It’s impossible to avoid making a rainbow cake. It’s everywhere and at all the kids birthday parties we’ve been to. That itself could be the reason not to make one but I thought well, it is on my pinterest board and my food bucket list so decided to go ahead. I found the perfect recipe – Nigella’s one – and since the Guardian posted a pdf of it I’m assuming it’s ok to repost it. It lists buttermilk as one of the ingredients which I think leans towards a rather moist cake, which we prefer.

The twist to it is that the shape of the cake is a star! No I don’t have multiples of star pans so yes I baked the layers individually. I also doubled the recipe and made slight alterations to the original recipe.

The oohs and ahhs from the little ones as I lifted the slice out to reveal the coloured layers was one of the highlights of my day!

Cake Ingredients

500g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp salt
400ml buttermilk (or 75g yogurt mixed with 125ml semi-skinned milk)
2 tsp almond extract
250g softened butter
400g caster sugar
7 large free-range eggs
ready-to-roll icing to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Spray the cake tin with cake release.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate and salt together.
Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a little of the flour with the last one.
Gradually add the rest of the flour with the buttermilk, one after the other, until thoroughly mixed. Add almond extract.
Divide into 6 bowls, adding a gel colouring into each. Pour one coloured mixture into the tin and bake for about 10 minutes or until the sides pull away from the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Buttercream icing
500g butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
3-4 tbsp milk

Beat the butter till it is soft and add the icing sugar in. Pour in the milk tablespoon by  tablespoon, until the mixture achieves a spreading consistency.
Spread onto the cooled cakes layer by layer, and then onto the top and sides. Try to keep these layers thin and smooth.
Sprinkle some icing sugar on a clean and flat surface. Knead and roll out the fondant icing till it is quite thin and using a rolling pin to help, pick up the large piece of fondant and lay over the cake. Smooth all over.
Decorate as you wish =)
Here I gave some edible ink marker pens to my daughter and tasked her to decorate her own birthday cake. She was delighted!