Rainbow Doodle Cake

This month was my favorite 6 soon to 7 year old's birthday. She wasn't really getting a party this year so we wanted a special cake. I spent a bit of time on pinterest and found this!

Rainbow Doodle Cake

 

 

It was made by a lovely lady with the cutest website ever. Lots of tips on baking! The picture above is hers. (used with permission) You can tell she has a few more skills and a way better camera then I do!!

Her link can be found here: http://sweetapolita.com/2011/04/rainbow-doodle-birthday-cake/

 

 

 Here is our version. It was late at night so the lighting is horrible but it was super cute.  I had never heard of edible markers but seriously, how cool are they?! I really wanted my girl to make cute rainbows and such but she had to draw a Longhorn. She's a bit of a Texas fan. This was my first time working with fondant. It went pretty well except a crack here and there (I left it out too long after rolling it - kids were calling my name) but we cut out some fondant with cookie cutters and let the kids color those to cover the few flaws.

This got a little massacred in the cutting but you get the general idea. The  colors really are that vibrant! The actual cake was good and although my layers ended up larger then hers we just cut thin slices. The cake got eaten over the next two days and not a crumb was spared! I am going to admit to cutting and pasting the recipe. Honestly, it is hers and not mine and if you visit the site she has great tips on Swiss merginue buttercream (it's sad how many buttercreams I could have salvaged if I had read the article first) and on how to fondant.

White Cake (but not really)
2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp
2 1/3 c (466 g) sugar
5 egg whites, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 c (375 g) all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 1/2 c (355 g) milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough!
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Oil and line how ever many 9” cake pans you have (I have three and I just reused them).
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites (I cracked them all into one bowl) and add them a little at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the milk and flour mixture in two parts.
Divide the batter amongst 6 bowls (I did it by weight. Weigh your mixing bowl before you begin adding ingredients and then subtract the weight of the bowl from the final measurement after the batter is completed. Divide that number by six and add that weight of batter to each bowl), and then whisk a fair amount of the appropriate food color into each bowl. Keep in mind that the color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each.
When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. Then flip, cover, and stash them in the fridge to cool quickly.
Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream
To fill and crumb coat:
9 egg whites
1 ¾ c (350 g) sugar
4 sticks (454 g) of butter, room temp
2 tsp lemon extract
To frost:
5 egg whites
1 c (200 g) sugar
2 sticks (227 g) butter, room temp
1 tsp lemon extract
Cook the egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it’s completely smooth, it’s done). Pour into another bowl (a stand mixer is preferable) and whip on high speed until room temp. Then, on a medium-slow speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and whip until it has come together, about five minutes. Add the extract, beat briefly and then use.
If the buttercream seems soupy after all of the butter is added and does not come together after whipping, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and continue whipping until it becomes fluffy and workable.
Assembly
Stack the layers in your preferred order and fill and frost as you would any other cake.