Nothing could be more fun than baking a cake with a little girl and decorating it together. My friend needed me to watch her little munchkin for the afternoon, and I had been promising this little girl that we would bake a Skittles Rainbow Cake together someday soon. We finally got the chance, and we had so much fun being creative and baking up our masterpiece!
I often stroll through Michael’s looking at the latest baking ware and one day, I passed by a box that showed the inside of a rainbow cake. It immediately caught my eye, and I knew that this rainbow cake was going to be in my future. The box comes with a set of mini cake pans so you can dye the batter for each layer and bake them individually.
Any standard vanilla or white cake recipe will work with these cake pans, and the cake is super simple to assemble. As for the decorations, you can go as crazy as you like. The Skittles make a great rainbow, and they are easy to sort and grab by little fingers. Of course a few of the Skittles disappeared during the making of this cake. What happens when making a cake, stays with the cake makers… 🙂
For this particular cake, I just used the recipe from the Swans Down Cake Flour Company and modified it with the Wilton dyes to create the colorful layers of the rainbow. This cake always comes out super moist and very yummy. The frosting is a delicious traditional buttercream frosting which works well for decorating. The kiddos will want to lick the frosting off of the spoon (and you might sneak a bit too).
Here’s the recipe:
Rainbow Skittles Cake Recipe
INGREDIENTS
(For the Cake)
3 cups sifted Cake Flour (We use Swan’s Down Cake Flour. It comes in a red box. This is a finer flour than all-purpose flour.)
1 cup (8 oz.) butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk (whole or low fat)
3 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (or 1/2 tsp more of vanilla)
Wilton Dyes
(For the Frosting)
1 cup (8 oz.) butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Piping Bag and Plain Tip or a Ziplock Bag
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour the mini cake pans. Sift the cake flour then spoon three cups into measuring cup.
Cream the butter in a bowl. Add the sugar a little at a time until the mixture turns light and fluffy. Sift the already sifted cake flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each is added. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk and flavorings, blending until smooth (taking care not to overbeat at this point as this will create a dry cake). Separate the batter into 5 bowls (about 1 cup of batter for each) and use the dye to color each (the Skittles colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Purple). Then pour the mixture into each pan.
Some pans will need to go on the top rack and others on the middle rack. You can switch them mid way in the baking so they bake evenly. Bake for 15-25 minutes until done, checking the cakes by sliding a sharp knife or toothpick into the middle (if no crumbs stick to the knife, then it’s done).
Let the cakes cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
Prepare frosting by beating butter on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl. You want the butter to be completely whipped and lighter in color. On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Once the sugar is incorporated, on medium-high speed, add the vanilla. Separate out 1/3 of the frosting (to keep it white) and to the rest add a few drops of red dye (to create pink). Whip at high speed 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add white frosting to a piping bag readied with a piping tip or use a ziplock bag with the end cut off.
Then use a spatula and a small amount of pink frosting to secure the first cake to your cake board. Frost the middle of each layer as you add layers on. Then frost the entire cake. Use the white frosting in the piping bag to add puffy clouds or a border around the top and bottom of the cake if desired. Then use the Skittles to create a rainbow on top or around the sides of the cake.
When you cut the cake, it will reveal all the pretty layers! Yummm!
Go to our Facebook page to attach your pictures of your rainbow cake and party decorations!
Enjoy!
-Mandy Gatlin
SWEETIE PIE AND CUPCAKES FAVORITE PRODUCTS
Wilton Frosting or Icing Coloring Dye, Set of 12 (Creates more vibrant colors!)
Wilton Set of 4 Decorating Tips and Piping Bags
Rainbow String of Pearls Arch with Balloon Flowers
(Use fishing line or white ribbon and tie it onto a weight or post. The tie the balloons one by one, right onto the line, this way you can move them around and space them out properly. For best results, try to inflate the balloons all the same size and leave enough space in-between each balloon so they can stand up straight!)