Tie Dye Cheesecake Food

THE TIE DYE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans or line them with wax paper or parchment paper and butter the paper.
• Divide the Classic Vanilla Cake batter evenly among 5 small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl--1 drop at a time--until the desired intensity of each color is reached. Scoop each color into a disposable pastry bag and snip the tip of the bag. I tie the ends of the pastry bags with plastic wrap or rubber bands to keep the batter in. Pipe the batter into the first pan, one color at a time, one over the next. (You could also use a spoon, but the pastry bags make this much easier.) Repeat with the remaining 2 pans.
• To make the tie dye effect, carefully drag a skewer completely through the batter from the center out to create a pattern with the colors. Don't overmix the colors.
• Bake until the middle of the cake feels springy when you gently press your finger against it, 35 to 40 minutes. Set the cakes aside to cool completely before icing.
• Level the cakes with a serrated knife. Place one layer on a cake turntable and frost the top with the Vanilla Icing. Add the second cake layer and frost the top. Place the third layer on top and cover the entire cake with a "crumb" coat of vanilla icing. I do a crumb coat--a thin layer of icing spread around the cake to seal in all the crumbs and ensure a neat finish. Unless it's a chocolate cake, the crumb coat is done with vanilla icing. It looks so clean and creates a nice blank canvas for decorating.
• Divide the Vanilla Glaze between 2 mixing bowls. Add pink food coloring to one bowl and blue food coloring to the other bowl--1 drop at a time--until the desired intensity of each color is reached. The food coloring will thin out the glaze a bit. You can always add more liquid, but you can't take it away. Working with an offset spatula, spread pink glaze over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides. Spread the blue glaze over the pink, but do not let it completely cover the pink. Finally, spoon more pink glaze onto the center of the cake top. Alternate the glazes just like you did with the batter. Use a skewer to pull the glaze from the center out to the edge and make the tie dye design. Work quickly before the glaze starts to dry.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute on high speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the granulated sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add the vanilla extract. While mixing at medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the edges of the bowl midway through.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture. When it's mostly incorporated, add half the milk. Add the remainder of the dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Stop mixing as soon as you have a smooth batter.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter on high speed for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and whip just to incorporate.
• In a separate bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the sugar mixture 1 cup at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions. Whip on high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it to the desired consistency.
• If not using within 10 minutes of mixing, cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the glaze from drying out. Store at room temperature.

TIE-DYE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325ºF.
• Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt and press into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap up the bottom and sides of pan with a large piece of foil and put in a large roasting pan.
• Beat the cream cheese and sugar, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until just combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined. Mix in the eggs, by hand, 1 at time. Then mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, by hand as well, until just combined. (Overmixing can turn your cheesecake into a souffle.)
• Using a ladle, divide the cheesecake batter into 4 separate bowls. Dye each a separate color; blue, pink, purple and yellow. Add enough food coloring so that the colors are very vibrant and intense.
• Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the crust, alternating the colors, until all the batter has been scooped. Use a wooden skewer and drag it through the colors to marble them for tie-dye effect, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan. Transfer the pan to the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
• Bake until the outside of the cake is set and the center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
• Unmold the cheesecake and transfer to a serving plate or cake stand. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream.

TIE-DYE CAKE ROLL

Steps:

• For the tie-dye cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of a 17 1/2-by-12 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the parchment.
• Beat the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until light and foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar, increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat until shiny stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the milk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until smooth and thick. Divide the batter between 6 small bowls. Tint each bowl a separate color with 1 to 2 drops of gel food coloring: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Stir each batter until no streaks remain. Divide the whipped egg white mixture between the 6 bowls (about 1/2 cup each), then gently fold until the batters are fluffy and no streaks remain.
• Drop large spoonfuls of the batter on the prepared baking sheet, alternating between the colors and making sure the batter reaches the edges of the baking sheet. Drag a toothpick or wooden skewer through the colors to create a marble-like tie-dye effect; do not overmix or the colors will become muddy. Bake until the cake springs back when gently pressed, about 12 minutes.
• Immediately sift confectioners' sugar generously over the top of the warm cake and loosen the edges with a knife. Lay a clean non-terry cloth kitchen towel over the cake. Place a second baking sheet on top of the towel. Holding the baking sheets together, flip the cake to invert it onto the towel. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment. Starting at a short end, roll up the cake and towel together into a spiral. Transfer seam-side down to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• For the vanilla frosting: Fill a medium saucepan about one-third full with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, cream of tartar, salt, egg whites and 3 tablespoons water in a large glass or metal bowl heatproof (see Cook's Note).
• Set the bowl over the saucepan, but not touching the water. Beat the mixture with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat until the mixture is glossy and holds firm peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue to beat until the mixture cools slightly, about 30 seconds more.
• While the frosting is still slightly warm, start to assemble the cake. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the frosting into a pastry bag fitted with an open-star pastry tip. Set aside.
• Gently unroll the cake, then spread on the remaining frosting (about 1 1/2 cups) with an offset spatula, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Top with the rainbow sprinkles. Starting at a short end, roll up the cake into a spiral and transfer it seam-side down to a cutting board. Use a dry pastry brush to brush away any confectioner's sugar on the cake roll as needed. Trim the ends with a serrated knife, then transfer to a platter. Pipe small rosettes and stars of frosting on top of the cake roll, then top with more sprinkles. Set aside at room temperature until the frosting is set and completely cool, about 30 minutes. The cake roll can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.