing the cake at the last minute. So what do you do when you're short on time and you're trying to please kids? Sprinkles of course! On they went...

Like I said, the whole appearance thing is kind of lost on a one year old, but she did manage to get a hand in the icing after we sang happy birthday. I was anxious as I cut into the cake to see what it turned out to look like, and even though it wasn't perfectly layered, it was still cute. Next time, I may use a little more food color to make the colors more intense, but the pastel effect was nice for a baby. I have also come to the conclusion that if you want a layered rainbow cake, the only way to make one is to bake seven different layers. You just can't fight chemistry and physics! Overall, a cute recipe but a lot of work. But my babies are worth it!!!