Thursday, May 20, 2010

I like cake too.

Ally, here.

So here's something fun. Becca and I have shared the whole rainbow cake experience for years (see her previous post for details). I, too, have had several rainbow cake failures, but that hasn't kept me from loving the rainbow cake idea, which is why Becca and I we have been drooling over the i am baker rainbow cake for weeks. She made a version of it in her previous post, and I made my own a few days ago.

I should warn you that making this cake was quite time consuming. You'll need several round cake pans and lots of mixing bowls. I was limited on both of these, so I spent a lot of time washing dishes, which slowed me down quite a bit. But the cake was so delicious in the end that it was totally worth it.

I will also say that I'm going to start incorporating fruit in more of my baked goods. It gives the illusion of healthiness. And it's delicious. Look for much more fruit to come.

Here's what you'll need:

-2 boxes white cake mix
-all of the ingredients called for on the cake box
-1 cup pureed strawberries
-1 cup pureed kiwi
-1 cup pureed blueberries
-1 cup pureed purple grapes
-the zest of one orange, plus 1/2 cup squeezed orange juice from the same orange
-the zest of one lemon
-2 or 3 containers of vanilla frosting (depending on your love for icing)

Here's what to do:

1. Mix your cake ingredients together as directed on the box (using both boxes of cake mix).
2. Divide your cake mix evenly into 6 different bowls (it will probably be a little more than 1 cup in each bowl).
3. Mix each pureed fruit into the separate cake mixes. If you want the colors to really pop, add some food coloring. (I added food coloring to some of my layers, but adding it to all of them will give it a more uniform look.)
4. Bake cakes as directed on box.

Our favorite blogger, iambaker, really describes this next step best, so I'll just let her say it.

"I decided not to use frosting between the layers because this cake was already going to be so tall, so I just made a simple syrup and brushed that on between the layers.

For simple syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Put into a pan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Once boiling, remove from heat and let cool. This meant that the cake stayed nice and moist, and also brought out the wonderful natural flavors of the fruit." Thanks, iambaker.

And she's not kidding. This cake was seriously moist and flavorful.

I wasn't so good at keeping my layers even, so the colors don't look spectacular, but a little bit of planning will keep your cake from suffering the same fate. This cake also allows for some creativity in decorating. Use whatever fruit you want on top, and get crafty in your designs. This cake is a fruit-lover's dream. You're going to love it.

1 comment:

  1. You did such a fantastic job!!! I am super impressed with your creativity and style. Cant wait to see what you do next! :)

    Be blessed-
    Amanda

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