Rainbow Cake

A rainbow cake is the epitome of joy and culinary delight. It's the merging of unicorn tears and Santa Claus. A wonderful and fantastic treat.

A rainbow cake is a great project for kids and adults alike! Thanks to Martha Stewart and this lovely site for encouraging me!

Simple Rainbow Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/3 cups sugar

5 large egg whites, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 6 nine inch pans with pam or grease with shortening.

Whip butter and sugar til fluffy.

Add egg whites and vanilla.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

Add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture alternately.

Separate batter into 6 different cups or bowls.

Add gel coloring to each one--whatever colors you'd like.

mix and stir until fully incorporated.

Pour each separate color into a pan.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Stack and layer with frosting between. If you want it to be nice and even, level the cakes and make sure all the layers are nice and even when you frost.

ENJOY!

Yes!

If you notice, the cake layers are quite thin. This was made by following the recipe and not doubling it. I highly recommend that you double the recipe! To make the cake layers a little more defined, try putting a little more frosting between the layers.

I totally forgot baking powder when I baked this cake.... I won't be doing that again! ENJOY!

Homemade Caramel

Friend! Where have I been, you ask? I reply "Baking furiously for the king."

It sure feels like I've been locked away. Been busy with so many things it's hard to get out anymore!

I haven't shared any baking adventures with you lately, so time to update! I'm caked out. I'd like to perfect peach and apple crisps. However, today it was time to tackle caramel sauce. I have yet to make caramel candies but I imagine it wouldn't be to crazy hard. This caramel is certainly saucy. It thickens as it cools but won't give you a hard candy apple shell. It'll just be saucy caramel-ly (unless you know something I don't about caramel and make it thicker and stickier).

I found the caramel recipe from Simply Recipes.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter (I used mine cold and didn't have a problem)

1/2 cup heavy cream

(optional: 3 tbsp vanilla extract)

Use a large pan. When you are working with the sugar and also with mixing in the cream and butter, it will bubble up and you don't want a spillover or burns! Be extra careful while whisking this. It needs almost constant whisking. Don't let it spill up onto you or you might scream in terror!!

Assemble ingredients. Put butter in a bowl and cream in a cup. You want it all ready to go because when you need to add them, you need to add them right away and won't have time to go get them from the fridge.

Pour sugar in pan. Use medium to medium high heat. Stir sugar. The whole process to make caramel took about 10 minutes and 8 minutes of it is waiting for the sugar to melt.

Keep stirring. I used both a wooden spoon and a whisk. Once sugar is melted and it's nice and creamy smooth and rich amber color, remove from heat. Immediately whisk in butter and cream by adding them alternately. Whisk like mad. I mean it! Don't let it sit. Whisk whisk. If it looks like it's starting to clump, whisk it even harder. Keep whisking until it's nice and smooth and creamy.

Let it sit until room temp. You could cool it or use it hot. You might have to microwave it if you refrigerate it.

Skewered slices of apples and dipped them in caramel!

Yummy Caramel Apple!

Stir in some peanuts or pecans! Go crazy and sprinkle it with marshmallows or M&M candies! It's quick and yummy. It tastes like a Werther's Original Hard Candy. I highly recommend this recipe. Just be sure to stir and stir and don't let it burn.

Best of luck!