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This rainbow layer cake is pure joy! Vibrant inside and out, just slice into this multi-colored cake and eat the rainbow!
June is pride month and I was inspired to create a fun, rainbow layer cake decorated with vibrant colors to celebrate!
Not only are we going to use a fun decorating technique for the icing, when you slice into this bad boy you’ll see the rainbow inside as well. It’s easier than you think to create this whimsical cake, but it does take a little time.
First, after mixing up the batter, you will need to divide it into six bowls. Yes I know that the rainbow has 7 colors (ROYGBIV), but for our purposes we’ll fudge it and call indigo and blue one color. A couple drops of gel food coloring gets mixed in and each color is baked separately in a round cake pan.
The good news? These layers bake up fast, only 12 mins each. The bad news? Not many of use have six 8 inch cake pans lying around. I simply bake two layers at a time, let the cake cool slightly before turning it out onto a cooling rack, then grease the pan and add a parchment round to the bottom and refill. Easy peasy.
While the cake layers bake, mix up the icing and again, separate it into bowls to mix in the food coloring. Reserve half the icing (leave it white) for in between the layers and a thin layer over the whole cake. Next, we fill pastry bags (disposable bags work great here) with each color for easy decorating.
We’re going with a “petal decorating” style today. It looks challenging and intricate, but it’s actually quite simple. Pipe round dots of icing in a straight line, one of each color. Then you take a small offset spatula and smear one half of the dot horizontally. For the next line, start with the next color, and continue alternating for each subsequent line. Check out the video to see just how easy it is.
I love that this rainbow cake looks as pretty inside as it does out. It’s festive, fun, and perfect for PRIDE! 🌈
Tips for success
- I really recommend gel food coloring for the cake layers and the icing. You only need a couple drops for maximum impact and it won’t effect the flavor or consistency.
- The cake is super light and moist. Be sure not to over-mix or over-bake!
- Disposable pastry bags are indispensable in this recipe! After you mix the food coloring into the icing, fill each bag with a different color to make decorating easy.
- Use a small round tip (#12) in your pastry bags for the best result.
- Store the cake at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.
More Pretty Cake Recipes!
- Pastel Party Cake
- Strawberry and Whipped Cream Cake
- Olive Oil Cake with Mascarpone Frosting and Fresh Figs
- Toffee Cake
- Vanilla Naked Cake
- Rose Cake
This rainbow layer cake is pure joy! Vibrant inside and out, just slice into this multi-colored cake and eat the rainbow!
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
- 24 oz unsalted butter, softened (6 sticks)
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and cut out six parchment rounds to line the bottom of the pans. Set aside.
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Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
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Beat the butter with an electric mixture on high. Gradually add in sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 mins.
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Add the egg whites and beat until well blended, about 2 mins, then add in the sour cream and beat until combined.
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Add in one third of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add one half of the milk, mix until combined. Continue with the flour, milk, and finish with the flour. Don’t over-mix. Stir in the vanilla.
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Divide the batter evenly into six bowls (about 1 1/3 cups each). Add about 3-4 drops of the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring into each bowl to create a different color layer cake.
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Pour one color batter into each of the prepared pans and bake for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (You will need to repeat twice for the other layers or use additional cake pans if you have them.)
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Cool cake in pans for a couple minutes, then remove from pan, peel off the parchment rounds and finish cooling on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining colored batter.
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Whip butter on high speed with a whisk attachment until fluffy, 2-3 mins.
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Gradually add confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Add vanilla and whip for 3-5 mins on high speed until light and fluffy.
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Reserve 1/2 of the white icing and separate the remaining buttercream into 6 small bowls. Use a drop or two of gel food coloring in each to reach desired color. Stir well to combine.
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Place the purple cake layer on a cake plate and spread 1/6 of the white frosting over the cake layer. Repeat with remaining cake layers in this order: purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red (red will be the top layer).
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Spread a very thin layer of white buttercream over the cake, just enough to give the piped decorations something to adhere to (it doesn’t need to completely cover the cake.)
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Fit six disposable pastry bags with a round tip (#12) or simply cut a small hole and fill each with a different color buttercream. Pipe one different color dot in a vertical row in this order from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
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Use a small offset spatula and smear half of each dot straight across. Repeat, alternating colors in order (purple next to red, red next to orange, orange next to yellow, etc.). Smear the dots and continue until the sides are iced.
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Follow the same technique for the top of the cake, creating concentric circles.
- I really recommend gel food coloring for the cake layers and the icing. You only need a couple drops for maximum impact and it won’t effect the flavor or consistency.
- The cake is super light and moist. Be sure not to over-mix or over-bake!
- Disposable pastry bags are indispensable in this recipe! After you mix the food coloring into the icing, fill each bag with a different color to make decorating easy.
- Use a small round tip (#12) in your pastry bags for the best result.
- Store the cake at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.
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