The recipe for this gluten free rainbow cake is also dairy-free. Of course, you will need to use a dairy-free frosting or dairy-free whipped cream (which I do not list below). This cake is great for kids’ parties or to brighten up anyone’s day. The cake is a sponge cake which makes the perfect cake to use with whipped cream. This cake makes a great St. Patrick’s Day recipe because, you know…the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Note: When you know you’ll be consuming plenty of sugar and/or artificial color, prepare your liver and kidneys by drinking plenty of water beginning two to three days before, during and after.
Print
Gluten Free Rainbow Cake
51
Yield: Serves 12.
A 6-layer gluten free rainbow cake to brighten up the darkest day. Make the layers any colors you desire including holiday colors , pastels for Easter,and more. Includes tips on making vibrant colors and frosting in humidity.
Oil and then line with parchment paper 2 or 3 eight-inch round cake pans. Then spray oil the top of the parchment paper. (Depending upon how many pans you have will depend upon how many layers you can bake at one time. Your oven size will also come in to play. Be sure your oven can fit 3 pans on the middle shelf, if using 3 pans.)
Make the gluten-free sponge cake as directed, but add in the vinegar. (This avoids the bitter taste of food coloring.)
Divide the cake batter between 6 small bowls. Add a drop of food coloring to one bowl and whisk in with a clean whisk for each bowl until no streaks show and the batter is one color. Add additional drops of food coloring, as desired. Gel food coloring makes more vibrant colors.
Cover and refrigerate the batters you will not be baking. Pour the remaining batters into the prepared pans.
Bake the cakes for 10- 15 minutes, depending upon how many you are baking at one time. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center turns out clean and they spring back in the center when lightly touched.
Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from their pans and allow them to finish cooling on wire racks.from pans to cooling racks. Remove the parchment paper once fairly cooled. (I like to line my wire racks with parchment paper to avoid lines in the bottom of my cake.)
Repeat the steps above with the 3 - 4 remaining cake batters.
Once all of the cakes are almost cool, make the sweetened whipped cream or fluffy white frosting as directed in the links above.
Refrigerate the cakes if you desire to trim the dome portions off of the tops. This makes it easier to cut them and frost them. They may need to be refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Trim the tops as desired or skip this step.
Place the first layer on a serving plate and frost only the top. Repeat this with the remaining layers and stack them according to colors in the rainbow. Do not frost the top layer yet. Frost the sides next and then place a thin layer of frosting/whipped cream on the top layer. Then layer it on thicker. (The first layer prevents crumbs from showing through.)
Refrigerate the cake or serve immediately.
Tips
In very humid weather add 5 tablespoons of cornstarch to the frosting recipe (2 tablespoons per cup of fat) or 3 Tablespoons to the whipped cream recipe (1 tablespoon per cup of heavy cream).
When making the frosting, feel free to add additional confectioner's/powdered sugar to thicken it your desired consistency.
Hi Carla
Does the sponge become dry if refrigerated? Would like to try this for my sons birthday but it is extremely hot at the moment in South Africa so I will need to keep it in the fridge. Hoping to use a swiss buttercream frosting
Ashna,
I didn't refrigerate this cake recipe. However, I have used the same sponge cake filled and covered with whipped cream along with pouring coffee on the cake layers and it was amazing! I would suggest using a moist filling, not buttercream. By the way, here is the link to the cake recipe that I refrigerated - http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-tiramisu-cake/.
Carla
Carla, How much coloring do you use? My batter always looks good, but when it's baked, not so much. And, my pale pink baked out totally. Thanks.
View Comments
Hi Carla
Does the sponge become dry if refrigerated? Would like to try this for my sons birthday but it is extremely hot at the moment in South Africa so I will need to keep it in the fridge. Hoping to use a swiss buttercream frosting
Ashna,
I didn't refrigerate this cake recipe. However, I have used the same sponge cake filled and covered with whipped cream along with pouring coffee on the cake layers and it was amazing! I would suggest using a moist filling, not buttercream. By the way, here is the link to the cake recipe that I refrigerated - http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-tiramisu-cake/.
Carla
Carla, How much coloring do you use? My batter always looks good, but when it's baked, not so much. And, my pale pink baked out totally. Thanks.
Carol,
For vibrant colors, you need to use gel paste food coloring. I use Americolor because it is gluten free and they offer so many bright colors. It's very difficult to use too much gel paste, but I would say not to use over 1/4 teaspoon per color. Use enough to obtain a vibrant color. They bake up almost the same exact color that you see in the uncooked batter. Here's an example of a red batter and the final cake (it's a recipe I created for Answers.com). See the finished product here: http://recipes.answers.com/recipe/1195377/gluten-free-strawberry-sponge-cake-parfait#slide=1 and the batter here: http://recipes.answers.com/recipe/1195377/gluten-free-strawberry-sponge-cake-parfait#slide=7.
Carla