4.15.2011

a rainbow cake!

Just wanted to share a few images of the rainbow cake I made last weekend. I actually made 2--one for G's birthday party and a second for some spring photo mini sessions we did. I believe that children always photograph better when incentivized with sugar, so I put together this simple dessert table for all of our little clients at the studio. It was super fun!There are tons of different rainbow cakes out there, so I won't launch into any secret recipes, but I will share a few tricks!
*I used 2 vanilla box cake mixes. You could surely use one, but I messed up a couple of the layers when pulling them out of their pans. (The more thin layers you can make, the better!)
*I mixed 5-8 drops of food coloring in each layer to achieve these pastel hues
*Place parchment paper at the bottom of your cake pans to pull the cakes out easier.
*After each cake has cooled from the oven, cling wrap and freeze them before frosting. They are much sturdier this way!
*There are lots of layers in this cake and therefore it requires lots of frosting!! To prevent it from becoming overly sweet, I used the easiest cream cheese frosting recipe ever:

2 sticks of butter (softened)
2 sticks of cream cheese (softened)
whip together in a mixer until blended
continue to add powdered sugar until it reaches your desired sweetness & spreading consistency!

Thank you all so very much for your input on the children and the internet controversy. You all had such insightful things to say and I really appreciate your honesty!! I think every blogger (and probably every modern person) struggles with where to draw the line online to some extent. I've decided that at the end of the day, you just have to do your thing. Do what you love and do it with common sense. There's definitely bad stuff in the world--but also a lot of amazingness that you will miss out on if you spend your days fearing the unknown.

Don't miss the splendid giveaway going on & Happy weekending!

16 comments:

Nikki said...

Love, love, love this table setting!! It'd be swell in a grown-up photo shoot, too.

Erin {pughs' news} said...

That cake is gorgeous and what a beautiful little table you've set there! Wow.

Happy Weekend!

Rebekah said...

oh my gosh cutest cake ever - love it! hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!

Kimberly said...

Absolutely amazing! I could never bake like that... in fact, my girls are the cake bakers and decorators in our house!

Cottage Mommy said...

Love your rainbow cake! All the others I have seen have been super bright colors but I love the lighter version! And that tablescape....lovely, lovely, lovely!

Melinda said...

I agree. Well said! :) I love this cake - super cute and simple! :)

Leslie said...

oh this is sugar... and Im not talking about the cake.. the whole darn styling.. your amazing.

Fairlightday said...

So lovely Jess! I like the lighter color of this rainbow cake too! Doesn't quite make you feel like you have to go on a toxic cleanse after eating it. ;) You did amazing, everything looks so perfect. <3

Michelle {lovely little things} said...

I have yet to make rainbow cake myself, but I really want to try!

Brittany said...

wow, i am so impressed! i love the little flags; they add just the right touch.

emily-kallista said...

Oh gosh you did an amazing job! I am so impressed with this pretty cake and setup :) just shows that little thigns can make magic

marta said...

i absolutely love the mellow modern colors of this cake. such a fun twist on the rainbow cake. what a good mama you are. have a wonderful weekend.

Shannon said...

Oh man, this table just makes me happy looking at it. And that cake is awesome! I might even like it better than the primary colored version. You can incentivize me with this stuff anytime :)

Oh and where do you get your big balloons? I'm assuming online? Do you just take them to a party store to get blown up?

Unknown said...

CUTE!!
the girls told me about some yummy cake! Pretty darn cute!!

Sharon said...

Love the table and the cake-it looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely--the cake and your whole table. So sweet!