Rainbow Cake!

Ok, so this blog is REALLY late coming. Months late. I apologize. But I think you'll forgive me because what I'm about to share with you is TOTALLY AWESOME!

Welcome to the world of Rainbow Cake.

The route to this recipe was rather random (well, unless you take the chaos theory into account, in which things are never really ever random at all), but it was a road worth traveling. I found this sweet foodie blog, Omnomicon, through my favorite decorating blog, decor8, which I originally came across a while back from my favorite blog of all time, Dooce. So there ya go. Needless to say, Aleta at Omnomicon is just fabulous. She's got great ideas, delicious recipes, fantastic photos, and is a wonderfully entertaining writer. Be sure to check out her blog.

Now, when I saw this Rainbow Cake, I knew it had to be one of my projects. It's just THAT COOL. I (quite proudly) exercised my patience and waited 2 whole weeks to make it, so I could make it for our growth cell on my night for dessert. Let's just say it was a hit. A really big hit. So for all of you who might mistakingly think this is a "just for kids" project, think again. All the 20 and 30-somethings in our group loved it. I then made a second one for my little brother's impromptu 15th birthday party (a week early) when we were in Seattle in April. My sister, Airika, helped me make it, and my whole family (especially Airika's husband, Gerald), LOVED it.

To start, the recipe is for a "diet" cake, and the ingredients are really simple. The cake includes cake mix and clear, diet soda. That's right -- no eggs -- meaning you can eat ALL THE BATTER YOU WANT and not have to worry about getting salmonella. (But I'll admit right now, it never stops me from eating the chocolate chip cookie dough. What's the point of making chocolate chips if you don't eat a quarter of the dough first?!) Before you get all excited about the salmonella-free cake batter, let me just say it will look much more impressive actually baked, so don't eat it all. Also, there is a "diet" frosting that includes fat-free cool whip and instant pudding mix, or you can just use store-bought frosting (which we did the second time). So seriously, this is a no-brainer and you should make it as soon as you can. It'll bring MUCH happiness. I promise.

You can find the recipe over at omnomicon, and here are a few of my own quick tips:

• Use the recipe for a double batter. (Yes, that means it will be a layered cake, and yes, you MUST make 2 boxes. It's really a necessary thing. Trust me.)
• Try out the clear soda thing. It works. I've used ginger ale both times. Works fabulously.
• If you have/can find gel food coloring (I think the kind used by professional bakers), get that. If not, just use the regular pack of 4 you find at the grocery store (usually in the spices section).
• Be sure to grease your pans well -- you don't want messy sticking-to-the-pans rainbow cake. Make sure you add enough food coloring that each color is quite brilliant (it will dull a bit when cooking), and contrasts with the other colors. You want red and orange, not pink and peach.
• When adding your batter to each pan, you're going to have each color in both pans, but pay attention to the order. In the first pan, start with the red. Pour about two-thirds of the red batter into the middle of the pan. Next, pour about 2/3s of the orange batter into the middle of the pan (on top of the red -- don't worry, the red will dissipate outwards). Then add 2/3s of the yellow batter, again in the middle of the pan. Now, SWITCH PANS, and SWITCH THE ORDER. So, start with purple, and pour two-thirds of the batter into the center of the pan, then add 2/3s of the blue and 2/3s of the green. You should now have two pans with 3 colors each, and 1/3 of the batter left for each color. In the first pan (with red, orange, and yellow), add the remaining third of the green, then the blue, then the purple batters. In the pan with purple, blue, and green, add the remaining third of the yellow, orange, and red batters (in that order). Think RAINBOW.
• If you're an adventurer or on a diet, try making the "diet frosting." If you really like your frosting, use your own recipe or go get a tub of frosting from the grocery store. For the first cake, I made the diet frosting. I think people liked it.... but I just thought it was ok. It has a pretty sticky texture and is hard to spread. The second time through I got vanilla frosting (so I could color it) and I was a much happier camper, I must admit.

And that's it for the advice. Now time for the pictures (which is what it's all about anyway)...

The plain batter...

Mixing in the colors...

RAINBOW colors!!!

Pouring in the batter -- notice the reverse order:

The completed color merges -- aren't you getting excited?!

Starting to make the frosting (we went with teal the first time, orange the second)

The dirty dishes. I stole this idea from Omnomicon. It was just that cool.

Mmm!!! So exciting!!!

About to frost the first layer...

Frosted! It looks like a completely normal cake on the outside....

...but inside it's just pure AWESOME!!!

So, anyone want a slice?