How to Make a Rainbow Cake that Really Looks like a Rainbow

I've seen this on a few blogs recently, specifically here and here: the totally awesome rainbow cake! Perfect for LBGT parties and kid's birthdays alike, this cake is less about the recipe than about the technique for creating that magnificent rainbow look. Here I have improved on the technique found all over the internet in order to no only make the cake rainbow colored, but for it to actually look like a rainbow rather than the psychedelic or color layer look found in all the other recipes. Hint: the secret is in the cake pan.

But first, you have to make your cake batter. Basically you start with any white cake recipe you like, whether vegan, diet or made from scratch with all organic ingredients, you just need the cake batter to be white so the colors show up just right. I used fresh out of the box white cake mix because I was short on time.

Next, you'll need to divide the batter evenly into six bowls. This can be tricky, I used a measuring spoon and it worked pretty well. Don't worry too much if it isn't exact but do the best you can to make it almost exact (this will ensure all the rainbow stripes are the same size).

You will now use food coloring to dye each bowl one of the rainbow colors. If you don't remember, they are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet or that handy mnemonic device: Roy G. Biv. I used gel food colors from my local Stop and Shop and they worked perfectly so don't bother with the expensive stuff from a store like Michael's (unless you plan on making lots of these cakes). There were only four colors in the package: red, yellow, green and blue so I had to mix my own orange and violet. Orange was easy, violet took some experimenting. If you have to mix these colors, remember that you need red for both of them so don't use it all up in the red bowl. If you are buying them individually then you only have to get red, yellow and blue because yellow and blue can be mixed for green. Tip: eye the bowls, and dye the one that looks like it ended up with the most batter, red and all the way down to the one that looks smallest, violet (like I said above, you should try to make them as equal as possible but realistically you will probably have some with more and some with less).

All the other recipes I have seen now instruct you to dump each color in succession in the middle of a round cake pan (or two) which results in that psychedelic color effect when you cut into it. It's pretty neat, but it's no rainbow. The secret to making a real rainbow cake is using an angel cake pan or simply, one that makes a cake with a hole in the middle.

Make sure you grease your cake pan and pour the first color, red, in a circle halfway between the middle and the side of the pan (like a bullseye). Follow with orange right on top of the red in the same circle (which will cause the red to flatten out and fill the bottom of the pan). Follow with all the colors in order finishing with violet. Don't worry if some of the other colors are peaking through when you are done.

Now bake according to cake recipe instructions. When the cake is baked and cooled, remove it carefully from the pan by flipping it onto a plate. It will not look amazing, the secret is inside when you cut the cake. I recommend frosting it with plain white frosting to heighten the contrast. I used store-bought frosting but you can make your own.

When you finally cut the cake, be prepared for oohs and ahs. The funnel shape of the cake pan will have made each color "grow" around the next one as the cake rose, creating a perfect rainbow when you cut into it!

Good luck and happy baking!