RAINBOWSAURUS CAKE

Imagine how fun cake is. Septuple it and add smarties and dinosaurs.... oooh now we’re talking.  This is a veritable playground of a cake, a kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes, the mind and the mouth, and one we made in honour of a very special friend’s birthday.  Let’s call her Rach, because that’s her name.  She likes colour in abundance....  

We wanted to do something bright with an element of surprise, and the most obvious contender was cake’s answer to world peace: the rainbow cake.  And a rainbow cake disguised by smarties?  That’s basically disarmament on plate.  We can’t claim the rainbow cake is a LS original though, in fact it’s definitely not.  There’s probably a chapter in the old testament about the time when it came to be that John brought forth the rainbow cake and there was much joy, and lo he cut it and there was much mirth, and lo (again) they ate the cake and bounceth off the walls with the e-numbers.  You know the one. Hilarious.  But even if it’s not biblical, it’s certainly been done a lot, so for an extra bit of excitement we made it gluten free; fun for everyone!

The recipe for a gluten free Victoria sponge (listed below) is so straightforward and tasty you wonder there aren’t more of them about.  For our spongy delight, we trebled the quantities and after combining all the ingredients, divided it into seven bowls ready for their dye jobs.   Given that the real trump card of this cake is the carnival hiding inside, we needed our food colouring to make it vibrant and punchy.  In the gel vs liquid colouring debate, gel wins every time; liquid just leads to a wet mixture and weak colours... in fact, they pale into insignificance against their gel counterparts (fun AND puns?!  We spoil you).

Mixing it up...

We then opted for buttercream to hold the layers together, bypassing the classic Vic-sponge-and-jam system to avoid any unnecessary sliding. Buttercream is not only extra fun (butter + sugar) with your fun (see the first fun, add flour and eggs), but is a superb cement and can take the pressure of the next six layers of resplendent sponge on top, provided you wait for the cakes to cool of course... otherwise it melts, obviously, and we all feel a little sad...  It also allows for the sort of humourless accuracy that Cake Bitch of Local Sauce revels in, along with such gems as levelling the top of each sponge with a bread knife so they’re flat, and using a spirit level.  But then precision is so pleasing... and we’re right back to fun!    

Work in progress... Gave Battle In Vain

He's arrived! Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain

While this cake already requires a certain amount of time and patience, the application of the smartie cloak really does take the biscuit, but if you’ve committed thus far you may as well take it to town.  It’s time consuming and a little fiddly, but nobody said world peace would be easy....  So go forth and arrange those smarties in lines, in the order of the rainbow, in the name of fun, all the way over, round and down to the bottom; show the UN how it’s really done!  And if you’re worrying about the calorific impact of a slice, let us reassure you: it’s a cake, it’s packed, it is proper naughty and meant to bad, and is therefore GREAT.  So eat!  Enjoy!  Be merry!  And if you’re still worried, go for a run.   

R x

Elevation and plan views of the UN Building.  Dinosaur security not always present

The slice that got away, and travelled half way across London wrapped in tissues.
What a trooper.

Rainbowsaurus Cake.

GLUTEN FREE Victoria Sponge

(to make two 8” sponge layers)

150 g Butter 

150 g Caster Sugar

2 drops Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

150 g Gluten Free Plain White Flour + 1 tsp Baking Powder OR 150g Gluten free self raising flour

3 tbsps Milk

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C(Fan170°C)/375°F/Gas 5
2. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
4. Beat in the baking powder and flour (or self raising flour without baking powder), and add the milk
5. Divide the mixture between 2 oiled and lined 20cm/8" round baking tins, and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15/20 minutes.  When the cakes are browning round the edge and on top, and have come away from the sides, they should be done.
6. Turn the cakes out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
7. Once the cakes have cooled thoroughly, level the top of one with a knife and spread buttercream or jam over it, before placing the other on top.*
8. To finish, dust with icing sugar. 

* for a more traditional filling, use jam followed by a layer of whipped cream.  Add fresh fruit for an extra bit of flavour!

Buttercream filling:

140g/5oz butter, softened

280g/10oz icing sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
2. Add the remaining icing sugar and vanilla essence, plus one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.

Notes on a Gluten Free rainbow cake:

The process is much the same as a regular cake except your gluten free version won’t rise as much.  It is still wonderfully spongy and moist, and most people barely or don't notice that it's gluten free; it also keeps well and retains its moisture.

For our rainbow cake we used Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour, and trebled the quantities.  With your mixture being divided seven ways, the cakes may be shallow and will not require so long in the oven:  15 minutes should be fine, but you can tell if they need to come out when they have come away from the edges and are brown on top.  

Once the cakes have cooled, you can level the top of each one with a bread knife so that each one is flat and they are consistent in height.  As mentioned before, for a cake with many layers that’s held with buttercream, they’re best put together cool, and on the board or plate that you’re serving on as it gets pretty heavy!  Rather than dust the top with icing sugar, carry on with your buttercream all over the top and sides - it gives a great base for sticking on decorations.  Good luck!