Red velvet and rainbow cake experts I need your advice.

Next week it is DS's birthday. We're going to the IL's so I doubt I will be baking a cake but I will be doing cupcakes on the Friday before his birthday for his class.
Since I'm not doing a cake I may as well go all out with the cupcakes.

Sooo...... I'm thinking zebra cupcakes. With a red velvet and another colour. Is it possible? Is there another batter that will take the same time to cook as the red velvet? A white mud maybe if I went a little lighter on the chocolate? I could add yellow dye to that and a red and yellow would make his day because they are the Gryffindor colours.

Or maybe a marble effect - would a quick stir with a skewer do the trick?

Any trick, tips and suggestions would be welcomed.

I'm not wed to the idea of the red velvet cupcakes - if I need to use a different batter I will.

i would do a simple cake that you can split and color, rather than trying to mix two different textures - no guarantee it will cook at the same rate, and you don't want to end up with a weird texture (IMO)!

we make a simple vanilla cupcake the other day - just split it in two and add color. just keep in mind the red and yellow, if you swirl, will give lots of orange. maybe look at layers in the patty pan instead...

You could just halve the red cake mix (as in same quantity, into two bowls), and add a half quantity of cocoa and red colour to one for the red velvet portion, and a touch extra flour and vanilla into the other bowl. Then spoon small amounts into patty pans.

Yes it's possible but they will have to be horizontal stripes rather than vertical.

I've done it before it's easy as pie. I don't have time atm... but red velvet essentially is chocolate cake with red food colouring. It was originally made with really red cocoa, then alternatively beetroot juice. Now most people use food colouring. My favourite chocolate cupcake recipe is AWESOME just without the cocoa (I add more flour to compensate).

You could definitely colour white chocolate mudcake. Colouring batter is easy as pie. And layering is just as easy!

I would also just go for a vanilla cake mix and colour it. Yes a skewer swirled through would give you the effect you wanted.

I would just be aware if its for the class some kids may miss out because of the colours.. I hate seeing my big girl sad after she misses out on cakes.

I just realised how derp I am. Vertical vs. Horizontal. Derp.

Onyx, I've made loads of zebra and rainbow cakes and you can use any type of cake you want, but they have to be the same consistency otherwise when you pour them into the pan, they wont spread properly and the layers/stripes wont look right. The way I do the rainbow zebra cakes is to make a couble quantity of batter, then split it evenly into however many colours I want to have - usually 6. Then I add the colouring to it and then alternatively pour it into the pan. Have you seen the FB pics I have of when I've done them? If you do cupcakes, you will literally only need a teaspoon of mix for each layer if you want a few layers/stripes, otherwise you can have less layers/stripes by using bigger spoonfuls of batter.

I was hoping you'd see this thread Trillian. I consider you the guru of rainbow cake.

Since I want Gryfinndor cupcakes I could use a vanilla cupcake mix and add red and yellow colouring? I wonder if my local cake supplies store has a dark red? I guess I could use my bright red with a drop of black?

Now I just need to figure out how to ice/top them....

LOL, thanks! Yep, basic packet buttercake is ideal - I use it all the time because the consistency is perfect. I wasn't sure if you'd use a packet one or make it from scratch. The colours you buy at the supermarket are no good - you need to buy some Wiltons Gel Colours - they are da bomb for getting vivid colours. The supermarket ones need a tonne of colouring added to get them as rich as you want them. I've used some pretty dark and light colours together and they don't relly run together that much, but you may want to use slightly more yellow batter so you have a thicker band of yellow between the red so you can tell that it's yellow kwim? Otherwise if you have a thin band of yellow it will be overwhelmed by the red. You've inspired me to make some up myself as a test for you LOL.

I have the wilton's red gel so I guess i need to track down some yellow.

Now I just need to figure out what icing to use...

Onyx, I've uploaded them to FB for you.

That must be some kind of record.
I can't see them. Can you tag me?

I posted them on your wall - for some reason it wouldn't let me share the album with you.

Me is :bump: bumping because I need to make a 6 layered rainbow cake for DD's party on Saturday and just wondering which packet mix you use Trill and Onyx?? I need to colour each of the 6 layers a different colour and then work out what icing to use in-between each layer and on top! TIA chicks!

I ended up using the Magnolia bakery vanilla cupcake recipe instead of a packet cake mix. It is quite thick and not at all runny so the cupcakes ended up more patchy/marbled than layered.

Utterly delicious cupcakes. It's a great recipe.

In a layered rainbow cake I expect to see purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

ETA - I saw an awesome purple cake that was layers of different shades of purple - light on the bottom and dark on the top.

A cream cheese frosting with a bit of lemon zest would be yummy.

That is exactly what Im doing hun!! Could I use that recipe for a cake do you think? I"ve done it before for cupcakes but this will essentially be 6 cakes (planning on 2 batters divided by 3 if it's big enough or else 3 x2)

I think it would make delicious cakes.

Not sure how long you would have to bake them - probably not long since they would be thin.

Here is the recipe - they give a time for the cake. If you make it into 3 layers you can just reduce it a bit.

:

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Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the Vanilla Vanilla -- the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink). If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between 2 (9-inch) round cake pans and bake the layers for 30 to 40 minutes.
Ingredients
Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Vanilla Buttercream:

The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Yield: enough for 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 (9-inch) layer cake

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Yeah I am literally going to sit on my oven :rofl: It's a temperamental VERY efficient thing that I have to take 1/4 of time off for everything normally so this should be interesting!!! Thanks hun will use that recipe seeing as I know it well already - if you have a cream cheese lemon icing recipe you know of could you swing it my way too pretty please! I hate just guessing on taste with stuff like this and I don't have time to test it out!!

You could use the frosting that they use at the bakery. It is at the end of the recipe. It's very yummy (and very sweet).

For my cheesecake frosting I just beat philly cheese and lemon zest and then add a dribble of milk and then icing sugar until it seems right. It's the lemon zest that gives it the special taste.
For more lemony flavour you could use a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice instead of milk.

Tan, I always use the White Wings buttercake packet mix - it just gives such a good consistency and the colours mix through it really well. If you are going to so a six layer cake, you will need 3 packets - make the batter on pack at a time and then split it into equal halves and then colour each half. It is not hard by any means to do all six layers, but it is time consuming. One tip though - whatever tin you plan on using, make sure you have two of them so you can have two cakes in the oven at the same time otherwise it takes forever to cook. If you are planning on feeding a heap of people, then use one packet per layer in a large rectangle/square tin.

Not sure if this is helpful, but I tried doing a rainbow cake with natural colours. The pics on the net look great, but it was a real struggle to get it right at home. So if anyone wants to go natural, best to do a trial run (unlike me) and just see if you can get the colours right. They are more muted, which I really like the look of, but mine came out really pastel.

Onyx, I'm totally stealing that recipe! Is 'two sticks of butter' 2 x 250g? I have a heap of eggs and it will be a good way to offload some.

two sticks is just under 250 grams, a stick is 115g.

I just have the normal Queens ones Astrid so will see how they go! I don't have huge amounts of people so I was thinking one cake split into 3 but that might be too thin so might have to go with 1 split in 2 and go with 3 cakes. I have 2 identical tins so will be baking 2 at a time for sure!!

Subbing as DDs 2nd bday party is a rainbow theme!