Today’s fun and colorful high altitude rainbow cake is perfect for birthday parties! In fact, it’s the cake my youngest son requested last week for his third birthday, and my boys absolutely loved getting to help bake and assemble all the colorful cake layers. With a demure coat of vanilla buttercream flecked with sprinkles, it’s so fun to cut the first slice and reveal the vivid rainbow hiding inside.
So let’s talk about the fact that this rainbow cake has 6 layers, but a rainbow actually has a spectrum of 7 colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The main reason I just made 6 layers, though, is because I only have 6 cake pans. That said, you can certainly bake the batter in batches if you don’t have enough pans. So if you want to squeeze in that indigo layer, then go for it!
You might also love these Funfetti cupcakes with rainbow swirl frosting, baked Funfetti donuts, and soft white chocolate chip sprinkle cookies.
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Ingredients
Cake
- Cake Flour. With a lower percentage of protein, cake flour makes a softer, more tender cake crumb than all-purpose flour, and gives the cake strength and structure.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the cake.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Eggs + Egg White. Adds structure to the cake batter.
- Buttermilk. Gives the cake moisture and acidity, for a more tender cake crumb.
- Unsalted Butter + Vegetable Oil. A combination of melted butter and oil makes cakes that are really moist, with a nice buttery flavor.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor
- Gel Food Coloring: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, (indigo) and violet/purple
Today’s photographed rainbow cake is a 6-inch cake, that I scaled down from my favorite vanilla cake recipe. To make an 8-inch cake, use the full recipe found here.
Buttercream
- Unsalted Butter. Butter gives buttercream it’s rich, creamy buttery flavor. For a whiter buttercream, substitute half of the butter with vegetable shortening.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. A little known secret, meringue powder adds stability and improves the texture of buttercream.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Sprinkles. After crumb coating the cake, I added rainbow nonpareils to the final coat of buttercream, so that it was flecked all over with color.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and spray the bottoms of six 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until mostly combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Don’t over-mix, since you’ll be mixing the batter again when you add the food coloring.
- Divide the batter evenly between 6 small bowls. Tint each bowl of batter separately with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple gel food coloring. Use 1-2 drops for more vivid colors, or use a toothpick to add just a tiny bit of color for pastel shades. Stir the coloring into the batter until combined.
- Scrape the 6 colors of batter into the prepared pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 13-15 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly touched. Since there’s a small amount of batter in each pan, the layers will be fairly thin.
- Cool the cakes in the pans before assembling and frosting.
TIP: If you don’t have 6 cake pans, you can bake the batter in batches. Let the extra cake batter rest at room temperature, until you can wash the pans after baking the first batch.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
- Add the vanilla and the milk; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy.
Assembly
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans.
- Set the purple cake on a cake board. Frost with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat stacking and filling with the remaining colors, ending with red on top.
- Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Fold the sprinkles into the remaining buttercream, and frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 6B, and fill with the leftover buttercream. Pipe the buttercream in decorative peaks on top of the cake.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don’t have 6 cake pans?
Since I do so much baking, I have six 6-inch cake pans and six 8-inch cake pans. But I realize a lot of home bakers don’t have so many spare pans. If you only have 2 or 3 pans, you can bake the cake batter in batches. While baking the first batch, let the bowls of colored batter rest at room temperature. When you have a clean pan available, gently scrape the batter into the, trying not to mix it again or disturb it too much, and bake the remaining cake layers. Since baking powder is double acting, you should still get a rise from your cake even though some of the batter wasn’t baked immediately.
How do I make this into a larger 8-inch cake?
For my 6-inch cake, I scaled the recipe down to 2/3 the size of a standard cake. To bake this in six 8-inch cake pans, use my vanilla cake recipe found here.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Cake flour contains a lower percentage of protein than other flours, which is why it makes such light, fluffy cakes. You can use all-purpose flour instead.
What can I substitute for the buttermilk?
You can use either whole buttermilk or low fat buttermilk. To make your own buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar to whole milk, and warm briefly in the microwave to curdle the milk.
What kind of sprinkles did you use in the buttercream?
I used rainbow nonpareils in the buttercream.
What’s the best food coloring to use?
I recommend using gel food coloring, rather than liquid, for the most concentrated, vivid colors.
What piping tip did you use for the buttercream on top of the cake?
Tip 6B.
Is this a high altitude cake recipe?
Yes, I test all the cakes on my site at Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet.
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Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Rainbow Birthday Cake with Sprinkle Buttercream
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Bowl and Whisk
- Six 6-inch cake pans
- Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 â…“ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 1 cup whole buttermilk
- â…“ cup unsalted butter, melted
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- gel food coloring: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- â…› – ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tbsp rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and spray the bottoms of six 6-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until mostly combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Don't over-mix, since you'll be mixing the batter again when you add the food coloring.
- Divide the batter evenly between 6 small bowls. Tint each bowl of batter separately with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple gel food coloring. Use 1-2 drops for more vivid colors, or use a toothpick to add just a tiny bit of color for pastel shades. Stir the coloring into the batter until combined.
- Scrape the 6 colors of batter into the prepared pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 13-15 minutes, until the centers spring back when lightly touched. Since there's a small amount of batter in each pan, the layers will be fairly thin.
- Cool the cakes in the pans before assembling and frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
- Add the vanilla and the milk; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy.
Assembly
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans.
- Set the purple cake on a cake board. Frost with a thin layer of buttercream. Repeat stacking and filling with the remaining colors, ending with red on top.
- Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Fold the sprinkles into the remaining buttercream, and frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 6B, and fill with the leftover buttercream. Pipe the buttercream in decorative peaks on top of the cake.
I love it.
You just keep getting better and better!at everything!
What a heavenly dessert (excuse the pun)…They say we should save the best for last..I believe this cake would be the exception..I would enjoy a slice in the morning instead of breakfast..why..because life is too short..eat dessert first!!!!
That is so sweet, thank you! 🙂
Nofa, thank you so much, I agree, cake makes a fantastic breakfast! 🙂
Just wondering why the cake recipe doesn’t match your vanilla cake recipe, excluding the gel coloring of course. Some ingredients do, but some like flour do not. I’ve taken into account the total batter made and everything fyi, that’s not why I’m seeing them as off. It would seem everything on the rainbow recipe could be multiplied by 1.5 to reach the plain vanilla recipe, but doesn’t work out for everything, so just curious on why. I’ve had wonderful success with your vanilla recipe and am tempted to just do that but add the coloring, but seeing that you have a different recipe for rainbow… I just want to do what is best 😀
I based my rainbow cake on my vanilla cake, but since I wanted the rainbow cake to be slightly smaller (but not as small as half the size), I scaled it down to 2/3 the size. Not every ingredient rounds off perfectly when scaling a recipe down, so I made adjustments as needed. So, you can definitely just use the vanilla cake recipe, with the food coloring, if you’re good with the size of cake that it makes. 🙂
This cake is so beautiful!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
What a cake! It is SO beautiful and I can definitely tell how much effort would have gone into it. I really want a slice now.
Thank you, Thalia! It was a lot of work, but so worth the effort. 🙂
Oh my goodness I am in love with this cake! It’s SO beautiful!!
Lauren
I followed the recipe exactly but my layers didn’t rise. Any thoughts? Should this have baking soda in it?
Heather, to answer that, I’d need to know first what altitude you’re at. All of my recipes are for high altitude (over 5,000 feet). If you’re at a lower altitude or sea level, they may not rise as well without some adjustments. Mainly, you’d need to reduce the flour a little and increase the leavening. I’d suggest reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
If altitude isn’t the issue, then is your baking powder fresh? Expired baking powder might not activate, resulting in baked goods that don’t rise.