Rainbow Cake In A Jar!

I've been dying to try rainbow cake in a jar for.. ooh, at least a week. My 7 year old has decided that she wants a rainbow cake for her birthday, and Google led me to these little beauties. They seemed like a sensible way to test out the theory of dyed cake, and the effects of neon colours on the already-prone-to-hyperactivity children, and - let's face it - they're really really pretty!

So I started with a basic 3 egg sponge recipe:

175g self raising flour
175g baking margarine (or butter, if you're feeling less frugal)
175g caster sugar
1.5tsp baking powder
3 eggs

After whizzing it all up in the food processor I divided it between 6 appropriately coloured bowls and added the colouring. I used Sugarflair pastes in Baby Blue, Mint Green, Egg Yellow, Tangerine, Christmas Red, and a combination of the red & blue to make the purple. It didn't take much to achieve the desired effect. Maybe a quarter of a teaspoonful at most, per bowl.

Next came the task of getting the mixture into the jars! I used 5 jars altogether. It was easier than I'd expected to put a dollop of each colour into the jar and spread it evenly before adding the next one.

So pretty!










I placed the jars in a roasting tin, added about an inch or so of cold water to the tin, and put everything into a preheated oven at 180C. Helpfully, I can't actually tell you how long it took for the cakes to cook. After 15 minutes I turned them round, and after a further 12 minutes I checked again. They weren't done. I think they may have taken another 20 minutes in total, but keep checking - my oven is useless!


And finally..

CAKE!

I must admit, I was  bit disappointed when I saw them. The colours had run into each other quite a lot and they looked a little sludgy rather than lovely and vibrant. They shrank quite a bit after I took this photo, too. There's probably a scientific reason for that but I don't know what it is!




After cooling, I made up a batch of buttercream. I based it on the Hummingbird Bakery recipe, but in the end I winged it. So basically, start with 80g of unsalted butter and 250g of icing sugar, add a splash of milk, mix, and adjust as necessary.

Lots and lots of buttercream! And sprinkles!

In the interest of science, and despite the fact that it's dinnertime in ooh 30 minutes or so, I had to give the cake a try really, didn't I!?

                     

 IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!! And it's still lovely  and vibrant!!

Crazy rainbow crumbs

                    See the lovely colours?!

I could only manage half a jar. I guess that's about one cupcakes worth. But I am pleased to report that you can't taste the colouring at all, and 20 or so minutes in I am not suffering from hyperactivity ;)  I'll test it on the children tomorrow!

 

My imperfect little beauties