Red velvet and rainbow cake experts I need your advice.

[Trillian]

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

[Beach Mama]

Me is 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!

[Phteven]

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.

[Beach Mama]

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)

[Phteven]

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.

[Beach Mama]

Yeah I am literally going to sit on my oven 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!!

[Phteven]

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.

[Phteven]

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.

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

[Trillian]

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.

[Astrid]

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.

[Trillian]

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.

[Astrid]

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