It's a Rainbow Cake!

Lady V turned 4 last week. I can hardly believe she is 4. Of course when we have a 30 minute debate over what to wear to preschool or she informs me she used to eat vegetables when she was little but not anymore, I am sure she is 4. I had a few cake ideas floating around but since Lady V draws rainbows constantly and has recently taken to using her fairy wand to create rainbows floating through our house, I knew this would be the cake for her!

This is not my idea but one I have seen floating around Pinterest and a few blogs. I checked out the original blog post about it at Whisk Kid and Whisk Kid blogger Kaitlin was even featured on Martha, yup The Martha. How on earth do you end up on Martha? I cannot imagine. Very fun.

Here is my Rainbow Cake. Check out the time on the oven clock. Yes, that would be am. Not pm.

I chose to use a cake mix, at 10 pm I was borrowing ingredients from the neighbour across the street, so I figure I was doing well to have any cake in the mixer bowl! I divided the mix into 6 smaller bowls. It was a bit less than 2 cups per bowl. I then started the fun part. I used Wilton gels to colour each bowl of cake mix.

The first two cakes ready for the oven in 8" spring form pans that have been buttered & floured. The cake mix just covers the bottom. I baked at 325 for about 15 minutes, I think, I wasn't really watching the time! It does not take long as the cakes are so thin.

More beautiful colours ready for the oven.

The finished cakes cooling on the stove. I have a smooth top, so I am always worried my cooling racks will scratch it, thus the non-matchy tea towels. 

Mmmmm buttercream. I carefully sliced the top of each cake so it would be more even. I didn't need to cut much off the cakes as they were fairly level anyway. I made two batches of American Buttercream. The recipe is from Glorious Treats, a blog filled with yummy goodness! I used a thin layer of buttercream to stack the cakes, added a this crumb coat and put it in the fridge to chill. 

I ended up making another batch of buttercream to ice the cake, oh so much sugar. I added pink to the icing, as Lady V adores all things pink. The husband added skittles to the top in a lovely rainbow swirl.

Thrilled with her cake that was almost as big as she is!

Waiting with great anticipation for a peek at the inside....

I was so excited when it actually worked! I think I may have been as giddy as the 4 year old.
Definitely a make-again. It really wasn't difficult at all, however I do recommend starting before 10pm. Have a baby that sleeps helps a bit with that!

Kit Kat Cake

A friend asked me to make a birthday cake for her daughter on the weekend. She was turing 4 and is such a cutie! I have seen this idea floating around on Pinterest and another friend is actually making it for her daughter in March, so I thought I would try it out. It is super simple and quick to make. The perfect cake to squeeze in on a busy weekend.

I used cake mixes, much faster and realistically the kids were only going to care about the candy on top, I knew that. I made one chocolate and one white cake mix.

I trimmed the top of the chocolate cake, just with a big 'ol bread knife to make it level, added a layer of chocolate frosting and put the white cake on top. I used pre-made frosting....I have an almost 4 year old and a 5 month old....I had to be realistic with my time!

Once the cake was completely iced I added the Kit Kat bars. I used regular size bars, breaking them in half so they were in pairs. They just press into the icing on the side, and because of their shape they easily stay put. I used 8 packages of Kit Kat bars, I think, I forgot to count!

The cakes I have seen online used M&Ms, but we are a peanut-free house, so I used smarties instead. It took 2 bags of smarties, the ones you buy in the big candy aisle.

Finally I added a cutesy pink bow and tied it in a knot. I attempted a bow, but it didn't go so well, I think I like the knot better anyway.

The kids loved it and couldn't wait to have a piece. It actually cut quite well using the pairs of Kit Kats as a guide. Definitely a candy-lovers cake!