Rainbow Cake

“Whoa, Mom, that is totally going to fall over.”

That is definitely not what I want to hear as I’m attempting to frost a six layer cake.

Unfortunately, Nick was right.  It had a serious lean.  I tried to fix it as best as I could before frosting it, to no avail.  I held my breath as I cut the slices, hoping I could get enough cut before the Leaning Tower of Rainbow Cake fell.  As soon as I cut the first slice, I might have gasped.  In fact, I’m fairly certain I did.  It’s just so darn pretty inside, it’s hard not to.  I think this might be my favorite “kid item” that I’ve made so far.  I totally love it.

When I first saw the rainbow cake a few months ago, I knew I wanted to make it to celebrate the end of the school year.  Nick’s last day of first grade is tomorrow – I can’t believe he’s going to be a second grader already!  He has worked really hard this year, particularly the second half, applying himself to math, slowing down while doing his work and on making his handwriting neater.  I wanted to end the year in a special way, and this cake was the perfect way to do it.

Truth be told, it’s easy to make, just a little time consuming.  I made the layers last night, and put it together tonight before dinner.   Every time Nick was in the kitchen, he asked me what the layers were for.  I told him it was a surprise and he would see what it was when he needed to.  I’m all about a need-to-know basis these days.  When I told the babysitter yesterday what I was making, she said, “oh, ok.”  I told her later that she did not show the appropriate level of enthusiasm for such an undertaking, kidding, of course.  I think she just didn’t know exactly what I was up to.  But when she saw the layers today, she got excited about it.  This time at the appropriate level.  :)  “You’re such a fun mom,” she said.  I try!

I’m a big fan of tradition.  New ones.  Old ones.  Fun ones.  Stuffy ones.  I’m pretty sure we may have just found a new tradition to celebrate the end-of-school every year, and hearing the shouts of glee from Nick and The Girlfriend tonight when they first saw the cake pretty much sealed the deal.

Coincidentally, the cake just happens to match Nick’s t-shirt.

Even though I was giving Madeline a few bites of my slice, apparently it wasn’t enough for her. When the kids were playing on the swingset, she swooped in and took matters into her own hands, literally and figuratively, stealing a few last bites from their plates. Even the crumbs are beautiful!

For the complete details on how to make this it’s-easier-than-it-looks cake, check out Rainbow Cake Deconstructed.

Print it!