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Liliana's Rainbow Cake

A special celebration cake!
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Servings: 12
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

You need to make 4 cakes - each cake contains:
  • 250 g unsalted butter, softened, chopped
  • 250 g caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup milk
  • 250 g plain flour, sifted
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • food colouring (4 different colours for all cakes)
You need 2 batches of Buttercream - each batch contains:
  • 230 g unsalted butter, softened, chopped
  • 1 kg icing sugar
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate
  • 400 g assorted sprinkles of your choice

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius (160 fan forced)
Make the Cakes
  1. You need to make 4 smaller cakes for this layered cake. You can make 4 times the mix all at once (if your mixer is big enough), then split into 4 portions before you add colouring if you like. However making one cake mix at a time is more manageable.
  2. Line a 4 x 22cm round cake tins with baking paper. (or you can do lone at a time if you don't have enough tins, but the time process will be long)
  3. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
  4. Add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure fully incorporated each time.
  5. Add vanilla and milk. Beat to incorporate. Don’t worry if it appears to look curdled. It will come together once the flour is mixed in.
  6. Stir in the flour and baking powder, then beat with the mixer again for another 3 -5 minutes or until the mixture is quite smooth.
  7. Add a few drops of your desired food colour. Mix to thoroughly combine.
  8. Pour mixture into the cake tins. Smooth the tops. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
  9. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, run a knife around the edge to loosen, then turn out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely while you make the buttercream.
Buttercream
  1. You will need two batches of the buttercream recipe (make it twice rather than all at once as it is more manageable).
  2. Beat the butter with half the icing sugar, all the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy (about 4 minutes).
  3. Gradually add the rest of the icing sugar, a cup at a time, beating 2 minutes before the next addition, until it is all incorporated. The buttercream should be a spreadable consistency and very white.
Assembly
  1. Trim the tops of the cakes with a knife so they are flat.
  2. Put one cake on a cake board. Spread with buttercream.
  3. Put another cake on top and spread with buttercream, repeat until you have a four-layered cake.
  4. Completely ice the sides of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Use your palette knife to smooth the icing around the sides so it is neat. Let it set for 10 minutes. Then apply a thicker coat of buttercream so it is completely covered.
  5. Transfer the cake into a large deep tray and pour the sprinkles around it. Scoop up handfuls of sprinkles and with a flat hand and stick them all over the sides of the cake, pressing gently until completely covered.
  6. Transfer cake onto a cake board and spread the buttercream over the top of the cake, saving some for piping.
  7. Tidy the edges.
  8. Place remaining buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe small rosettes around the top of the cake.