Homemade Rainbow Layered Cake has layers of rainbow colors, is topped with a homemade frosting and is the perfect spring or St. Patrick’s Day Dessert. This easy Naked Layered Cake is delicious and easy to make!
Somewhere over the rainbow…there’s rainbow layered cake! I’m absolutely obsessed with this recipe that is crazy easy and oh, so cute! This easy rainbow cake is the perfect way to brighten any kitchen and will be the star of any celebration.
If you’re looking to fill your dessert table with plenty of fun desserts, let this cake be your centerpiece! Then, have your kids help you make these cake mix cookies and throw in some of the mini funfetti cheesecakes too. No matter what you’re celebrating, this rainbow cake is sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face!
Why You’ll Love this Rainbow Layered Cake
- People tend to avoid layer cakes since it can be difficult to frost it evenly. But, this naked cake will not require you to frost the outside of the cake.
- This easy layered cake is perfect for novice bakers, and a great recipe for kids to help out on!
- You can make an easy rainbow cake for many different occasions! This cake is great for birthdays, pool parties, St. Patrick’s Day, and anything in between.
Ingredients for Rainbow Layered Cake
- Flour – Use a high quality all-purpose flour for best results.
- Sugar – You’ll need both granulated sugar and powdered sugar for this recipe. The granulated sugar is for the cake and the powdered sugar will be for the icing.
- Baking Powder – Baking powder will help the cake layers to rise.
- Eggs – Using egg whites in a cake helps it remain moist and fluffy.
- Salt – I recommend using kosher salt in order to keep the batter from becoming bitter.
- Sprinkles – Use any of your favorite multi-colored sprinkles to decorate the top of the cake.
- Butter – Let each stick of butter come to room temperature before using it in this recipe.
- Food Coloring – I personally recommend using gel food coloring in the frosting, but you could use liquid food coloring as well.
- Vanilla Extract – A little splash of vanilla helps give the frosting a subtlety sweet vanilla flavor.
- Milk – Use whole milk or 2% milk for best results.
- Powdered Sugar – This will be the base of the homemade frosting you will make.
Helpful Tools
How to Make this Easy Rainbow Cake
Begin by spraying five 8-inch round pans with cooking spray and sprinkle a bit of flour on them. Set those aside to use later.
In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla and egg whites and beat until smooth.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and milk to the mixture and beat until smooth and fully incorporated.
Separate the batter evenly into five bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl and stir until the color has been worked all the way through the batter.
Pour each colored batter into your prepared round pans and bake each layer for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
While baking, prepare the frosting. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Then, add two tablespoons of milk and vanilla and mix well. If your frosting becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar until it is the correct consistency.
Once all of your cake layers have baked and are completely cool, you can begin building your rainbow layered cake. Start with the blue layer on the bottom, and then top it with frosting. Add the next layer and frost, and continue this process all the way until you reach the top.
After frosting the top layer, and sprinkles, slice, and serve!
Serving Tips for Rainbow Layered Cake
I love to serve a fresh slice of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Either buy some at the store, or make your own! If you’re making this cake for a birthday, be sure to top it with some fun rainbow candles.
How to Store Rainbow Layered Cake
Store your frosted cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’d like to freeze your cake, wrap it in cling wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I use canned frosting on this Easy Rainbow Cake?
If you’re in a time crunch, feel free to grab some canned frosting to use for your cake. Homemade frosting tastes so much better, but canned frosting will do in a pinch!
Pro Tips for the best Rainbow Layered Cake
- The more fun your sprinkles are, the better! Get adventurous and try out multi-colored sprinkles of all different shapes and sizes.
- Add different colors of fresh fruit to the top of your cake if you don’t want sprinkles! You could do slices of strawberries, some blueberries, or maybe even some thinly sliced kiwi.
- Be sure you evenly spread out your frosting. Don’t make one layer super thick and another really thin! And keep the frosting even all the way around so that your cake doesn’t lean.
Why buy layered cake now when you know how easy it is to make? You got this! Get in your kitchen and have some fun making this easy rainbow cake.
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love
- This Swirled Easter Cake is made from box cake mix and perfect for your Easter celebrations.
- I have tons of holiday cupcake recipes, but these Reindeer Cupcakes are one of my favorites.
- Need more rainbows in your life? Check out these Rainbow Cupcakes!
- These Turkey Cupcakes are the perfect addition to Thanksgiving fun.
Rainbow Layer Cake
Homemade Rainbow Layer Cake is a naked cake that's topped with homemade frosting and the perfect spring dessert!
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue food coloring
Frosting Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- Sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare five 8-inch round baking pans by coating them with cooking spray and a thin layer of flour and set aside. If you don't have five pans you can bake the cakes in batches.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla and egg whites. Beat again until smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Beat again until batter is smooth.
- Separate batter into 5 separate bowls. Add one of the five food coloring colors to each bowl. The amount you add will depend on the type of food coloring you are using. Stir well until colors are even.
- Pour each color into a prepared 8 inch round baking pan.
- Cook each colored layer for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- When done baking, allow them to cool for 15 minutes before flipping them out of the pans. You may need to use a knife to release the edges. Allow them to cool completely before frosting them.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar together.
Add 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla. Beat well. If it is too thick, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. - Place the blue layer of cake on your serving plate. Cover it with a layer of frosting. You will need to spread five layers of frosting, so be sure to continue this with the green, yellow, orange, and red layers.
- Add sprinkles of your choice to the top.
Notes
- Store your frosted cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’d like to freeze your cake, wrap it in cling wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
- If you’re in a time crunch, feel free to grab some canned frosting to use for your cake. Homemade frosting tastes so much better, but canned frosting will do in a pinch!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 623Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 564mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 1gSugar: 72gProtein: 6g
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