Rainbow Drip Cake

Oh hi, guys welcome back to a new post! This week is for this incredible Rainbow Drip Cake! If you have subscribed to my monthly…

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Oh hi, guys welcome back to a new post! This week is for this incredible Rainbow Drip Cake! If you have subscribed to my monthly newsletter then you might recognise this recipe. This recipe was revealed in my rainbow-themed newsletter on the 1st of June. It was jammed full with baking news, themed baking products and of course, a sneak-peek at the themed recipe. If you want to subscribe to my monthly newsletter then you can do so on my homepage.

Anyway back to the recipe. This is a five-layered vanilla rainbow drip cake with rainbow vanilla buttercream and a white chocolate drip. I used red, orange, yellow, green and blue and I mirrored the buttercream on the outside to match the colours on the inside, tying the look together nicely.

Why do we celebrate Pride?

Pride is a celebration of the gender and sexual diversity of people. Pride started off as a response to a police raid on a pub in New York that was popular with members of the LGBT+ community in June 1969, also known as the Stonewall riots.

The riots began when a woman struggling with four officers called upon the crowd to take action and as a result, the riots began. The year after the riots groups got together to commemorate the event. They opted for the name “gay pride” to indicate those involved were proud to be who they were.

Sadly because of the Coronavirus, Pride parades and social celebrations this year have been cancelled but that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate!

Cake

So this rainbow drip cake is slightly bigger than my normal-sized cake like my Cookie Dough Showstopper Cake or my Chocolate and Peanut Butter Drip Cake, being five layers tall. You could make the cake bigger and make it seven layers if you prefer, check out the Alternatives section below to find out how.

To Make the Cake

To make the cake I mixed the butter and caster sugar together until it was light and fluffy. After that, I added in all the other ingredients and mixed again until all the ingredients were combined.

I always double-check I have all the ingredients well combined by scraping down the sides of the bowls and giving it another quick mix. Next, I split the mixture into 5 bowls. There should be approximately 350g in each bowl, and then I add the food colouring.

A lot of people find it hard to get a vibrant red colour. Check out the “What Ingredients do I use” section to find out what food colouring I use.

I would recommend using gel-based food colouring. They tend to have brighter colours and you only need a tiny amount to get vivid colours. They are better compared to liquid/water-based food colourings that you can buy at supermarkets. I have always found them to have a funny aftertaste and you need to use a lot to get the colour you want.

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After you have coloured all your cake batter, pop them into separate cake tins and bake in the oven.

You will know they are ready because they will spring back when touched. You will find that the top and the sides of the cake will go a slightly brown colour. Don’t worry about this, you can cut the sides and top off if you want to keep the colour. I didn’t because when you stack your cakes and cover them in buttercream you don’t see the brown edges or tops when you cut into them anyway.

Buttercream

To make the buttercream I mix the butter and icing sugar together and then add in vanilla extract. If you find the buttercream is too thick add a teaspoon of milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

I split the buttercream into six bowls this time as I wanted white buttercream in the centre of my cake. Again, this is completely optional you can colour all the buttercream if you would prefer.

To Decorate the Cake

To decorate the cakes I stacked each one onto a cake board. I decided I wanted the red to be at the top of the cake so I started at the bottom with the blue layer. I sandwiched the cakes using the white buttercream, and don’t worry if it splodges out the sides as I used this for my crumb coat too.

Using my cake smoother I smoothed any splodges of buttercream into the side of the cake. To crumb coat just ensure that there are no gaps in the cake. If there are, just use some of your white buttercream to fill the gaps and smooth again. If you have any white buttercream leftover leave it to one side.

Pop the cake into the fridge for half an hour or so until the buttercream firms up. Once your crumb coat is set you can then decorate it with your rainbow colours. I put all my colours into individual piping bags with a round piping tip. I pipe two rows of each coloured buttercream around the outside of the cake. Don’t worry, as at the stage, it won’t look pretty and if there are any small gaps then these will be filled when you smooth the buttercream.

Once you have layered all your colours use your cake smoother to smooth the buttercream. If there are any gaps just use the colour you need and fill them in. This should naturally create a kind of gradient icing effect.

To Make the Drip

Once you have smoothed the icing on the sides and on top. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave on 20-second bursts until it is completely melted. Pop it into a piping bag and snip the end off or you can use a small piping tip. Go around the edge of your cake and encourage the chocolate to drip. Pop the cake into the fridge until the chocolate has set.

Decorate your brilliant rainbow drip cake with any leftover buttercream and of course handfuls of colourful sprinkles!

What Ingredients Do I Use?

Self-Raising Flour – I use a supermarket own brand

Caster Sugar – I use Silver Spoon

Butter – For the cake I use Stork and for the buttercream you MUST use Unsalted Butter. If you use Stork in the buttercream it will be too soft and your cake won’t be stable. You can also use unsalted butter in the cake sponge instead of stork if you would prefer.

Vanilla Extract – In this cake I used Dr Oekter

Baking Powder – I use Dr Oetker

Food Colouring – I used Pro Gel

Icing Sugar – I used Silver Spoon

White Chocolate – You can use any white chocolate branded or not. I used a supermarket own brand.

Sprinkles – I used these Sweetapolita Party Classic Non-Pareils Sprinkles

What Equipment Do I Use?

Cake Tins – I used these 8″ round cake tins.

Spatula – I always recommend using a spatula over a wooden spoon. I normally find with a wooden spoon there is a lot of leftover cake batter around the sides of the bowl. When you use a spatula you are able to get all the leftover batter.

Mixing Bowls – I use these mixing bowls

Scales – I would never ever bake without weighing out my ingredients first.

Cake smoother – I use this Wilton Cake Smoother

Piping Tip – I used a Wilton 1M Piping Tip for the decoration on top of the cake. You can use a large round piping tip for around the sides of the cake too.

Piping Bags – I use these large savoy piping bags as I find you can fit all the buttercream into the bag no problem.

Alternatives

Why not make this cake 7 layers and use all the colours of the rainbow? To make it you will need to increase the amount of ingredients to 500g each and 10 large eggs.

You don’t need to make the buttercream coloured, you could have a simple white buttercream with the surprise rainbow layers inside instead.

Tips and Tricks

This cake should last 3-4 days in an airtight container.

I would ensure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. I do this by taking the butter out of the fridge a few hours before I bake.

Print Recipe
4.92 from 12 votes

Rainbow Drip Cake

A colourful rainbow drip cake, rainbow buttercream decorated with a white chocolate buttercream and sprinkles.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Decorating Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Sarah Mark

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 450 g Unsalted Butter
  • 450 g Caster Sugar
  • 450 g Self-Raising Flour
  • 9 Large Eggs
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • Rainbow Food Colouring

For the Buttercream

  • 1 kg Icing Sugar
  • 500 g Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • Rainbow Food Colouring

For the Decoration

  • 200 g White Chocolate
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

To Make the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 170C (150C Fan). Line five 7” cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
  •  In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder and vanilla extract. Whisk until allcombined.
  • Split the mixture evenly into the five separate bowls and add the food colouringuntil you are happy with the rainbow colours.
  • Pour the mixture into the individual cake tins and bake in the over for 35-40minutes. You will know they are ready when they are golden brown and springy to touch.
  • I leave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and put them on a wire rack to cool fully.

To Make the Buttercream

  • In a bowl mix together the butter and icing sugar until it is combined. Add in the vanilla extract and mix again.
  • If you find the buttercream is quite thick add 1tsp of milk at a time mixing in-between until it reaches the desired consistency.
  • Split the mixture into six bowls. I put 500g in one bowl and 200g in the other bowls.
  • In the bowls with 200g add in yourfood colouring until you are happy with the colours. Leave the bowl with 500gas it is. This will be your cake filling and crumb coat.
  • Put the mixtures into separate piping bags with a large round nozzle.

To Decorate

  • Place your firstcake on your board or plate and pipe the white buttercream on top. Smooth thebuttercream. Repeat until all your cakes are stacked. Don’t worry if some ofthe buttercream splodges out of the side we will use this as part of the crumbcoat.
  • Use your cakesmoother and go around the sides of the cake and ensure there are no gaps. Ifthere are using the white buttercream fill the gaps and smooth again. Don’tworry if you can still see the cake colours through the buttercream we will coverthem with our rainbow buttercream
  • Pop the cake intothe fridge until the buttercream firms up.
  • Once your crumb coathas firmed up you can decorate with your rainbow buttercream. Take your firstcolour and start at the bottom of the cake. Pipe the buttercream around thesides of the cake.
  • When you are pipingthe buttercream just ensure that there is enough room on the cake for all five colours.I piped two rings of buttercream around the cake in each colour. I decoratedthe top of the cake with the colour I used at the top of the cake.
  • Once all your colours are on your cake using yourcake smoother go around the side of the cake and smooth. If you have any gapsjust fill it with the buttercream and smooth again. Until the entire cake iscovered. Smooth the top of the cake. If you have any leftover buttercream leaveto one side.
  • Melt your white chocolate in the microwave in 20second bursts until it has completely melted. Pop it into a piping bag youcould also use a a squeeze bottle if you find it easier.
  • Put the edge of the piping bag on the side of the cakeand squeeze gently. To get the drip I hold the piping bag ever so slightly awayfrom the cake. If you have any left-over chocolate pipe it onto the top of yourcake and smooth.  
  • Put the cake back into the fridge until the chocolate has set.
  • Once the chocolate has set decorate the top of the cake. I done this by using leftover white buttercream and sprinkles.

Pin it For Later!

If you make this Rainbow Drip Cake or any of my recipes use #aspoonfulofvanilla on social media so I can see all the deliciousness! If you have any recipe suggestions or any comments good and bad about this post and others on my blog, then you can either leave them in the comments section below. You can also find me on InstagramTwitter and Pinterest or you can email me at aspoonfulofvanilla@outlook.com.

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41 comments

  1. Oh wow! I absolutely love this cake! What a great idea for a pride-themed party or birthday party. It’s gorgeous!

  2. 5 stars

  3. You always make the tastiest looking treats! I’m nervous to try any of them because I don’t want to end up on an episode of Nailed It! haha

  4. This is a lovely heaping slice of a cake! I love how the colors all stay in their own neat rings, and the slice looks amazing. I have never had much luck when it comes to keeping colors separate but I want to try this. 🙂

  5. 5 stars

  6. This looks like such a fun cake! Our kids recently asked my husband to bring home a blue and orange cake. This looks much tastier!

  7. 4 stars
    This cake looks divine and way too good to eat! I’d love to try making a rainbow cake one day!

  8. The cake looks beautiful! I miss baking but since it’s just me now with all the virus stuff going around I have no reason to bake.

    1. Ah, what a shame! Hopefully, you will be able to bake again soon! I normally take all my bakes into work with me but we aren’t allowed to share unpackaged food so I have had to find new taste testers to try them.

  9. My best friend is an avid baker and made me one of these cakes for my birthday a few years ago and it was sooo pretty! I don’t have the patience, but this cake looks just as gorgeous!

    Katie | katieemmabeauty.com

  10. Oh wow, this is absolutely amazing! I always looked at rainbow cakes but never tried to make one! I will need to make one of these for sure, thanks for sharing x

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