Tie Dye Rainbow Reveal Cake 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 RAINBOW REVEAL CAKE

Steps:

• For the chocolate cake numbers: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13-by-5-inch loaf pan with a strip of aluminum foil. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the dark chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, milk, sour cream, oil and eggs in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 52 to 58 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and set on a cooling rack to cool completely. Cut the domed top off the cake and about 1/4 inch off each end. Slice the cake into 13 equal slices. Freeze slices for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the freezer, set on a cutting board, and cut using small 1 3/4-inch number cookie cutters. To remove the cake from the cookie cutters, use a wood dowel to gently push the pieces out. To make a Sweet 16 cake, cut a 1 and 6 out of each cake slice. Line a baking sheet or cutting board with a nonstick silicone mat, nonstick foil or parchment paper. Set the cake numbers on top, cover, and freeze for at least one hour. For the tie-dye cake: Once the cake numbers are frozen, make the colorful cake batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13-by-5-inch loaf pan with a strip of aluminum foil. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the white cake mix, white chocolate pudding mix, milk, sour cream, oil and egg whites in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Equally divide the batter among 7 bowls. Color one bowl purple, one royal blue, one sky blue, one green, one yellow, one orange and one red using the food coloring. Pour each colored batter into a disposable pastry bag or large resealable plastic bag. Snip the tip off each bag. Pipe squiggles of purple batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, leaving room for other colors in between the squiggles. Pipe another color on top, then another and another. Pipe all 7 colors on the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Remove the cake numbers from the freezer. If any of the numbers have holes in them, pipe in 2 different batter colors, filling the hole two-thirds full. Pipe a very thin amount of batter up against one short side of the loaf pan. Press the cake numbers up against the batter. Press another cake number up against the first number and continue adding cake numbers until you have a row of them going down the length of the entire pan. If using more than 1 number, pipe squiggles of colored batter in between the numbers, alternating colors as you go. Pipe squiggles of colored batter around the outside of the numbers, alternating colors as you go. Pipe squiggles of colored batter on top of the numbers, alternating colors as you go. Smooth out the top of the cake. Do not swirl the colored batter in the pan. Tap the pan on the counter 5 times to help remove big air bubbles. Bake the cake until the top is deep brown and a long toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and set on a cooling rack to cool completely. Cut the domed top off the cake and about 1/4 inch off each end. Trim off a thin layer from each long side of the cake. Optionally, freeze the cake until firm. Set the cake on a cake board that is cut 1/4 inch larger than the loaf on all 4 sides. Mark one end of the cake board. Set the cake so the numbers face forward on the marked end of the cake board. For the frosting: Beat the confectioners' sugar, shortening, whipping cream, vanilla and marshmallow creme until light and fluffy. Frost the cake.
• For the rainbow-colored glaze: Combine the finely chopped candy melts, whipping cream and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high in 15 second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Evenly divide the glaze among 6 small bowls. Color one purple, one royal blue, one sky blue, one green, one yellow, one orange and one red. Allow the glaze to thicken slightly. Create a melting rainbow by pouring colored glaze down the side of the cake, starting with the purple, then royal blue, sky blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Set the cake on a serving dish so you know which end has the numbers facing forward. Cut into the cake and reveal the surprise hiding inside.