Rainbow Layer Birthday Cake | Party Food | Recipes

Birthday layer cake

Make a really BIG impression with this colourful birthday layer cake! It’s actually quite simple – all you need to make the layers are two packet mixes and some buttercream icing.

Ingredients

2 x (600g) Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake mixes
6 eggs
2/3 cup (160ml) vegetable oil
2 cups (500ml) water
1/8 tsp of each: pink, blue, green, yellow food colouring

Vanilla buttercream icing

500g butter, softened
1kg icing mixture, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80ml) milk

Method

Step 1. Preheat oven to 180å¡C conventional (160å¡C fan-forced). Grease and flour 3 round 20cm cake tins.

Step 2. Mix one cake mix according to directions and divide this mixture into 3 bowls.Tint each with 1/8 tsp of each colour (I used pink, green and blue). Mix well and pour into cake tins. Tap tins to distribute mixture evenly.

Step 3. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until cakes bounce back when touched in the centre. Remove from oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks to cool further. While the cakes are baking, mix the second cake mix and tint (I used yellow and a combination of half pink and half blue food colouring to make mauve). Leave the third cake uncoloured. Grease and flour clean tins and pour mixture into each tin. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until cakes bounce back when touched in the centre.

Step 4. Remove from oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks to cool further. When cooled, using a serrated knife, slice tops off so the cakes are of even thickness.

Step 5. Place butter into a mixer and beat well until pale and fluffy. This will take quite a while and the longer you beat it the paler in colour it becomes. Gradually beat in the icing mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until all mixed in. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Add milk a little at a time until the mixture is light and fluffy. Place a little icing on the base of your serving plate and lay a cake round on the plate.

Step 6. Add 1/2 cup of icing to the top and spread evenly. Repeat until all layers are stacked.

Step 7. Use remaining icing to ice the sides and top.

Step 8. Sprinkle the top with your favourite sprinkles and serve.

Birthday layer cake

Notes:

At first you may think that the cake layers are too small and this cake won’t work but when you stack them up you realise this cake is HUGE!
Make sure that you measure out the icing amounts as you move from layer to layer as there is just the right amount in this recipe and having the same amount between layers.
You can make up your own colour palette
This cake was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder.