Mary Berry's Rainbow Cake
SERVES
20
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
60
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
120
MINUTES
CUISINE
English
COURSE
Main
Method
Grease and line two 20cm (8 inch) round loose-bottomed cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
Measure one-third of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and whisk using an electric hand whisk for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls and add some food colouring to each bowl (two different colours) and mix well.
Spoon into the tins and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until well risen and springing back when pressed in the centre with your fingertips. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Wash, grease and reline the tins. Repeat the method to make four more cakes, all in different colours.
To make the cream cheese icing, beat the butter and milk with half of the icing sugar in a large bowl, using an electric hand whisk, until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the vanilla extract and the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, remove the baking paper from all six cakes. Place the violet cake on a cake board and spread with a little icing. Continue to layer the cakes with icing sugar until you have all six cakes stacked neatly with the red cake on top. Cover the whole surface of the cake with a thin layer of icing, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes. This will help to seal the crumbs.
Once the icing is firm, cover with a final layer and spread to make a smooth finish. Sprinkle the top with hundreds and thousands.
- from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, published by BBC Books/ Penguin Random House UK
Ingredients
6 eggs
375g (13oz) caster sugar
375g (13oz) soft butter or baking spread, straight from the fridge
375g (13oz) self-raising flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk food colouring paste or gel (in 6 different colours)
For the cream cheese icing:
375g (13oz) butter, softened
3 tbsp milk
750g (1lb 10oz) icing sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
275g (10oz) full-fat cream cheese
hundreds and thousands, to decorate
Method
Grease and line two 20cm (8 inch) round loose-bottomed cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
Measure one-third of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and whisk using an electric hand whisk for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture into 2 bowls and add some food colouring to each bowl (two different colours) and mix well.
Spoon into the tins and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until well risen and springing back when pressed in the centre with your fingertips. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Wash, grease and reline the tins. Repeat the method to make four more cakes, all in different colours.
To make the cream cheese icing, beat the butter and milk with half of the icing sugar in a large bowl, using an electric hand whisk, until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the vanilla extract and the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, remove the baking paper from all six cakes. Place the violet cake on a cake board and spread with a little icing. Continue to layer the cakes with icing sugar until you have all six cakes stacked neatly with the red cake on top. Cover the whole surface of the cake with a thin layer of icing, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes. This will help to seal the crumbs.
Once the icing is firm, cover with a final layer and spread to make a smooth finish. Sprinkle the top with hundreds and thousands.
- from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, published by BBC Books/ Penguin Random House UK
