Rainbow cake

Source: Martha Stewart

We recently made a rainbow cake for one of our dear friends, and I must say it turned out fab!  It was pretty simple to make also, albeit a little fiddly cooking 4 separate layers of cake, yet very effective.  Here were some tips that we picked up...

1)  Firstly we just used 1 batch of cake batter, and divided into 4 portions using the kitchen scales to help make them equal.  Four portions was good for the size cake we made, but certainly could have made more.

2)  We cooked each portion separately in a casserole dish (as we didn't have a small enough cake tin!).  It was a good size and you don't want the cake to be too squat.  You need to wash and dry the cake tin between uses.  The first cake I cooked for about 14 mins, and then removed a minute for each subsequent cake on the basis that the tin and oven were hot!

3)  The cakes were stored overnight in an airtight container.  I should have put baking paper between the level though as they sweated a bit and stuck together slightly.

4)  The next day we made the meringue icing.  It was very effective having pure white icing and it was so soft and fluffy, like meringue!  You make a sugar syrup with 1 cup of caster sugar and 1/3 cup of water.  After it has boiled for about 3-5 mins, it needs to be tested.  You do this by putting a small amount on a teaspoon into a glass of water; it is done when the syrup is like a tacky toffee.  Take it off the boil, let the bubbles subside before pouring slowly into 2 beaten egg whites.

5)  We used 1 tablespoon of icing for each layer of cake but could easily have used 2 tablespoons.  The icing generously covered the cake.  And ta da...

Admittedly it didn't QUITE look like Martha Stewart's when cut, but then we had 4 hungry and excited little girls demanding some cake so the cutting was done under pressure!