THE cake

(note, this is part confession, part tutorial)

i had a cake in mind.

i saw a rainbow cake online years ago and have always wanted to make one.  however, 6 tiers calls for an event of magnitude and i didn't have one of those. 

her birthday seemed like the perfect time.  especially since i wasn't going crazy on the party with invitations, party favors, decorations, etc...  i'm not that kind of person. 

i had the perfect white cake picked out.  or so i thought.  a week before her party i baked a birthday cake for my mom.  simple 3 tier.  disaster.  each layer fell and were tough.  yuck.  i pondered my failure and realized i have to use high altitude recipes now.  duh.  i've never lived at high altitude before.  i re-baked my mom's cake and began to panic...

a week away and the white cake recipe didn't have a high altitude conversion.  i determined to bake a layer each day, gently tweaking the recipe until it was right.  yes, i am as crazy as i sound.  luckily, after one try, i tasted the cake and realized it wasn't going to work.  delicious, but it contained almond extract and gave a cherry flavor.  i was using a lemon buttercream frosting and those two do not go together.  back to square one.

after more internet research, i found a substitute.  baked that the next day.  a winner!  whew.  i doubled that recipe and had my 6 tiers.  i used red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple wilton food coloring gels.  i would highly recommend the gels versus liquid coloring.  i wanted vibrant colors and used a lot. 

here are the pans ready to go in the oven.  i used 8 inch pans.

 i baked my cakes the day before the party.  cooled on racks and once completely cool i wrapped in parchment paper, then plastic wrap and left on the counter until ready to frost the next day.  forgive the bad pictures.  we don't have natural lighting in our kitchen...

 the next morning i whipped up a large batch of lemon buttercream and went to work.  in hindsight, i can clearly see the layers are leaning.  oh, what i wish i would have seen then.  i was in a color haze.  but, how lovely are those colors?  i was so excited.  and nervous.  not only did i want a monster rainbow cake, but i wanted to cover it in sprinkles.  i'm such a nut. 

 meet my abominable snowman.  who is slightly leaning.  oy. 

i had researched various ways of attaching the sprinkles.  some mentioned frosting the cake (leave the top unfrosted) then freezing it for 5 minutes to firm up.  after that you roll it in a pan of sprinkles and, snap, you've got a decorated cake.  proceed with the top and you're done.  seems way too easy.  that didn't sit right with me.  the buttercream is my go to sugar cookie frosting and i knew how it acted with cold.  i didn't think the sprinkles would stick.  another online post mentioned simply patting the sprinkles on with ease.  liars.  better homes and garden, i'm looking at you.  i decided to go with that method.  i pulled out my two pounds of sprinkles - you read that right - and began. 

shortly thereafter, my floor was covered in sprinkles, my hope failing, and my husband staring at me with pity.  the small lip on my pan was not going to catch all the sprinkles.  we had to think of a better way. 

enter the plastic tub.  we store bivi's clothes in this.  emptied, washed and 5 minutes later we had a container.  one problem down, but more arose.  i felt like i was playing the game where you slam the gophers with the mallet.  you took care of one, but it's brother popped up laughing.  how to get the sprinkles to stick? 

the old fashioned way.  i tell you, there is no shortcut to this process.  maybe if you are doing a 2 or 3 tier cake you can roll it, however, mine was not being picked up.  aaron was such a sport and jumped in to help.  i lost track of time, but i'm guessing it took about 2 hours.  and years off my life. 

 strangely enough, putting your warm hands all over a cake makes it lumpy and bumpy.  how dare!  so, i had a bulging cake by the end, but it was covered in sprinkles!

 the finished product.  man, i don't know how the cake boss does it.

 inside pictures are in the party post.

looking back, i would not do a sprinkle cake again.  no way.  but, i look forward to another rainbow with such fun colors!